My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours by Kristina Springer Read Free Book Online

he says. “How was the train ride?”
    â€œFine. I’m glad to finally be here.” I give Dad another quick hug. It’s only been a month since my last visit with him, but a month is so long. I miss him all the time. It’s been a little over three years now since he and Mom divorced and he moved to the city.
    â€œHere, give me your bag and let’s get out of here,” he says.
    I hand him my backpack and we board the escalator, heading for street level. We exit on Adams, and there are people rushing around in various directions. It’s warm out, and the sun is sitting low in the sky.
    Dad’s chatting away as we walk, pointing out the store where he bought his new fall jacket, talkingabout an art show he went to last weekend, and waving to the friendly pretzel vendor he discovered who makes “the best soft pretzels on Earth.” I nod and smile in the right spots as he goes on and on. I like listening to him talk. I walk fast, trying to match his pace.
    â€œI’m sorry, hon, I’ve been talking the whole time. Tell me about you. How was your first week of school? How does it feel to be a seventh grader?”
    â€œOh, it was . . . fine. Seventh grade is different,” I say.
    Dad nods. “Ah, yes. I can still remember seventh grade. Not the underlings anymore but not running the school either. It’s a good grade.”
    I smile. “Yeah, it’s all right.” I’m hoping that’s the end of the questioning. I kind of want to forget about the week right now. Forget about everything.
    â€œSeventh grade is one of those years,” Dad continues, looking wistful, “when anything can happen. You’re still trying to figure out who you are before you get to high school. Me? I was quite the stunner back then.” He looks down at me smugly.
    â€œYou were?” I ask.
    â€œH-U-N-K,” he replies. “Ever hear the name Wanda Stolzer?”
    I shake my head. “Who’s that?”
    â€œOnly the most popular girl at Kennedy Junior
    High the year I was in seventh grade. Maybe even in all of Kennedy Junior High history. And she was
hot
for my bod.”
    â€œDad!” I groan, covering my ears. I drop my hands back down right away though. A Dad story is exactly what I need to forget my troubles for a while. Dad’s face lights up as he talks.
    A few minutes later, we’re in front of Dad’s building.
    â€œYep,” he concludes, “those were the days. A time when a guy could woo a girl based solely on the merit of his robot dance.”
    I smile and Dad throws an arm around my shoulder and opens the front door to the building with his free hand. “Come on,” he says. “Let’s get you inside. You want takeout tonight?”
    â€œSure,” I reply, realizing that I am getting pretty hungry. And the takeout by Dad’s apartment is always
so
good. It’s somehow better than takeout at home.
    An hour later we’re watching a movie and eating soup and sandwiches from the deli around the corner. Me: cream of broccoli and a turkey and cheddar on wheat. Dad: cream of tomato and an Italian grilled cheese. We’re both staring at the TV screen and eating in silence, except for when I start in on my soup. I’m a slurper.
    I’m trying to concentrate on the movie, but my mind keeps wandering back to Sienna and how much she’s changed in such a short amount of time. And it’s not just that she’s got a new look, a new “boyfriend,” and loads of new friends. It’s also that I’m wondering where
we
stand now. Does she still think
I’m
her best friend? Maybe now that she’s rich she thinks she’s too good for me and just hasn’t figured out a way to cut me loose yet. It’s hard to believe that this Sienna is the same girl who saved my butt in first grade when the evil Mrs. Kirk made me stand up and spell
house
in front of the entire class.