Bobbi said, not realizing that she was almost shouting. She stood over her sister, her hands knotted tensely in front of her, feeling hot and trembly, the pain still pulsing behind her eyes.
âMaybe we should tell Mom and Dad,â Corky said, glancing at the bedside clock. âI mean, just stop and think for a minute, Bobbi. First you told me you saw all the lockers at school open and close when you walked down the hall. Then you told me you were paralyzed at practice this afternoon. You couldnât move. You couldnât even speak. And thatâs why you let Kimmy fall.â
âBut, Corkyââ
âLet me finish,â Corky said sharply, holding up a hand as if to fend Bobbi off. âThen there was that weird story about Chip, about how he froze, too, and couldnât move. And now you come home from Jenniferâs andââ
âBut itâs true! â Bobbi cried. âItâs all true. I mean, I think itâs true. I thinkâIâDonât you believe me, Corky?â
Corky was holding her hands over her ears. âStop shouting. Youâre screaming right in my face.â
âSorry. Iââ
âLetâs go tell everything to Mom and Dad,â Corky urged. âI really think you have to go talk to a doctor or something. I think you need help, Bobbi. I really do.â
âYou donât believe me,â Bobbi accused heatedly, bitterly, her head throbbing. âYou donât believe me.â
Without thinking about it, she picked up Corkyâs pillow and heaved it at her angrily.
âHeyââ Corky cried, grabbing the pillow and tossing it back in its place.
âJust donât talk to me!â Bobbi snapped. âTraitor!â
âOh, fine!â Corky screamed. âThatâs just fine with me! Youâre crazy, Bobbi! Crazy!â
Bobbi stormed over to the closet. âShut up! Just shut up! Donât talk to me! Ever again!â She began to tear off her clothes, tossing them on the closet floor, muttering to herself.
Corky punched her pillow, fluffed it, and slid back under the covers, turning her back on her sister.
Sheâs gone totally crazy, she told herself. Sheâs just so weird!
Imagineâcalling me a traitor because I think she should talk to someone and get help.
Me, a traitor.
And now sheâs gotten me so upset, Iâll probably be up all night.
I hate her. I really hate her, Corky thought darkly, struggling to get comfortable. She just makes me so mad.
⦠⦠â¦
Corky might have been more sympathetic. She might have been more understanding. More caring. More believing.
But Corky had no way of knowing that this was the last night she would ever spend with her sister.
PART THREE
The Evil
Chapter 18
In Hot Water
âO kay, everyoneâsome aerobics to warm up!â
Bobbi trotted enthusiastically onto the gym floor, clapping her hands, trying to get the girls up for their after-school practice.
But they lingered against the wall, clustered in pairs, talking quietly.
âCome on, everyoneâline up! Letâs warm up!â
Bobbiâs eyes wandered from girl to girl. Whereâs Corky? she wondered, and then remembered that Corky had to stay late in Mr. Grantâs science lab. She saw Jennifer wheel herself in, concentrating as she maneuvered her wheelchair through the double doors. Jennifer saw Bobbi and smiled, giving her a little wave.
âLine up!â Bobbi insisted.
âWhereâs Miss Green?â Kimmy asked, stepping forward slowly, holding her wrist with the white cast on it awkwardly.
âI donât know,â Bobbi told her. âAre you going to warm up with us? Or does your wristââ
âMy wrist is no concern of yours,â Kimmy snapped. âIâm not quitting the squad because of it, if thatâs what you mean.â Her eyes burned angrily into Bobbiâs.
âLetâs warm up! Come on,
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