tortures animals.”
Bruce knew that he ought to say something, but he was so choked up with fury that he couldn’t get the words out. Besides, Andi was doing just fine. She was on a roll.
“And I’m never going to marry you,” Andi added as an afterthought. “I wouldn’t do that if you were the only boy writer in the world!”
Now Jerry and Bruce were both too stunned to respond.
“Give me back that manuscript and I’ll erase all my notes,” Andi continued. “You can do your own work or give it to Connor’s friend Sarah.”
“No way,” Jerry said. “I’m keeping it just the way it is. The editor’s going to be impressed by how fast I got the work done. As for marrying you — are you crazy? Where did that idea come from? Nobody will ever marry a fat nerd like you.”
Bruce’s voice clicked on and was working again.
“My sister is
not
a fat nerd!” he shouted in fury.
He turned to look at Andi and realized it was true. She used to be overly plump, but that wasn’t the case now. He had gotten so used to thinking ofher as pudgy that he hadn’t noticed how much she had changed in the past year. She wasn’t as slender as Kristy, but she looked okay. In fact, she looked good.
It gave him a jolt to realize his sister was growing up.
“Get your foot out of the door or I’ll slam it on you,” Jerry said.
This was a major threat, because Jerry had muscles. Since Bruce was showing no signs of moving his foot, Andi bent down and yanked it to safety.
She did that just before the door to the Gordons’ house crashed shut.
Bruce was still holding the unsigned release form in his hand.
“I’m sorry, sis, but I guess that’s it,” he said helplessly. “We’ve used every weapon in our arsenal.”
“Not quite,” Andi said. “We’ve still got Kristy.”
“How does Kristy fit into this?” Bruce asked her.
“She and Jerry are friends,” Andi said. “Maybe she could talk him into changing his mind.”
Bruce’s first impulse was to say, “I don’t want Kristy involved in this.” Then he thought about how loyal Andi had been to him a few minutes ago.She hadn’t thought twice about giving up her dream to protect Red.
“Okay, I’ll ask Kristy,” he said. “But I don’t think she’ll do it. She’s not going to want to get caught between us and Jerry.”
However, when he phoned Kristy, her reaction surprised him.
“This has to be a misunderstanding,” she said. “Jerry would never do anything that mean to anybody. I’ll go over to his house right now and talk to him. Leave it to me. I’ll get this mistake straightened out.”
A half hour later, the doorbell rang. Bruce opened the door to find Kristy standing on the porch.
“He won’t do it,” she said. “He’s furious at Andi. He says she doesn’t deserve to have her story on television.”
“Did he tell you why he feels that way?” Bruce asked her.
“He said Andi’s so jealous of his winning that writing contest that she tried to destroy his manuscript,” Kristy said. “She begged him to let her read it, because she wanted to see what a prizewinning story was like so she could become a better writer. He let her borrow it, because he wanted to helpher. He said she took the manuscript home and kept it for ages, and when she finally returned it, she’d scribbled all over it. It’s now such a mess he’s afraid the publisher won’t want it. He showed me the manuscript, and it does have writing in the margins.”
“Jerry asked Andi to make those corrections,” Bruce said. “He’s mad at her and me both, but not about that. It’s because he wants Red Rover, and we won’t let him have him. He wants to own a dog that’s a Hollywood star.”
Kristy was silent for a moment as she took that in.
Then she exclaimed, “What a jerk!”
“You mean you believe me instead of Jerry?” Bruce asked incredulously. “Isn’t Jerry your boyfriend?”
“Are you kidding?” Kristy exclaimed. “He’s just a boy from
Bruce knew that he ought to say something, but he was so choked up with fury that he couldn’t get the words out. Besides, Andi was doing just fine. She was on a roll.
“And I’m never going to marry you,” Andi added as an afterthought. “I wouldn’t do that if you were the only boy writer in the world!”
Now Jerry and Bruce were both too stunned to respond.
“Give me back that manuscript and I’ll erase all my notes,” Andi continued. “You can do your own work or give it to Connor’s friend Sarah.”
“No way,” Jerry said. “I’m keeping it just the way it is. The editor’s going to be impressed by how fast I got the work done. As for marrying you — are you crazy? Where did that idea come from? Nobody will ever marry a fat nerd like you.”
Bruce’s voice clicked on and was working again.
“My sister is
not
a fat nerd!” he shouted in fury.
He turned to look at Andi and realized it was true. She used to be overly plump, but that wasn’t the case now. He had gotten so used to thinking ofher as pudgy that he hadn’t noticed how much she had changed in the past year. She wasn’t as slender as Kristy, but she looked okay. In fact, she looked good.
It gave him a jolt to realize his sister was growing up.
“Get your foot out of the door or I’ll slam it on you,” Jerry said.
This was a major threat, because Jerry had muscles. Since Bruce was showing no signs of moving his foot, Andi bent down and yanked it to safety.
She did that just before the door to the Gordons’ house crashed shut.
Bruce was still holding the unsigned release form in his hand.
“I’m sorry, sis, but I guess that’s it,” he said helplessly. “We’ve used every weapon in our arsenal.”
“Not quite,” Andi said. “We’ve still got Kristy.”
“How does Kristy fit into this?” Bruce asked her.
“She and Jerry are friends,” Andi said. “Maybe she could talk him into changing his mind.”
Bruce’s first impulse was to say, “I don’t want Kristy involved in this.” Then he thought about how loyal Andi had been to him a few minutes ago.She hadn’t thought twice about giving up her dream to protect Red.
“Okay, I’ll ask Kristy,” he said. “But I don’t think she’ll do it. She’s not going to want to get caught between us and Jerry.”
However, when he phoned Kristy, her reaction surprised him.
“This has to be a misunderstanding,” she said. “Jerry would never do anything that mean to anybody. I’ll go over to his house right now and talk to him. Leave it to me. I’ll get this mistake straightened out.”
A half hour later, the doorbell rang. Bruce opened the door to find Kristy standing on the porch.
“He won’t do it,” she said. “He’s furious at Andi. He says she doesn’t deserve to have her story on television.”
“Did he tell you why he feels that way?” Bruce asked her.
“He said Andi’s so jealous of his winning that writing contest that she tried to destroy his manuscript,” Kristy said. “She begged him to let her read it, because she wanted to see what a prizewinning story was like so she could become a better writer. He let her borrow it, because he wanted to helpher. He said she took the manuscript home and kept it for ages, and when she finally returned it, she’d scribbled all over it. It’s now such a mess he’s afraid the publisher won’t want it. He showed me the manuscript, and it does have writing in the margins.”
“Jerry asked Andi to make those corrections,” Bruce said. “He’s mad at her and me both, but not about that. It’s because he wants Red Rover, and we won’t let him have him. He wants to own a dog that’s a Hollywood star.”
Kristy was silent for a moment as she took that in.
Then she exclaimed, “What a jerk!”
“You mean you believe me instead of Jerry?” Bruce asked incredulously. “Isn’t Jerry your boyfriend?”
“Are you kidding?” Kristy exclaimed. “He’s just a boy from
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