Supergirl by Norma Fox Mazer Read Free Book Online Page B

nasty, and often morose; and if all this wasn't enough to keep Lucy and Linda Lee's natural good spirits from getting out of hand, there were always the little pleasantries of the two toads.
    Myra and Muffy. Tweedledee and Tweedledum. A couple of fat muffins. Their hair was uniformly muddy, their eyes little and mean, their mouths fat and greedy. Were they real? Were they clones? Someday, would they marry two male toads and beget more Myras and Muffys? They scampered and whispered and laid their plans, and when one of their mean-minded tricks went off properly, they snorted in unison, Awk . . . awk . . . awk . . . like a pair of rapacious birds. In certain circles, Linda Lee discovered, they were known as the Mad Pear, a punny reference to their preference for each other's company, their demented tricks, and their shapes.
    A typical Myra-and-Muffy joke went like this. Scene: the playing field, a field-hockey game in progress. Characters: two Midvale School teams in gym uniforms, which include our three main characters—Lucy, Linda Lee, and Myra-and-Muffy. Action: Lucy, as usual, in the thick of the play. Linda Lee, playing, but hanging back, not aggressive like Lucy. Myra runs toward Lucy, her stick out, Muffy loyally behind her. The hair on Linda Lee's nape stands up—and with good reason. Dashing at Lucy, Myra thrusts her stick between Lucy's legs, tripping her. Muffy chortles loyally. Lucy goes down in the muddy field, and Myra runs on, joining the team.
    "She did that on purpose," Linda Lee said, helping Lucy up.
    "They're a pair of cretins. What can you do?"
    Oh, a few little things , Linda Lee thought, but she shrugged helplessly. Her character was already established on campus. The estimate was—She's okay. Nice enough. Not exactly wimpy, but definitely not swift. The kind of person who would shrug helplessly.
    The pack headed toward them, Myra in the lead. She slapped the ball ferociously at Lucy's head, but Lucy was still brushing herself off, unaware of the danger. Linda Lee moved. She stepped—no, she fairly flew —in front of her friend. In the next millisecond, the ball thwacked into Linda Lee and disintegrated. Bits of ball spattered through the air like rain.
    Everything stopped. The girls milled around, crashing into one another asking what had happened. "The strangest thing . . . ! The way that ball, wow—exploded! And look at Linda Lee, you'd think she'd be down for the count or dead in the water—I mean, the ball just, wow, right smack into her! Look at her, just standing there talking to Lucy like nothing special. . ." And then they started all over again, confused and excited. "Did you see what happened? I was behind Bernice, so I just HEARD it . . ."
    "How'd you do that?" Lucy said. Linda Lee gave her a blank look. Lucy began to wonder if she'd seen what she thought she'd seen, or if she'd seen something she hadn't seen, or—oh, well, must have been a defective ball. That ball's time had come. Just typical Lucy Lane luck that things had worked okay, that was fa sure !
    "You all right?" she said, taking Linda Lee's arm. Linda Lee nodded. She did seem a little dazed. Lucy pressed her arm reassuringly. Not to worry, kid, Lucy's here.
    In the locker room, Lucy and Linda Lee sat next to each other on a bench, unlacing their sneakers. "Keep an eye peeled for Myra," Lucy said. She didn't want to scare poor Linda Lee, but . . . a word in time was worth nine. "She's out for your skin."
    "Me?" Linda Lee sounded astonished. "What did I do?"
    Oh, the poor baby. So inn-o-cent! "She hates anybody that crosses her. You spoiled her fun on the hockey field."
    "You mean the ball?" Linda Lee said. "That was just an accident."
    "Accident, smacksident," Lucy said as they headed for the showers. "You got in her way. That's all she knows. Next time she'll roll over you. You just listen to Mama Lucy and watch your hide."
    "I really appreciate how much you think about me, Lucy," Linda Lee said, passing her the