Why Did She Have to Die? by Lurlene McDaniel Read Free Book Online Page B

between them. Kenny cleared his throat. “I kind of like your hair short that way.”
    Elly touched her super-short haircut, knowing that it was the best her mom’s hair stylist could do with the butcher job she’d made of it. “Thanks. I was getting tired of long hair.”
    “Look, Elly,” Kenny licked his lips and stopped spinning the ball, “I’ve been wanting to tell you something for a long time. I acted like a real jerk that day in the cafeteria . . . about the dance and all.”
    Elly’s mouth went dry. She’d tried to erase forever the day they’d discussed the dance, when she’d wanted him to ask her more than anything in the world. Instead he’d asked her about Kathy. She wondered if he knew that the tops of his ears turned red when he was embarrassed.
    “It’s not important,” she said. “All the guys wanted to ask Kathy.”
    “It’s important to me that you know something.” Kenny rubbed the palms of his hands over his dangling shirttail. “I wouldn’t have asked Kathy to the dance. I don’t know why I said such a stupid thing to you.”
    Elly traced a pattern in a deserted anthill, making lazy loops with a small stick. “It’s okay. I mean, you couldn’t help wanting to take her.”
    “But that’s just it. I didn’t really want to ask
her
.”
    Elly snapped her head up at his comment. She looked up at him doubtfully.
    Kenny hastily added, “Look, I’m not saying what I want to say. I’m sorry for the way I acted and I was wondering . . . you know. . . if you weren’t going with anybody else—well—maybe you’d go with me to the dance this weekend.”
    He’d said the last part so fast that Elly almost didn’t catch his words. She stared at him. “I can’t dance, Kenny. I have a broken leg,” she said, feeling incredibly stupid about pointing out the obvious.
    “So what? I don’t have a broken leg and I can’t dance either.”
    Elly giggled. If she accepted, their relationship would change somehow. Two months before, she’d wanted that more than anything. Now it frightened her. She remembered the outfit she’d bought for the dance. She’d have to slit the slacks so her cast would fit. And then there was Joy. . .
    “Well? What do you say?”
    He reminded her of an anxious puppy. Something melted inside her and she nodded. “All right. Sure. That’ll be fine.”
    Kenny’s face broke into a wide grin. “Cool. We’ll have a good time. My mom will have to drive us because of your cast, but we’ll have a real good time.”
    For the first time in weeks, Elly smiled an open, honest-to-goodness smile. Kenny helped her to her feet and handed her the crutches. Together they walked back toward the gym.

    * * * *

    “Yeah. That’s great,” Joy said after school when Elly told her about her date to the dance. But she didn’t sound very enthusiastic to Elly.
    “I thought you’d be happier about it.”
    Joy kicked a clump of dirt across the sidewalk. “But now I don’t have anyone to go with. I’ll be standing around all night with no one to talk to.”
    “Well, it’s not like I’ll be dancing all night, you know. I’ll be doing an awful lot of standing around, too.”
    “Sure. But you’ll have someone special to stand around with, and I won’t.”
    They walked on in silence. Elly realized that another gulf had opened between her and her best friend—first Kathy, and now the date. Elly suddenly felt lonely and isolated. She’d have no one to help her get ready. Kathy would have been excited for her. She would have giggled with her, helped her fix her makeup. But Kathy was gone. There was no one else.

    * * * *

    At dinner, Mr. Rowan frowned at Elly’s news about the dance. “It doesn’t seem right,” he said. “You going out dancing . . .”
    “I won’t be dancing!” Elly almost shouted.
    “Mike. Elly,” Mrs. Rowan interrupted. “Stop it. Elly had planned to go to the dance ages ago. You bought her a new outfit, remember? Why shouldn’t she