moment.â
You have no idea, I thought. Selective mute! I could show Dr. Douglass in two seconds flat just how mute I was, but I didnât think toads would be very welcome in her office.
âIf the condition persists, Iâll give you a referral to a therapist,â Dr. Douglass continued, âbut my guess is sheâll be right as rain in a few days.â
âAnd the talent show?â asked my father.
I held my breath. I really didnât want to let the Hawkwinds down.
âI donât see any reason she canât participate. Olivia, either, although I would stress the importance of not broadcasting her current situation.â
âSo weâll be sending two mutes onstage tonight?â said Iz. âIâm not so sure about that.â
âHow about I write a note excusing them both from speaking?â Dr. Douglass offered. âGiven the unusual circumstances, I donât mind stretching the truth a bit.â I heard her scribbling. âThere you go â Olivia and Cat are now officially afflicted with a rare form of laryngitis.â
I heard the three of them getting up from their chairs and raced back across the room. I hopped up onto the examination table and pasted an innocent look on my face just as Dr. Douglass entered the room.
She gave me a big smile. âSo, young lady, I understand youâre scheduled to play a little Bach tonight?â
I nodded.
âI wish I could be there to hear it. Whatâs the piece youâre playing?â
I took my notebook and pen from my rain jacket pocket. The Fugue in G Minor, I wrote.
Dr. Douglassâs eyebrows shot up. âAmbitious for a middle school quartet.â
Iz put her arm around my shoulders. âMy stepdaughter plays with the Houston Youth Symphony,â she said proudly, giving me a squeeze.
I almost told them everything right then and there. Almost.
The ride home was quiet. Dad and Iz both seemed lost in thought,and I was determined not to give in to the temptation to spill the beans. Toads. Whatever. It didnât matter how nice my stepmother wasâmy stepsister wasnât, and that was the problem.
We stopped to pick up a pizza for dinner. Nobody was in the mood to cook. Back at the house we found Geoffrey all by himself in the living room, happily building a LEGO castle. At first I thought he was humming something by Mozartâthe Twelve Variationsâthen realized it was the tune to âTwinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.â
âWhereâs your sister?â Iz asked, glancing around. Olivia was supposed to be babysitting. Sheâd obviously been there, because the rug was strewn with flowers. Plus, a line of diamonds glittered at us from atop my little brotherâs fortress walls.
Geoffrey pulled his finger out of his mouth and pointed upstairs. Iz marched over to the foot of the stairwell. Dad and I were right behind her. A laugh rang out, and then we heard Olivia squeal, âNo way, Piper! You really said that to him?â
My stepsister was on the phone.
Iz drew herself up into the full mad-mom pose, hands on hips and mouth in a thin, flat line. My mother uses the exact same one when sheâs ticked off at me. They must teach it at mom school.
âOlivia Jean Haggerty!â she hollered.
âUm, Iâll get dinner on the table,â said my father, backing away with the pizza boxes and disappearing into the kitchen. It was no fun being around when Iz got mad.
âYes, Mom?â Olivia called back, her voice dripping sweetness and light and who knew what else.
âCome down here this minute, young lady!â
My stepsister appeared at the top of the stairs.
Busted, I thought, suppressing a grin. It might be stupid and childish, but I still get a kick out of it when she gets in trouble.
Iz held out her hand. Olivia slumped down the stairs and handed over her cell phone.
âWhere did you get this?â
âYour dresser drawer,â
James Kakalios
Tara Fox Hall
K. Sterling
Jonathan Maberry
Mary Balogh
Elizabeth Moynihan
Jane Hunt
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley
Jacquie Rogers
Shiloh Walker