The Littlest Bigfoot by Jennifer Weiner Read Free Book Online Page B

time.”
    â€œThe hummus isn’t so bad,” said Riya. “The lentil loaf’s the problem.”
    â€œOh, Godtb, don’bt mention the lentil loaf,” said Taley, and sneezed twice. “Allergies,” she said, and waved her hand at the woods and the fields. “Mold, dirtb, pollens, dander . . .”
    â€œIf you’re allergic to all of that, then how come you’re going to school in the woods?” Alice asked.
    â€œHer parents are friends with the Weinrebs,” said Riya.
    â€œMoondb Daughterbs,” Taley said, and blew her nose.
    Riya nodded. “Right. So Taley’s parents sent her andher brother and two sisters, so Phil and Lori would have some students.”
    â€œWe were volunteerebd as tribudte. This will be my fourth yeardb atdb the Center. Lucky me.” Taley sniffled, and Alice followed her two classmates to a small and slightly tilted cabin with two sets of bunk beds and cubbies built into the walls. Raw sap oozed down one of the boards in the corner, and the floors looked uneven.
    Taley saw Alice staring. “Yeah, the campus usedb to dbe on an old farm upstate, but there were zoning issues.”
    â€œThe neighbors complained about the compost heap,” Riya said. “Runoff. And smell.”
    â€œSo Lori and Phil found this spot. Itb was an oldb campgroundb.” Taley set her backpack on the bottom bunk of one set of bunks, then looked at Alice. “You candb pick your bedb.”
    Alice claimed the second bottom bunk—big as she was, she could only imagine a top bunk sagging within inches of her bunkmate’s face. “How about you?” she asked as Riya climbed on top of Taley’s bunk. “How’d you end up here?”
    â€œI fence,” said Riya.
    â€œThat’s, like, all she dboes,” said Taley. “That and gymnastibs. Phil and Lori letd her do academics for an hourin the morningb, thenb she just works with her coach.” She sniffled, blew her nose, and turned to Alice. “What’s your thingb?”
    Alice thought. “Does everyone here have a thing?”
    â€œFor the most part,” Riya said. She was pulling books out of her backpack, The Noble Art of the Sword and The Inner Game of Fencing and A Basic Foil Companion . “Kelvin Atwater—you’ll meet him later—he does magic. Not actual magic,” she said, seeing Alice’s face. “Magic tricks.”
    â€œSleightb ofb handb,” Taley confirmed, spreading a pink-and-purple comforter on her bed.
    â€œWhat’s your thing?” Alice asked Taley, who looked at her and frowned.
    â€œI havbe allergies,” she said.
    â€œOh,” said Alice. She wondered if a thing could be a talent, or a problem, like Taley’s allergies. Like her own hair. Like her own everything. Did “trying to disappear” count as a thing?
    â€œAnd she’s extremely creative,” Riya said. Taley gave her a look that was equal parts affection and exasperation. “She can sew,” said Riya in the same tone she’d use to announce that Taley could fly, and pointed toward an old-fashioned sewing machine and a bag of fabric in the corner.
    Alice was quiet, hoping they would drop the topic of her own special thing. She made her bed with the fancy cotton sheets Felicia had packed, slipping her down pillows into their crisp cases, and set up her toothpaste, toothbrush, and family-size bottles of extra-strength conditioner in the bathroom.
    Taley was there putting away a small ceramic pitcher that she said was called a neti pot. “Don’bt ever dringk outb ob itb,” she said, then considered. “Probably don’bt eben touch itd.” She filled the pot with warm water, leaned over the sink, tilted her head, and stuck the spout into her left nostril. “It’s for congestiondb,” she said as Alice backed out of the bathroom.
    Someone had slipped a daily schedule under the