Zigzag by Ellen Wittlinger Read Free Book Online Page B

down. “He called me last night.”
    â€œHe called you?”
    â€œCould you try not to act like you’re shocked out of your mind?”
    â€œI’m just surprised! What did he say?”
    â€œHe asked me to go to a movie with him tonight.”
    I belted her on the arm. “No way! I didn’t even know you knew him. You never even spoke to him in Spanish class.”
    She smiled. “Turns out he works at Mid-America Videos.”
    â€œOh, my God.” I laughed then and she laughed with me, a hard trick to pull off with Franny. “Yeah, you’ve really got a horrible job.”
    â€œWell, you know what my gram says. You make your own luck. Fortunately, this time it was good luck.”
    Franny had wanted a boyfriend for such a long time, and she could have had one, too, just not the ones she wanted. She wasn’t one of those girls who’d go out with a boy just because he was a boy. By the time she left, I was actually a little cheered up, even though I didn’t have the energy to do anything about it.
    Mom waylaid me as I wandered through the kitchen looking for something to put in my mouth and imagining Chris having dinner on the airplane.
    â€œLet’s call Dory before I have to leave for work. She’ll be happy to hear you’re going on the trip.”
    â€œHow about you call and tell her and then I’ll get on for a minute. I don’t feel like a big conversation right now.”
    As soon as Mom told her, Dory started talking so loudly I could hear her from across the room—she must have been screaming into the phone.
    â€œWell, it turns out Chris has gone away for the summer,” Mom explained, “so Robin is feeling a little . . . bereft.” She looked at me to see if that was going too far. It wasn’t.
    â€œShe has a request, though,” Mom said. “She’d like to stop and visit Jerry in Phoenix for a few days. She’s never seen his little boy.” She listened for a minute, nodded at me, and mouthed: no problem. They talked a few more minutes, then Mom handed the phone to me.
    â€œHi, Dory.”
    â€œSweetheart! I’m so happy! Thank you! Thank you!”
    â€œIt’s okay. I mean, thank you, too.”
    â€œOh, we’re going to have such a good time! I’m reading up on all the sights between here and Los Angeles. We’re taking the long route!”
    Oh, crap. “Great!”
    â€œStopping in Phoenix is a good idea. You can see your dad and the rest of us will do the city.”
    â€œIt’s not out of your way then?”
    â€œNothing is out of our way. This is adventure travel!”
    No kidding.
    â€œYour mom says you’re a perfect driver, and I know you’ll be a wonderful companion for Iris. And Marshall, too, of course.” Her voice seemed to be a little strained when she mentioned her kids. “Oh, here’s Iris! Iris, come and talk to your cousin! She’s going with us on the trip! Isn’t that great?”
    I could tell there was a struggle going on with the phone. Obviously Iris had no more interest in talking to me than I had in talking to her. But eventually Dory won.
    â€œHello.” Iris sounded furious.
    â€œHi, Iris!” I said, pretending great cheerfulness. “It’s great to talk to you!”
    She grunted.
    â€œSo, are you guys getting everything ready for the trip?”
    â€œMom is.” Two words. A record.
    â€œI bet she is. Well, I can’t wait, can you?” God, all I needed was a cardigan sweater and I’d be Mr. Rogers.
    Iris’s response was a deep sigh. I gave up and returned the same thing to her. The summer of my discontent was underway.

B y Saturday I was comatose, or at least as close to it as you could be while constantly stuffing food into your mouth. I’d woken up early, which was depressing to begin with, so I made myself pancakes with raspberry syrup. Mom had taken somebody’s