The Thing I'm Most Afraid Of by Kristin Levine

Author:Kristin Levine [Levine, Kristin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2021-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

Learn to ride a bike.

Hang out in a large crowd.

Go on the Riesenrad.

Travel somewhere by myself.

The egg hadn’t been so bad. But the rest? I was afraid they were impossible.

CHAPTER 22

The Man from Barcelona

Sara wanted me to try bike riding again the next morning, but I refused. My bruises were too fresh—I needed a day to recover. At least that’s what I said. The truth was I needed the rest of the year to recover. Every time I thought about getting on that bike again, I felt nauseous and jittery.

We hung around the house in the morning. After lunch, my father called to say he would be home late, then Katarina called to say she would also be working late.

Felix and I were watching TV on his couch when Sara said, “I have idea.”

“What?” I asked.

“Surprise,” she said. “Put on a dress.”

“Dress?” Felix teased.

“Du—eine lange Hose,” she instructed him.

“A long hose?” I asked. “Are you going to fight a fire?”

“It means pants,” Felix said.

As much as we nudged her, Sara wouldn’t tell us her plan. I went back to my dad’s house to change. I’m not really a dress person, but Mom had made me pack one—a Laura Ashley blue floral-print dress with a sweetheart neck, a full skirt, and little cap sleeves. I thought it made me look like I was an extra on Little House on the Prairie, but Mom thought it was cute.

“Okay,” I called, letting myself back into Katarina’s house. “I’m ready.”

Sara had changed into a high-necked party dress. It was black, white, and hot pink, with rhinestones along the neckline, and a puffy tulle skirt. “Cool dress!”

Sara blushed. “I bought for senior dance in Sarajevo. I not get to go. Not practical thing to pack, but—”

“I love it.”

Felix came down next. He had on khaki pants and a red polo shirt. He’d even brushed his hair.

“You look nice,” I said.

He grunted. “So where are we going?”

“I tell you on the way.”

Sara ushered us out the door and onto the bus. Once we were settled in our seats, we turned to look at her. “I have a very exciting plan,” she said, pausing dramatically. “Tonight, we see . . . José Carreras!”

Um. Yeah. Okay. I had no idea who that was. I glanced at Felix. He shrugged.

“Who’s that?” I asked.

“José Carreras!” Sara exclaimed, even more emphatically. “The famous tenor. From Barcelona.”

“Never heard of him,” I said.

Sara looked like she was going to freak out.

“Wait,” Felix said slowly. “Is he one of those Three Tenors dudes? The guys who sang at the World Cup?”

“Yes!” Sara grinned triumphantly.

“Cool!” Felix exclaimed. “We’re going to a football game!”

“Soccer?” I asked.

“No.” Sara sighed, exasperated. “We go to opera.”

“Opera?” I asked.

“Yes.” Sara seemed thrilled just thinking about it. “We see the opening night of La Traviata. My favorite. José Carreras sings Alfredo.”

Felix crossed his arms. “You tricked us. I could have just stayed home.”

“Alone? No.”

“I’m thirteen!” he argued.

“Good for you to go.”

“What’s it about?” I asked. I mean, I’d only listened to it once, but Sara seemed pretty excited about it.

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