Like a Broken Doll by Anne Schraff

Author:Anne Schraff
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, JUV011010, JUV039000
Publisher: Saddleback Educational Publishing
Published: 2014-07-31T16:00:00+00:00

“Oh,” Bekka exclaimed, “that would be terrible to fake such a thing.”

“Indeed,” Ms. McDowell agreed.

The teacher then began passing out the corrected class projects. Jaris held his breath. He’d worked very hard on his project, but maybe he could have done even better if he wasn’t so worried about Sereeta. When Ms. McDowell put the folder on the edge of his desk, Jaris was afraid to look at the grade. How much was his tardiness going to cost him? Then he took a deep breath and looked.

A minus! Jaris heaved a deep sigh of relief. McDowell had taken off only part of a point for being late.

After class, Jaris saw Bekka arguing with another girl. “I told you it wouldn’t work,” Bekka hissed. “Now the teacher thinks I’m a cheat. She knows what I did. And it’s all your fault!”

Jaris heard just one more phrase. This came from the lips of the other girl.

“It worked for Ryann.”

Jaris felt rage pulsing through his body. The first “theft” had been a ruse from the beginning—greedy little teenagers wanting to squeeze more money from their parents by pretending they had been robbed. The words ran through Jaris’s mind again and again. “It worked for Ryann. . . . It worked for Ryann.” All the ugliness, all the suspicions, and all the accusations—innocent people suffered through all that.

At lunchtime, Jaris looked for Ryann and Leticia. They always found a little corner to eat in. Jaris spotted them, noticing that Ryann was sporting a new tank top with alternating bright white and black stripes. “Hi Ryann, did you ever find that hundred dollars that was missing from your purse?” Jaris asked.

“Of course not,” Ryann answered. “Some thief took it.”

Leticia glared at Jaris and said, “What a stupid question. You know what happened.”

“Yeah,” Jaris said. “I know exactly what happened. A couple girls spilled the beans.” Jaris looked directly into Ryann’s eyes and spoke in a clear, harsh voice. “Ryann, I know what you did. I know what you did standing there in front of Harriet Tubman’s statue. You should be ashamed to stand by the statue of a good, honest, brave woman like Harriet Tubman and run a dirty con job like you did.”

Ryann jumped up, looking frightened. “W-what are you talking about?” she stammered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t do anything.”

“Ryann, shhh,” Leticia cautioned. “Don’t say anything!”

Jaris turned and looked at Leticia. “Were you the brains behind the little scam? You know it’s bad enough to lie about something like that, to deliberately trick people into believing you’ve been robbed of a hundred dollars. But it’s even worse to cast suspicion on an innocent person. That’s pure evil.”

Leticia grabbed Ryann’s hand. Ryann was shaking. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Leticia said to her. “He’s just guessing. He doesn’t know anything. Don’t panic, girl.”

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