Letters from the Heart by Annie Bryant Read Free Book Online

seemed like he’d learned how to read in his sleep. Most annoying of all, he was an ace speller. He could spell ANYTHING, even the names of those creepy generals he was obsessed with. Sometimes it was hard to believe that the two of them were even related. He owned exactly two sweatshirts, two pairs of pants—both hideous brown—and exactly one pair of shoes—and those were light-up sneakers. How uncool. He was positively fashion-impaired. As Maeve clambered up the steep staircase that led from the hallway up into their apartment, she scooped up some of her brother’s stuff as she went. There . Another good deed for the day, she congratulated herself. Maybe Sam couldn’t help being a whiz kid and a slob. She vowed to be nicer to him tonight. Maybe she’d even let him read her one of his World War II comic strips. She had to admit some of them were pretty interesting. Except the ones on Hitler. That crazy guy was just too scary for words.
    Maeve heard voices as she approached the landing. Herparents—that was strange, Maeve thought, checking her watch. Why wasn’t her father still downstairs at the cinema? She opened the door into the kitchen, and sure enough, both her mom and dad were there. From the look on their faces she could tell that something was definitely wrong. Her mom was standing over near the fridge, her arms crossed and a frown on her face. Her dad was sitting at the kitchen table, fiddling with a paper clip. Both looked up at Maeve, but then her father looked away. He was obviously uncomfortable.
    â€œMaeve,” her mother said, with a funny sound in her voice that Maeve had never really heard before. She didn’t sound disappointed or annoyed. Something else was going on. She actually sounded almost—sad. “Where were you this afternoon?”
    â€œI was—” Maeve stopped short, setting her stuff down. “I went to Montoya’s with my friends. We were talking about our new social studies project,” she added quickly, trying to make it sound more like a study break than just hanging out.
    â€œYou were supposed to go over to work on your math homework with Matt, remember?” her mother asked. “He called here about half an hour ago, wondering where you were.”
    Maeve winced. Oh no! So that was the appointment she’d half-remembered. Matt Kierney had only been her tutor for a few weeks. He went to Boston College and Maeve thought he was great—smart, serious, but really nice.
    â€œShoot—I totally forgot!” she cried, smacking her forehead. “I left my planner upstairs. I KNEW there was something on for this afternoon, but I couldn’t remember what it was.”
    Maeve waited for her mom to reprimand her. Usually, her mother got upset about this kind of thing.
    But surprisingly, her mother didn’t seem angry. Instead, she just looked a little worn out. Like her mind was on something else.
    â€œI’ll call Matt and reschedule,” Maeve volunteered.
    Her mom nodded. The word “reschedule” didn’t even seem to get her attention—and that was definitely not like her. Say the schedule word, and she’d have her gigantic wall calendar out, marking out the days in different colored pens. But not this afternoon. She seemed too preoccupied.
    Maeve decided her parents needed cheering up. Why not lift their spirits by sharing her good news with them?
    â€œMom, Dad, you’re not going to believe this,” Maeve said, “but I got nominated today for a community service award for my blanket project!”
    â€œMaeve—that’s wonderful!” her mother exclaimed, her face brightening.
    Her father jumped up to give her a bear hug—just at the moment that her mother leaned in to embrace her. Both of them pulled back, and her mother’s face turned red.
    Weird, Maeve thought. Definitely weird.
    She dismissed it, though—who knew why parents did what they