The Girl Who Built a Spider by George Brewington

Author:George Brewington
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

BEGIN WITH WHAT YOU KNOW

Without a word, Ashley picked up a plastic tub from the kitchen, sat it next to the table, and took a seat in one of the three chairs. Then she picked up a pineapple from the pile, chopped off the top with one of the large and very sharp knives, and began to core the fruit out with one of the slicers. She put the fruit in the tub, threw the top into the basket for the Fiberweaverator, and reached for another pineapple.

“What in the world do you think you’re doing?” Jon asked her in disbelief.

Ashley shrugged.

“I’m slicing and cutting. If Mr. Flax is in charge and he wants us to make pineapple leather, then I’m going to make pineapple leather, and you can bet I’ll make twice as much as you two.”

Jon shook his head.

“You definitely will, because I’m not making any. Man! You’re such a sheep! Mr. Flax? His name is Zach, and he’s not in charge of anything. Dr. Flax hasn’t even been gone a whole day and you’re already doing whatever he says? Zach Flax is a big ol’ creep, and he obviously wants to take over the place.”

Ashley picked up another pineapple, chopped off the top, and sliced out the fruit.

“It looks like he has,” Ashley said matter-of-factly.

“Has what?” Theresa asked.

“Taken over the place.”

Jon stared at her.

“So that’s it,” he said. “You give up. You don’t care about your twenty-eight species of algae or your lab or getting your dirt-flavored cookies in next year’s Flax Inventions for a Better World catalog. You’re Pineapple Girl now.”

Ashley didn’t even look at him.

“You do whatever you want,” she said. “We’ll see who gets a letter of recommendation to the best high schools in the country at the end of the summer.”

Jon smirked, pulling at his short tuft of hair like he wanted to yank it right out in frustration.

“If you think Zach Flax cares about getting you into a fancy high school, you’re being ridiculous.”

Theresa didn’t say anything while they argued. She was thinking about something curious. Miss Curie normally couldn’t stand not knowing where Dr. Flax was and if he was safe. And yet, he had been gone since yesterday and she seemed remarkably calm. She was almost delighted that Zachary was in charge.

There had been no desperation in her voice.

There had been no furious pen tapping on her clipboard.

There had been no twitching.

Miss Curie, for a robot programmed to protect the doctor at all costs, had seemed quite content. It was all very suspicious.

Jon, meanwhile, stomped over to the rainbow-colored thirteen-wedge animal-combo lock and started punching in random combinations of three.

“What are you doing?” Theresa finally asked him.

“I’m getting out of here, that’s what I’m doing. I don’t know about you two, but I’ve got a bubble organ to build.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Ashley said sharply as she whacked the top off a pineapple.

“Okay, boss,” he said sarcastically.

Jon continued punching in combinations.

Ashley chopped and sliced.

Theresa felt helpless. Maybe her dad had been right.

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