The Naked Mole-Rat Letters by Mary Amato Read Free Book Online Page B

and hurried down to breakfast. I expected—I don’t know—a little sympathy, perhaps, fornot getting the part I wanted? But everybody just jumped on me for waking up so late.
    â€œHurray! Her Majesty finally woke up,” Dad said, and handed me a cereal box as if it were a box of frankincense and merr (myrr? myrrh?).
    I shot him one of my fiercest looks and headed for the fridge.
    â€œIt was a joke, Frankie,” Dad said. “I was hoping you’d be in a better mood today than yesterday.”
    â€œMe too,” Skip added, shoveling cereal into his mouth straight from the box. How does he stay so skinny when he eats like a pig?
    Nutter hugged me from the back. “Dad said
you’d
make me a big koala costume, Frankie.”
    â€œNo way.”
    â€œYou said last week you wanted to be a ghost, Nutter,” Skip said.
    â€œI’m done being a ghost,” Nutter said.
    â€œBut you haven’t even been a ghost yet!” I argued.
    â€œCome on, Frankie.” Dad poured coffee into his Thermos. “He wants to be a koala.I’m really pressed for time. I got in a big order that I want to do a really good job on.”
    â€œI’m pressed for time, too.”
    â€œYou are not,” Skip said. “I heard you say you’re not going to do the play.”
    â€œActually,” Dad said, “I was hoping we could talk some more about that, Frankie. I really think you should be in the play. We’ll talk about it tonight, okay?”
    I didn’t say anything. My eyes had become fixated on a large envelope on the counter with Ratlady’s name. “Do you want me to drop this off at the post office?” I asked. The P.O. is right next to my school.
    â€œThat would be great, thanks!”
    â€œIs that my ghost for Ayanna?” Nutter asked, grabbing the envelope.
    â€œJust like I promised.” Dad took it back from Nutter and handed it to me.
    As I walked the boys to the elementary school, Agent Skip Wallop suggested that we open the envelope and see if Dad wrote a letter.
    I pretended to be disgusted by the idea. I feel a need to protect Skip and Nutter. I think ifthey were to read a love letter from Dad, they might go into shock. “Correspondence between two people should be private,” I said. I dropped them off and cut across the field toward my school. Of course when I passed the post office, I “forgot” to mail the envelope.
    Beth was waiting for me at the front door. She had already heard that I had said no to Mr. Haxer, and she thought I was crazy. That’s because she isn’t accustomed to being a star. She’d probably be delighted to play the part of a tree.
    First period Mr. Horrible Haxer got on the intercom and said that any copies of
The Miracle Worker
that were checked out of the library needed to be turned in so that the actors who have lines could use them.
    â€œMr. Peter?” Beth raised her hand. “Frankie and I both checked out copies. Can we go to the library and return them?”
    Thanks a lot, Beth, I thought. I imagined handing the librarian the tissue-box coffin filled with lifeless pages.
    â€œNo, you cannot,” Mr. Peter said. “We have a review to get through. The test is tomorrow.”
    For once I liked Mr. Battery-Operated Peter.
    After the review, he gave us time to study for the test. I propped my book on my desk and opened the envelope addressed to Ratlady. There was Nutter’s ghost picture. I remember Nutter saying that it was the best thing he’d ever done, so I looked at it.
    The torn white shape against the black background really looked like a little ghost. The arms and eyes were raised up sadly, as if he were moaning, calling for another ghost maybe; and yet the sky all around him was empty and black. The ghost looked so little and lonely that it brought a quick rush of sadness into my throat.
    It seemed like a private thing—this picture. I hated the thought