Birds of Summer by Zilpha Keatley Snyder Read Free Book Online

did—even ordinary things like cutting up a steak or walking across the room—seem like highly technical skills. But there was nothing mixed about her feelings concerning real mahogany paneling, a Dutch tiled fireplace, huge leather chairs and an overall atmosphere of unplanned perfection.
    “Hey, Summer.” Oriole’s voice penetrated the flimsy door easily. “Aren’t you finished yet? Sparrow’s going to sleep.”
    She put the letters back in the chest and locked it before she opened the door. On the lounge, two thicknesses of foam rubber covered with dirty pillows, Sparrow and Oriole were cuddled together. Their curly red heads were touching—Oriole’s pale and flyaway and Sparrow’s crisp and chestnut.
    Sparrow grunted and yawned and started to get up, but Oriole pulled her back to snuggle—kissing her on both ears and the tip of her nose. Sparrow struggled, playing she didn’t like it, but she was grinning, and she finally relented enough to hug Oriole back. But by then she was wide awake again and fussing for a fairy tale before she went to sleep. She’d been hung up on fairy tales lately, particularly ones about princesses.
    “Can you read her a fairy tale, baby?” Oriole asked, but Summer shook her head.
    “You woke her up,” she said. “I didn’t.”
    “Okay,” Oriole said. “The snuggle was worth it.” She picked Sparrow up and kissed her again. “What’ll it be, baby?”
    When they’d disappeared into the bedroom, Summer opened the door and went out on the step. The wind was blowing, and she turned her face into it, letting it blow away the anger. Anger at Oriole for pretending that games and kisses were enough, and at Sparrow for not realizing yet that they weren’t. Or maybe at herself for a moment’s yearning for the long ago time when Oriole’s make-believe had been enough for her too.

4
    T URNING THE CORNER ON the way to Pardell’s class the next afternoon, Summer ran into Haley. “Hey,” Haley said, “you missed a real gnarly one.”
    “A gnarly what?” Summer asked before she remembered about the beach party. “Oh, the beach thing. How’d you make out?”
    “Outrageous. Too bad you missed it. Everybody was there.”
    “Who were you with?”
    “Me? Oh, Brownwood, mostly. Janet and I were just bopping around at first, but I wound up with Brownwood.”
    “Barry Brownwood?” Summer let her surprise show. As far as she was concerned Brownwood was a Grade A lumphead and about a million miles out of Haley’s class. Where was Kid?”
    Haley’s laugh was exaggeratedly unconcerned. “Oh you know the Alvarro shuffle. Kid was with Abbie Norcross.”
    Summer rolled her eyes. “Wow! How old is she now? About twelve?”
    “Thirteen. Thirteen is old enough.”
    Summer shrugged. Abbie Norcross was an only child with very old-fashioned parents, but she was also very cute. With Kid around, the poor old Norcrosses’ ancient ethics didn’t stand a chance. “How’d she manage to get out?”
    “I helped. I called Mama Norcross and said a bunch of girls were coming to our house for a girl-type party.”
    “Just a natural born do-gooder,” Summer said. She meant her smile to be ambiguous, but the sarcasm must have leaked through because Haley didn’t like it.
    “What’s eating you?” she said coldly.
    “Oh, I don’t know. I’m just not a Christopher groupie, I guess.”
    “Well, don’t get lonely,” Haley said, “because everybody else is. Everybody!”
    “Yeah, I know, but what I don’t know is—why?”
    Haley took the question seriously. So seriously that there weren’t any of the new-wave expressions, for which she was famous, in her answer. “Why,” she repeated. She thought for a moment with her eyes getting intense and glittery. “It’s just that—I guess it’s because he just doesn’t care. I mean, about anything.” Her eyes stopped jittering then, and her voice was cool as she asked, “Do you know what I mean, McIntyre?”
    But just at that moment