What a Doll! by P.J. Night Read Free Book Online

appreciatively as the bell rang. And besides Sophie
and Cadence, several boys were scrambling to help Lizzy inside to start the school
day. It was as if she had her own private staff of butlers.
    Emmy was glad her first few classes weren’t with Lizzy. She already
needed a break from The Lizzy Show after the scene in the
playground. Funny how no one even noticed my haircut, she
thought, and yet they can’t take their eyes off Lizzy’s
cast. She dreaded lunch and the scene she was sure she would see in the
cafeteria—kids lining up to sign Lizzy’s cast. She wasn’t too far off base, either.
There wasn’t exactly a line, but there was a small crowd around Lizzy’s table during
the entire lunch period. Kids were taking turns trying to walk with her crutches.
Emmy tried to focus on her grilled cheese and tomato soup. “Comfort food,” her mom
would have called it. But it wasn’t much comfort at all.
    As usual, she and Lizzy had English together after lunch. They’d been
reading haiku, and Ms. Calhoun explained that now it was time to try writing their
own. A haiku has three lines. The first has five syllables, the second has seven
syllables, and the third has five syllables. It was fun to try to fit the syllables
into the correct pattern. At the end of class, anyone who wanted to could read his
or her haiku to the group. Emmy struggled to transport herself to a different time
and place to write about, and decided on the Fourth of July, which, coincidentally,
was the last time she and Lizzy had really had fun together. They’d walked with
their families to the river and watched fireworks go off over the Manhattan
skyline.
    FIREWORKS
    Pop, bam , sizzle, boom
    Colors lighting up the dark
    Independence Day
    Emmy was pretty pleased with her haiku, but when Ms. Calhoun invited
students to read their work to the group, she felt shy and didn’t raise her hand.
Lizzy did, though, and when called on, slowly struggled to get to her feet and reach
her crutches so she could stand in front of the class.
    â€œIt’s okay, Lizzy,” Ms. Calhoun said. “You can read from your desk.”
Lizzy seemed disappointed about this, but took a dramatic breath before she began
reading:
    PAIN
    Sharp, stabbing zinger!
    Pain rushes through me and I
    Can’t even breathe right
    â€œWow, very nice, Lizzy,” Ms. Calhoun said. “I assume this was about
your recent experience of breaking your leg?” Everyone laughed. Except Emmy. Because
the truth was, Lizzy’s haiku described Emmy’s hurt feelings just perfectly.
    The day wore on and each time Emmy saw Lizzy, she was surrounded by a
team of helpers. And as promised, her cast was slowly becoming a handwritten
rainbow. Emmy wondered if Lizzy would ask her to sign it. But by the end of the day
Lizzy hadn’t even glanced in Emmy’s direction. It was as if Emmy didn’t exist.
    Once again Emmy felt her sadness harden into anger as she walked home
alone. She even felt a little glad that Lizzy had broken her leg. No more strawberry
picking, and it would definitely put a damper on any costume she had planned with
Cadence and Sophie. What kind of costume could incorporate a big clunky cast? Never mind, Emmy thought bitterly, Lizzy
will think of some fabulous way to make it work. And everyone will feel so sorry
for poor Lizzy that she’ll win first prize.
    Then suddenly Emmy emerged from these thoughts and realized she had
never found out how Lizzy had broken her leg.

CHAPTER 7
    Later that afternoon Emmy sat in the orthodontist’s waiting room. Dr. Costa’s office was just a block away from her house, so her parents had started letting her go to routine appointments like this one by herself. Today she was just going to have her clear braces tightened, which was a quick and painless procedure. The discomfort would come in the next few days, when her whole mouth would be sore from the tightening.
    If only