The Daughters by Joanna Philbin

Author:Joanna Philbin
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: JUV014000
ISBN: 9780316088428
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2010-04-30T21:00:00+00:00

chapter 16

Four days later, on a rainy Wednesday a few minutes before French, Lizzie looked up from reading Tender Is the Night and saw Todd standing over her, looking like he either had something important to say, or had completely forgotten her name.

“Hey,” he finally said, and cleared his throat. “What’s up?”

Now Todd was giving her the cold shoulder. He didn’t look at her in class. He passed by her in the halls—with Ava and her rolled-up kilt glued to his hip. Lizzie knew that she had no reason to be hurt—they were just friends, after all—but his decision to ignore her ever since their study session didn’t make any sense.

But, it seemed, he’d changed his mind. Again.

“Uh, just reading,” she said, putting down the book.

Todd nodded and looked down, as people streamed into class behind him. God, he could be awkward, Lizzie thought.

“So we should meet again for the English project,” he said haltingly.

She closed the book. “Sure.”

“And is it okay if I ask you a favor?” he asked.

“All right,” she said.

“Actually, it’s not for me,” he said, letting his weird English bookbag slide off his shoulder. “It’s for Ava.”

Lizzie felt something drop inside her, as if her heart had just been torpedoed.

“She wants to ask you something but she’s kind of embarrassed,” he said, staring at the ground, as he swept the floor with his shoe.

Ava embarassed? she thought, just as Ava blew into the room.

“Hey, Lizzie!” Ava cried, walking over. Her cheeks were rosy from being outside, and she’d left on her knit hat with devil horns, which immediately got on Lizzie’s nerves. “I sooooo didn’t want to bother you, but you know I’m the chairperson for the Silver Snowflake Ball, and we’re doing a raffle for prizes, and, well, I was wondering if we could get your mom to donate something.”

Her torpedoed heart made a crash landing in her gut. “Um, like what?” she asked.

“It could be anything,” Ava shrugged crazily. “Dinner with her, a dress, going with her to a photo shoot, hanging out with her and Martin Meloy, whatever. Oh, and you’re totally gonna get an invitation, just so you know.” She smiled radiantly and glanced at Todd, who still seemed fascinated by the floor.

“Uh, well, I’ll ask her,” she said, deliberately sidestepping Ava’s invitation.

“Great!” Ava exclaimed. She tossed her curls off her shoulder and squeezed Todd’s hand. “Todd said you wouldn’t mind. And you know, he said your mom is really cool and everything.”

“Glad he helped you out with that,” she said thickly.

Just then Madame Dupuis stalked through the doors in a hideous chartreuse pantsuit.

“Okay, well, see you later!” Ava chirped.

She and Todd scrambled to the back of the room just as Madame Dupuis called class to order with her usual “Shhht!”

Lizzie opened her book, feeling let down and confused. She was used to people asking her for things, but this just depressed her. Didn’t Todd know how annoying it was to be used as a “connection” to her mom? Then again, he hadn’t made eye contact with her once during that entire interaction.

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