"BSC050 - Dawn's Big Date - Martin, Ann M" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin Ann M)

Kristy started the meeting. She talked about organizing a pizza party next Monday afternoon. Everyone would meet at a pizza parlor with their baby-sitting charges. It was a good idea, but there were millions of little problems. Jessi would be sitting for a kid who was allergic to tomato sauce. Mary Anne wasn't sure she could keep all three Barrett kids under control in the pizzeria. Claud'was sitting for a-family with an infant who might fuss. Stacey would be sitting for the Hills that day. From what she'd heard, she didn't think the Hills would want Norman eating pizza.
Right off the bat, I could tell the plan wasn't going to work. Plus, I didn't much care, since I wasn't sitting that afternoon. I was more interested in perfecting my bubble-blowing technique. Crack! a small one popped.
Kristy had been talking. She shot me a Look. I wasn't in the mood for Kristy's big-boss attitude. I blew another bubble. This one grew really big. Crack! It popped even more loudly than the one before.
"Do you mind?" Kristy snapped.
"Cool down," I replied. "It's just a bubble. It's not as though I set off a firecracker or something."
"Can I ask you a question?" said Kristy angrily. "What is it with you the last few days? You're acting totally strange."
"I am not," I protested.
"Yes, you are," Claudia jumped in. "You seem like someone else."
"You do," agreed Stacey.
This was just great! My friends were ganging up on me. "What law says I always have to be the same?" I asked them. "When Mary Anne changed her hair and clothes, nobody jumped all over her."
Everyone looked at Mary Anne.
"It's not the same," said Kristy.
"Why not?" I challenged.
"Because Mary Anne didn't start acting differently," Claudia remarked.
"You guys are crazy," I insisted. "I'm not acting differently. You just think so because I look a little different. Excuse me for blowing bubbles, all right? I won't blow another one as long as I live."
"Are you doing this because of Lewis?" Stacey asked.
"In a way yes, and in a way no," I said truthfully.
"That really answers the question," Kristy scoffed.
Stacey let Kristy's remark pass. "Because if you are, maybe you shouldn't. Just be yourself."
"Look," I said, sitting forward. "If s easy for you to talk. Guys like you. They don't like me
when I'm myself. I have to change. That's how I feel. So please don't bug me about it anymore."
"I know what Dawn means," Mary Anne said loyally. "Everyone should be allowed to change. I mean, we're only thirteen. None of us will stay exactly the way we are for the rest of our lives."
"I suppose," Stacey grumbled.
"I liked you better the way you were," Claud insisted, looking at me critically.
"Let's get back to the meeting," said Kristy irritably. "So, okay, my great pizza party idea looks like it's a washout ..."
Just then the phone rang. It was Dr. Jo-hanssen. Stacey took the job of sitting for eight-year-old Charlotte. Everyone began talking about what a great kid Charlotte is, but I really wasn't listening. I was mad at all of them except Mary Anne. I was only annoyed and confused by Mary Anne. (I wasn't angry with Jessi or Mal, either, since they hadn't said anything.) I wanted to get out of there and back to my room.
Finally the meeting ended. "Are you angry?" Mary Anne asked, as we walked across our lawn.
"No," I lied.
"You seem angry," she pressed.
"Well, maybe a little," I admitted, opening
the front door. "Why can't they leave me alone?"
"Because they care about you."
"That's not why/' I argued, as I pulled off my jacket. "They just want me to stay the same. At least you understand."
"I think I do," Mary Anne replied. "Don't be mad at them. They'll get used to the new you."
Mary Anne disappeared into the kitchen, and I ran upstairs. I wanted to send Lewis one last piece of mail before he arrived.
It was a postcard I'd bought recently. It showed the back of a big chair. All you saw were a woman's curvy legs hanging over the side. She wore red high heels.
"Dear Lewis," I wrote. "Dying to see you Friday night. Mary Anne said you have an extremely hunky voice. Can't wait to' hear it whisper in my ear. Until then, Dawn."
Did I dare send it? The old Dawn wouldn't even have written it. The new Dawn stamped it and ran downstairs, out to the mailbox.
Chapter 8.
There's one thing about New York City I can't get used to. It's how bright it is at night. The bridges, the buildings, the highways Ч they're so lit up you can hardly see the stars.
We weren't actually in the city. But we were right outside it. Mary Anne, Logan, and I sat in the backseat of the Brunos' big car as Mr. Bruno drove toward La Guardia Airport. Lewis had tried to get a flight into our local airport but those flights were booked. It's easier to get a flight into La Guardia because more planes land there.
Logan and Mary Anne held hands during the entire trip. It made me feel a little weird to be sitting back there with them.
"I can't wait to see Lewis," said Logan.
"Thank goodness he's finally here," Mary Anne added. "The waiting was killing me."
Killing her! What about me? I felt as if I'd
been waiting forever. The last week had been the longest one in my life!
"Be careful," said Mrs. Bruno to her husband. "Take it slow. We have lots of time." It was eight o'clock. Lewis was coming in at 8:38, and we'd all be there to meet him.
"Please leave the driving to me," said Mr. Bruno in a low voice. I didn't blame him for being aggravated. Mrs. Bruno was a terrible backseat driver. I don't think she was used to being in city traffic.
Talk about bright. The airport was a blaze of lights. And people were everywhere. Airports always amaze me. So many people (not to mention so many jets) are going in so many different directions at once. It looks like mass confusion. Yet, for the most part, everyone gets where they're going.
"This is so exciting," said Mary Anne, as we followed Mr. and Mrs. Bruno down a long (bright) hall to Gate 12. That was the gate Lewis would come through when he got off the plane. "Isn't it exciting, Dawn?"