I thought you wanted to play Squidman.â
âAll right, letâs go,â said Max, pulling Cleo down the hall.
Cleoâs face turned red but she didnât say a word. It felt good to make other people so happy.
âNow, on to number two match,â said Fiona.
âIâm scared,â Harold said.
âDonât be silly.â Fiona grabbed a towel from the bathroom. She draped it over his shoulders.
âWhatâs that?â
âWhat?â said Fiona.
âThat!â Harold pointed to the bottle in Fionaâs hand.
âHair goop.â
âOh, Boise Idaho.â
âYou want to be like Milo, right?â Fiona poured the goop in her hands. She rubbed them together and wiped them on Haroldâs head.
âBurrito supreme,â said Harold, âit feels cold.â
Fionaâs hands gathered and twisted Haroldâs hair into spiky points. But the points didnât stay spiky. Or pointy. âHmmm.â
âWhatâs the matter?â asked Harold. âCan I see?â
âNot yet.â Fiona squeezed. âHow do you think he gets it to stand up like that?â
âOh, Boise Idaho.â
âSome big sister,â said Max, appearing in the doorway. âHey, why are you doing that to his hair?â
âNever mind,â said Fiona. âWhereâs Cleo?â
âShe went home,â said Max. âWill you play with me now?â Max jumped up and down and pulled his cape over his head like a hood.
âIâm busy,â said Fiona.
âIâll play,â said Harold.
Max looked Harold over. âUm, thatâs okay,â he said. And he was gone.
Fiona tapped her foot and patted Haroldâs goopy head while she thought. âJust a second.â She opened her desk drawer and rooted around. âDonât move.â
âWhat are you doing?â asked Harold.
âItâs in here somewhere,â said Fiona. She tossed out her box of broken crayons, dried-up markers, glitter pens, and bag of felt scraps. âFound it!â Sheemptied the bottle onto Haroldâs head. Then she pinched and pulled at his hair.
âFiona?â
âWhat?â
âI smell glue.â
⢠Chapter 10 â¢
F ionaâs dad looked like he had just eaten ten corned beef sandwiches. It wasnât pretty. âWhat were you thinking?â he asked. Fiona had heard this question lots of times before. And there was no good answer.
Fiona swiveled on Turner and thought about what she was thinking. Which was a not-so-easy thing to do. Especially when all of the green blobs on Dadâs computer screen looked just like a bunny rabbit with giant fangs.
Dad leaned on his desk at WORD news station and waited.
âHarold wanted to be popular. That was his match,â said Fiona. âDo you have a headache?â
âA big one,â said Dad. âWhat do you mean that it was his match?â
âIâm a matchmaker,â said Fiona. âI started a club at school and Harold wanted to be like Milo Bridgewater.â
âAnd you thought glue in his hair was the way to go?â
Fiona said, âHow else do you get hair to stand up?â
Dadâs eyes got a little bulgy. But he didnât say anything, which made Fiona think he didnât know so much about hair. âHaroldâs grandmother said she doesnât want you playing with him anymore.â
âItâs not all my fault that his grandma cut it out,â said Fiona. âI told Harold not to let his grandma see it.â
Dad pulled at his eyebrow and sighed.
Fiona watched the bunny rabbit with fangs turn into a T. rex. Then she spun around on Turner, hugging her knees to her chest.
âMilo Bridgewater?â said Dad, clicking his mouse and looking at his computer screen.
âMilo Bridgewater,â she repeated as if his name tasted like cauliflower.
âI think heâs the boy who sent an e-mail
Learning to Kill: Stories