Eager Star by Dandi Daley Mackall Read Free Book Online Page A

quiz us. I got away with “fine,” “uh-huh,” “don’t know yet,” and “okay” until dessert.
    â€œSo, Winnie . . .” Dad twirled his fork, making lines in Lizzy’s lemon pie. “Meet any kids with horses?”
    I wished I could have told him I’d talked to even one kid about my horse business. But I hadn’t even talked to one kid about anything.
    â€œTowaco’s really coming along well, Dad,” I said, my stomach trying to shove the whole dinner back up.
    â€œUh-huh,” Dad said, his lips twisting the way they do when he’s disappointed.
    The phone rang.
    â€œI’ll get it!” I scooted away from the table, never more saved by the bell. “Hello?”
    â€œLizzy?” came the voice at the other end. “Didn’t it rock today when—?”
    â€œThis isn’t Lizzy,” I interrupted.
    â€œOhhh,” said the disappointed caller.
    â€œI’ll get her.”
    The phone rang all evening, each call for Lizzy. I stopped answering after the third call. I couldn’t stand disappointing anyone else.

The next day, Thursday, I woke up determined to give school another chance. I arrived on Lizzy-time and took a seat in Ms. Brumby’s classroom.
    Summer made her entrance, flanked by three girls who laughed at everything she said.
    Hawk trailed them silently, with barely a glance at me.
    â€œHonestly,” Summer was saying to her adoring crowd, “if anyone ever saw me without makeup, I swear I’d transfer right out of this school!”
    Note to self: Do everything within your power to see Summer Spidell without makeup.
    Ms. Brumby led a discussion on the purpose of nursery rhymes as groundwork to our study of Shakespeare and the world’s great poets. I was determined to make a comment. Twice I raised my hand, but she called on Grant. And he gave an answer that sounded 10 times as smart as mine would have.
    We moved through the cat and the fiddle, the mouse up the clock, and the spider beside her.
    Come on, Winnie. You have to say something. Time’s running out.
    â€œAt last . . .” Ms. Brumby checked her gold watch that matched everything else she had on. “We come to ‘Humpty Dumpty.’”
    Kids picked up notebooks and backpacks, waiting for the buzzer.
    â€œNow, class, don’t disappoint me,” coaxed Ms. Brumby. “‘Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.’ Anyone . . . ?”
    Grant slipped on his backpack.
    Now was my chance. I might not get another one. I raised my hand.
    â€œWinifred?” Ms. Brumby’s head moved slightly side to side, as if warming up for being shaken no.
    I had to say something. “I think he was pushed!” I blurted.
    A couple of kids laughed out loud.
    Why did I say that? But now that I had, I had to back it up. “Yeah. Humpty Dumpty . . . he didn’t fall. He was pushed! By all the king’s men. And that part about the horses putting him back together? That’s a cover-up, because how would horses do that?”
    Summer giggled. Someone groaned.
    Barker leaned over and whispered, “I thought that was good.”
    Ms. Brumby’s face looked like she’d eaten a rotten hedge apple. “These rhymes have survived throughout the ages, class. We shouldn’t waste valuable time making fun of them.”
    The buzzer rang, and I got out of there as fast as I could.

    Pat’s class was the only decent hour in the whole day. She brought up eternity again and got everybody trying to define life . Then she gave us an assignment to write a paper defining success in life.
    Our math teacher gave out assignments like he thought his was our only class. After math, red-haired Sal introduced me to none other than Grant . . . again. And again he showed no sign of recognizing me.
    After school I watched Catman answer e-mails, typing twice as fast as I