Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen

Author:Susin Nielsen
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781448188543
Publisher: Andersen Press Ltd

18

STHYNOE

nest, notes, tones, hones, honey, stony, shone, then, hey

HONESTY

I WON TWO out of my three games, both with scores over 300, at the Scrabble Club the following Wednesday. And I was on my best behavior, too. No complaints about lousy letters (even though it killed me not to say something when my seven tiles were OUIIOUK); no victory dances when I won. But it was impossible to keep from grinning when I managed to beat Joan again.

‘You could wipe that smile off your face,’ Joan said.

‘I’m sorry,’ I replied. ‘I’m only smiling because it means a lot to me to beat someone who’s as good as you. And have I ever told you, pink is really your color?’

OK, I laid it on a bit thick, but I think she liked it because she smiled.

In the evenings, I studied the Official Scrabble Tournament and Club Word List, which was an interesting book because it didn’t give definitions. It just listed column after column of words, and I only recognized about half of them on each page. And it really was full of all the swears. I discovered that there are ten different ways you can legitimately use the ‘f’ word.

On Friday, Mom told me she and Jane were going out for a drink again after classes. Needless to say, I didn’t give her any grief this time. When she left, Cosmo gave me another self-defense lesson. I still wasn’t great, but I was better than last time and, as Cosmo kept reminding me, that was what counted.

When we were done, I showered and changed for our evening out. As we drove to pick up Amanda, I asked him how he was going to pay for everything. ‘I’d rather wait and tell you both,’ he replied.

Cliffhanger was a blast. My mom had never let me do anything this physical because she was worried I’d get hurt, so my arms were killing me after only three climbs. But I kept on going. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once, being so high off the ground, even though I knew I was perfectly safe with an instructor belaying me below. Amanda and Cosmo were having a great time too, and I saw them steal a couple of kisses between climbs.

Near the end of our session, Cosmo managed to get to the top of a climb that was rated ‘eight’ in difficulty. When he was done, he grinned from ear to ear. ‘Now that was a good high,’ he said, to no one in particular.

At the restaurant afterward, a burger joint with an arcade near the front, Cosmo said he had an announcement. ‘I got a job,’ he told us.

‘Hey, that’s great!’ Amanda said.

‘Doing what?’ I asked.

‘Working construction. A friend of my brother-in-law’s is the foreman on this big project downtown. I’ll be picking up shifts here and there to start, but I’m hoping, once I prove myself, it will grow into full-time work.’

‘This calls for a toast,’ said Amanda. We all raised our glasses and clinked them together.

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