stood and headed toward the office door. “I have to do what’s best for the paper.”
I joined her next to the still-closed door and made my final comment. “If that’s true, you’d agreed with Jack that I could write an article. It seems like journalistic integrity would apply there, too.”
Hazelle looked like I’d slapped her. She flung open the door and walked out. I followed close behind her, bumping into Natalie as I did.
Natalie took one look at both of our flushed faces and then turned toward me. “I told you this would go badly. Too bad you never quite got over Rhys preferring me to you. If you had, you’d have voted for me and none of this would have happened.”
“What do you mean?” Hazelle burst in.
“You’re apparently not bright enough to realize that Savvy held the swing vote. I tallied up all those I could count on to support me before the election—it came to exactly six. And then I counted up your supporters. Six. Which left Savvy.”
I stood between them again, knowing what Natalie said was true. I’d done the sum myself.
After dropping her little bomb, Natalie turned her back to us, took her heavy book bag—presumably packed with the last of the stuff she’d had at her Wexburg Academy Times desk—and flounced out.
Chapter 44
On Tuesday, Penny came home from school with me. We hung out in my room with crisps and dip and Coke. She pulled out a big old navy blue case. It definitely didn’t look like the usual posh Penny fare.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“My art portfolio,” she said. “Battered and tatty as it may be.” She unzipped it and took out a booklet. Then she handed it to me.
“The dude decoder!” I flipped through it. She’d taken our initial ramblings and sketches and made them into a real booklet. “So cool.”
“I thought so too.” She grinned. “I showed them to the girl I’d mentioned to you—remember, the one I wanted to share an art project with? She thought it was awesome too—and she even said we could work together on our final project! Thanks for the idea.”
We flipped through the pages and laughed over some of the drawings. I stopped at the page with the sketch of a guy about to kiss someone.
“Not ready to turn the page?” she teased.
I threw a pillow at her. “I’m studying the pose. Just so I’ll know what I’m looking for.”
A couple of hours later she headed home, and as I closed the door behind her, I said to my mom, “I feel kind of bad having her over here. I mean, her house is so big. And she has a housekeeper.”
“We may not have a housekeeper, but we do have Aunt Maude,” Mom replied, a wicked gleam in her eye. “She’s coming on Thursday. For the night. Dad and I are going to spend the night in London for a work conference.”
No. No. No. I would have enough trouble as it was this weekend, trying to decide if I should contact Becky again before writing the article, figuring out how to make the article exciting enough to generate buzz. I didn’t need Aunt Maude on top of it all.
Chapter 45
Thursday after school I arrived to a house that smelled faintly like skunk.
“Hullo, dear,” Aunt Maude said as I walked into the kitchen.
“Hello, Aunt Maude, how are you?” I asked politely, dreading her response. My dad was grinning behind his newspaper. I knew it, even though I couldn’t see his face. I could see the paper quiver.
“I’m simply awful,” Maude said. “My varicose veins are popping faster than a drug addict’s. Do you want to see?”
She reached down and was about ready to pull up a polyester pant leg when I hurriedly rushed in with “No, no thank you. Weak stomach.”
“Well, all right, then,” she said. “And then there’s the digestive system. My goodness. You’ve never heard so many noises. I never have, anyway. My friend Agnes told me that I’m right to be concerned and that she’s going to arrange a visit with a specialist on Harley Street straightaway. So we’ll be
I joined her next to the still-closed door and made my final comment. “If that’s true, you’d agreed with Jack that I could write an article. It seems like journalistic integrity would apply there, too.”
Hazelle looked like I’d slapped her. She flung open the door and walked out. I followed close behind her, bumping into Natalie as I did.
Natalie took one look at both of our flushed faces and then turned toward me. “I told you this would go badly. Too bad you never quite got over Rhys preferring me to you. If you had, you’d have voted for me and none of this would have happened.”
“What do you mean?” Hazelle burst in.
“You’re apparently not bright enough to realize that Savvy held the swing vote. I tallied up all those I could count on to support me before the election—it came to exactly six. And then I counted up your supporters. Six. Which left Savvy.”
I stood between them again, knowing what Natalie said was true. I’d done the sum myself.
After dropping her little bomb, Natalie turned her back to us, took her heavy book bag—presumably packed with the last of the stuff she’d had at her Wexburg Academy Times desk—and flounced out.
Chapter 44
On Tuesday, Penny came home from school with me. We hung out in my room with crisps and dip and Coke. She pulled out a big old navy blue case. It definitely didn’t look like the usual posh Penny fare.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“My art portfolio,” she said. “Battered and tatty as it may be.” She unzipped it and took out a booklet. Then she handed it to me.
“The dude decoder!” I flipped through it. She’d taken our initial ramblings and sketches and made them into a real booklet. “So cool.”
“I thought so too.” She grinned. “I showed them to the girl I’d mentioned to you—remember, the one I wanted to share an art project with? She thought it was awesome too—and she even said we could work together on our final project! Thanks for the idea.”
We flipped through the pages and laughed over some of the drawings. I stopped at the page with the sketch of a guy about to kiss someone.
“Not ready to turn the page?” she teased.
I threw a pillow at her. “I’m studying the pose. Just so I’ll know what I’m looking for.”
A couple of hours later she headed home, and as I closed the door behind her, I said to my mom, “I feel kind of bad having her over here. I mean, her house is so big. And she has a housekeeper.”
“We may not have a housekeeper, but we do have Aunt Maude,” Mom replied, a wicked gleam in her eye. “She’s coming on Thursday. For the night. Dad and I are going to spend the night in London for a work conference.”
No. No. No. I would have enough trouble as it was this weekend, trying to decide if I should contact Becky again before writing the article, figuring out how to make the article exciting enough to generate buzz. I didn’t need Aunt Maude on top of it all.
Chapter 45
Thursday after school I arrived to a house that smelled faintly like skunk.
“Hullo, dear,” Aunt Maude said as I walked into the kitchen.
“Hello, Aunt Maude, how are you?” I asked politely, dreading her response. My dad was grinning behind his newspaper. I knew it, even though I couldn’t see his face. I could see the paper quiver.
“I’m simply awful,” Maude said. “My varicose veins are popping faster than a drug addict’s. Do you want to see?”
She reached down and was about ready to pull up a polyester pant leg when I hurriedly rushed in with “No, no thank you. Weak stomach.”
“Well, all right, then,” she said. “And then there’s the digestive system. My goodness. You’ve never heard so many noises. I never have, anyway. My friend Agnes told me that I’m right to be concerned and that she’s going to arrange a visit with a specialist on Harley Street straightaway. So we’ll be
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