"Replica08 - Mystery Mother - Kaye, Marilyn" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kaye Marilyn)

"Amy!"

She turned to see her mother standing in her doorway, frowning.

"Are you online with Eric again?" Nancy Candler asked.

There was no point in denying it. Amy didn't bother confirming it either. Her mother had a clear, unobstructed view of the computer screen.

Nancy followed her question up with another one that didn't require an answer. "What did I tell you yesterday?"

Amy turned back to the screen and quickly typed.



ACANDLER: SORRY, GOTTA GO, PI, TTYL.



Then she signed off the server.

Ttyl was standard Internet shorthand for "talk to you later." Pi was their own special code. It stood for "parent interference." Eric would understand why she had to cut him off so quickly.

Nancy pushed a lock of hair away from her tired eyes. "Amy, why is it necessary for you to have an online discussion with Eric every day? He lives next door!"

Amy just shrugged. She couldn't provide an answer that Nancy would understand. How could she possibly explain that practically all Parkside Middle School students spent their evenings online with friends they'd just spent the whole day with at school?

Personally, she thought her mother was coming down on her a little too hard. "At least I'm not talking on the phone," she said.

"Amy, it's the same thing! You're still tying up the phone line." Now Nancy's voice was getting testy. "Honestly, Amy, for someone who has an extraordinary intelligence, you can be pretty Ч " She caught herself in time, but Amy provided several choices for the missing word.

"Dumb? Dense? Stupid?"

Nancy sighed. "I'm sorry, honey. I've got a lot on my mind, and I'm expecting an important call."

This seemed like a perfect opening for a request Amy had been wanting to make. "You know, the Morgans got Tasha and Eric a separate phone line," she began, then stopped. It was clear from her mother's expression that Nancy knew where this was leading and was not impressed with the suggestion.

"You do not need a separate phone line," Nancy declared. "You just need to spend less time monopolizing the line we have." At that moment the phone rang. Nancy snatched up the extension on Amy's night table.

"Hello?" Her lips tightened. "Just a minute, Tasha." She held the phone out toward Amy. "Could you tell her you'll call her back?"

Amy took the phone. "Hi, Tasha, are you home?"

"No, I'm still at the mall with my mother. Remember those shoes we saw last weekend?"

"The platforms with the strap?"

"Yeah. Mom says I can have them, but I can't decide between the black ones and the red ones. Which do you think I should get?"

"Well, black would go with everything," Amy said, thinking fast. "But the red ones would be so amazing with your long jeans skirt."