Leapin' Leopards by Bill Myers

Author:Bill Myers [Myers, Bill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUVENILE FICTION / Religious / Christian / Action & Adventure, JUVENILE FICTION / Religious / Christian / Family
ISBN: 9781684285525
Publisher: Focus on the Family
Published: 2023-03-07T00:00:00+00:00

11

A Too-Public Appearance

WE PICKED STEPHIE AND THE TWINS up from school. Next stop would be Julie’s preschool. Then we’d be off to rescue Freda. I got the front seat because I’m the oldest. (Whimpering helps too.) And being the oldest and wisest, I agreed with Mom that we shouldn’t tell the children about Freda. They had enough on their minds having to take care of those little creatures trapped inside their cell phones. How those creatures got inside was a mystery. But the little things seemed perfectly content

beep-ing, bopp-ing,

and

blurp-ing

whenever the kids touched their screens.

Stephie loaned me hers once. The candy-colored critters looked the tastiest, but I never found a way to break in to eat them. And to be honest, the outside of her phone tasted as bad as the TV remote.

I tried to deny it was me, but the matching teeth marks were a dead giveaway.

Still, the games didn’t stop Mom from asking her kids all the usual tell-me-every-moment-of-your-day questions that moms seem required by law to ask.

“So how was school, Jessica?” Mom asked.

“Fine.”

“How about you, Janelle?”

“Fine.”

“And Stephie, how was your—”

“Fine.”

Mom took a deep breath. Fine was a four-letter word she hated. But she was a world-class expert in prying intel from children. (With so many kids, she’d learned plenty of mom tricks along the way.) So, she tried another approach.

Looking into the rearview mirror, she asked, “Did everybody like your new shoes, Jessica?”

“Why don’t you ask Janelle and her friends?”

“They’re not my friends,” Janelle said.

“They were when you ganged up on me.”

“I never ganged up on—”

“You’re the one who told me to buy them, remember?”

“They’re cute.”

“That’s not what you said.”

“I never—”

“Of course you did.”

“I—”

“I’m not talking to you.”

“I’m just saying—”

“Don’t talk to me. I’m not talking to you.”

“Fine. I’m not talking to you.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

“Be quiet.”

“You be quiet.”

Ahhh . . . sisterly love.

Soon, the car grew real silent . . . except for those electronic creatures who

Beep-ed and bopp-ed

and

BLURP-ed

as the twins touched their screens faster and faster.

Mom was definitely concerned. But before she could try another mom trick, her own phone rang. She pressed the speakerphone on the console and answered:

“Hello?”

“Mom!” It was Lisa. “Where’s Nick?”

“He should be there at school. You’re riding with him today.”

“Well, he’s not here.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m standing in the parking lot, and he’s nowhere around.”

“Maybe he—”

“Big surprise, right?”

“Have you tried—”

“You can’t depend on him for anything.”

“Well, he—”

“Can you pick me up?”

Before Mom answered (as if she’d have the chance), her phone beeped.

“Hang on, Lisa,” she said, “that’s the other line.” She switched lines, and we heard Nick:

“Mom, I’ve got a problem. Can you pick me up?”

“Aren’t you at school?”

“Uh . . .”

“You were supposed to take Lisa home.”

“Um . . .”

“She’s standing in the parking lot.”

“Er . . .”

You don’t need to be a genius (or chimpanzee) to guess what happened next. Once Mom picked up the rest of the family, we went from a quiet car full of people

Beep-ing and bopp-ing

and

BLURP-ing

to a car full of people arguing, pouting, and sulking.

I guess the ice-cream stop is out of the question.

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