Twice As Nice by Lin Oliver Read Free Book Online

to your head.”
    â€œOh cool,” I said. “Like an ear tuck. You should get that right away.”
    â€œCharlie,” Ms. Carew said gently. “Please let Sara express herself without interrupting.”
    I wanted to tell her that I was just trying to be helpful.
    â€œIt’s really expensive,” Sara said. “At least five thousand dollars. And we don’t have the money because my little brother is autistic and has to have a special tutor, which costs a lot, too. So I’m stuck looking like this, until I can earn enough to have the operation.”
    She let go of her hair and let it fall back down around her face. It was like a signal for everyone in the room to gather around her in a group hug. Everyone but me. I didn’t want to be snuggling up with a bunch of people I barely knew.
    â€œThank you for sharing that with us, Sara,” Ms. Carew said, joining in the hug. “We’re all here for you. I think everyone understands the relief of getting your secrets out in the open.”
    Maybe everyone else in that room understood that, but I didn’t. Why was she better off now that everyone knew she had protruding ears? It didn’t help them look any better. It didn’t help her earn the money to get them fixed. It didn’t take away all the teasing she’d had to bear her whole life. As far as I was concerned, it just spread the misery around.
    After Sara’s story, the meeting kind of went downhill. A few other kids shared some minor secrets, but nothing that could compare with Sara’s. Ms. Carew recited a poem by a guy named Keats that said that beauty is truth and truth is beauty. I didn’t get it. To end the meeting, Ms. Carew put on some crazy flute music, and invited everyone to free dance, letting their bodies express their inner secrets. I was the only one who didn’t accept the invitation.
    â€œYou’re not dancing,” Ms. Carew said when she saw me perch on one of the desks pushed against the wall.
    â€œI need steps when I dance,” I said. “And a beat doesn’t hurt, either.”
    â€œI see. Well, maybe next time you’ll feel like dancing. I hope you come back, Charlie.”
    â€œThanks,” I told her. “I probably will.”
    But a little voice inside me, the one that doesn’t speak out loud, was saying just the opposite.

“I can’t do it,” I told Sammie on the walk home. “I can’t be a Truth Teller. It’s just not me.”
    â€œSure you can,” she protested. “Everyone loved you.”
    â€œFirst of all, they didn’t love me. Every time I opened my mouth, I got weird looks from people. I don’t blame them. In that room, with that group, I am weird. I don’t fit in.”
    â€œBut didn’t you feel how powerful the group was? Like when Sara described her awful ear problem. It was just so honest and raw.”
    â€œI feel sorry for her, I really do. She’s a nice girl and I’m glad she’s one of your best friends. But that doesn’t mean she has to be my best friend.”
    â€œOkay, we can talk about this more over our pizza at dinner tonight,” Sammie said. “Dad said he’d take us to Barone’s, and he’s even agreed to pay for it. Apparently, yesterday’s match moved us up in the rankings so he’s in a generous mood.”
    Sammie and I paused at the red light on the corner of Pacific Coast Highway. Traffic was backed up with people headed to the beach to watch the sunset. There’s this public parking lot right next to the club and at four o’clock, they open the gates and let everyone in for free. People either sit in their cars and watch the sun go down, or get out and walk along the beach, waiting for that exact moment when the sun flattens out and disappears into the Pacific. Before dinner, Sammie and I usually go down to the beach with GoGo and watch the sunset. GoGo says any