NIGHT OF THE LIVING DUMMY II

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 20pt;">NIGHT OF THE<br />LIVING DUMMY II<o:p></o:p></span></b></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1.5pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Goosebumps - 31<o:p></o:p></span></b></div> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1.5pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">R.L. Stine<o:p></o:p></span></b></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <o:p> </o:p><img height="640" src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lots522VWQ1r07g5go1_400.jpg" width="442" /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">1<o:p></o:p></span></b></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">My name is Amy Kramer, and every Thursday night I feel a little dumb. That’s because Thursday is “Family Sharing Night” at my house.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara and Jed think it’s dumb, too. But Mom and Dad won’t listen to our complaints. “It’s the most important night of the week,” Dad says.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“It’s a family tradition,” Mom adds. “It’s something you kids will always remember.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Right, Mom. It’s something I’ll always remember as really painful and embarrassing.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">You’ve probably guessed that on Family Sharing Night, every member of the Kramer family—except for George, our cat—has to share something with the rest of the family.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It isn’t so bad for my sister, Sara. Sara is fourteen—two years older than me—and she’s a genius painter. Really. One of her paintings was chosen for a show at the art museum downtown. Sara may go to a special arts high school next year.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So Sara always shares some sketches she’s working on. Or a new painting.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">And Family Sharing Night isn’t so bad for Jed, either. My ten-year-old brother is such a total goof. He doesn’t care what he shares. One Thursday night, he burped really loud and explained that he was sharing his dinner.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed laughed like a lunatic.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">But Mom and Dad didn’t think it was funny. They gave Jed a stern lecture about taking Family Sharing Night more seriously.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The next Thursday night, my obnoxious brother shared a note that David Miller, a kid at my school, had written to me. A very personal note! Jed found the note in my room and decided to share it with everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Nice?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I wanted to die. I really did.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed just thinks he’s so cute and adorable, he can get away with anything. He thinks he’s really special.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I think it’s because he’s the only redhead in the family. Sara and I both have straight black hair, dark green eyes, and very tan skin. With his pale skin, freckled face, and curly red hair, Jed looks like he comes from another family!<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">And sometimes Sara and I both wish he did.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Anyway, I’m the one with the most problems on Family Sharing Night. Because I’m not really talented the way Sara is. And I’m not a total goof like Jed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So I never really know what to share.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I mean, I have a seashell collection, which I keep in a jar on my dresser. But it’s really kind of boring to hold up shells and talk about them. And we haven’t been to the ocean for nearly two years. So my shells are kind of old, and everyone has already seen them.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I also have a really good collection of CDs. But no one else in my family is into Bob Marley and reggae music. If I start to share some music with them, they all hold their ears and complain till I shut it off.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So I usually make up some kind of a story—an adventure story about a girl who survives danger after danger. Or a wild fairy tale about princesses who turn into tigers.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">After my last story, Dad had a big smile on his face. “Amy is going to be a famous writer,” he announced. “She’s so good at making up stories.” Dad gazed around the room, still smiling. “We have such a talented family!” he exclaimed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I knew he was just saying that to be a good parent. To “encourage” me. Sara is the real talent in our family. Everyone knows that.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Tonight, Jed was the first to share. Mom and Dad sat on the living room couch. Dad had taken out a tissue and was squinting as he cleaned his glasses. Dad can’t stand to have the tiniest speck of dust on his glasses. He cleans them about twenty times a day.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I settled in the big brown armchair against the wall. Sara sat cross-legged on the carpet beside my chair.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“What are you going to share tonight?” Mom asked Jed. “And I hope it isn’t another horrible burp.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“That was so gross!” Sara moaned.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Your face is gross!” Jed shot back. He stuck out his tongue at Sara.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Jed, please—give us a break tonight,” Dad muttered, slipping his glasses back on, adjusting them on his nose. “Don’t cause trouble.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“She started it,” Jed insisted, pointing at Sara.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Just share something,” I told Jed, sighing.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I’m going to share your freckles,” Sara told him. “I’m going to pull them off one by one and feed them to George.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara and I laughed. George didn’t glance up. He was curled up, napping on the carpet beside the couch.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“That’s not funny, girls,” Mom snapped. “Stop being mean to your brother.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“This is supposed to be a family night,” Dad wailed. “Why can’t we be a family?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“We are!” Jed insisted.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad frowned and shook his head. He looks like an owl when he does that. “Jed, are you going to share something?” he demanded weakly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed nodded. “Yeah.” He stood in the center of the room and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. He wears loose, baggy jeans about ten sizes too big. They always look as if they’re about to fall down. Jed thinks that’s cool.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I… uh… learned to whistle through my fingers,” he announced.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Wow,” Sara muttered sarcastically.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed ignored her. He pulled his hands from his pockets. Then he stuck his two little fingers into the sides of his mouth—and let out a long, shrill whistle.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">He whistled through his fingers two more times. Then he took a deep bow. The whole family burst into loud applause.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed, grinning, took another low bow.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Such a talented family!” Dad declared. This time, he meant it as a joke.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed dropped down on the floor beside George, startling the poor cat awake.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Your turn next, Amy,” Mom said, turning to me. “Are you going to tell us another story?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Her stories are too long!” Jed complained.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">George climbed unsteadily to his feet and moved a few feet away from Jed. Yawning, the cat dropped on to his stomach beside Mom’s feet.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I’m not going to tell a story tonight,” I announced. I picked up Dennis from behind my armchair.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara and Jed both groaned.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Hey—give me a break!” I shouted. I settled back on the edge of the chair, fixing my dummy on my lap. “I thought I’d talk to Dennis tonight,” I told Mom and Dad.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">They had half-smiles on their faces. I didn’t care. I’d been practicing with Dennis all week. And I wanted to try out my new comedy routine with him.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy is a lousy ventriloquist,” Jed chimed in. “You can see her lips move.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Be quiet, Jed. I think Dennis is funny,” Sara said. She scooted toward the couch so she could see better.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I balanced Dennis on my left knee and wrapped my fingers around the string in his back that worked his mouth. Dennis is a very old ventriloquist’s dummy. The paint on his face is faded. One eye is almost completely white. His turtle-neck sweater is torn and tattered.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">But I have a lot of fun with him. When my five-year-old cousins come to visit, I like to entertain them with Dennis. They squeal and laugh. They think I’m a riot.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I think I’m getting much better with Dennis. Despite Jed’s complaints.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I took a deep breath, glanced at Mom and Dad, and began my act.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“How are you tonight, Dennis?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Not too well,” </span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I made the dummy reply in a high, shrill voice. Dennis’ voice.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Really, Dennis? What’s wrong?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I think I caught a bug.”</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“You mean you have the flu?” I asked him.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“No. <i>Termites!”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom and Dad laughed. Sara smiled. Jed groaned loudly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I turned back to Dennis. “Well, have you been to a doctor?” I asked him.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“No. A carpenter!”</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom and Dad smiled at that one, but didn’t laugh. Jed groaned again. Sara stuck her finger down her throat, pretending to puke.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“No one liked that joke, Dennis,” I told him.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Who’s joking?” </span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I made Dennis reply.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“This is lame,” I heard Jed mutter to Sara. She nodded her head in agreement.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Let’s change the subject, Dennis,” I said, shifting the dummy to my other knee. “Do you have a girlfriend?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I leaned Dennis forward, trying to make him nod his head yes. But his head rolled right off his shoulders.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The wooden head hit the floor with a <i>thud </i>and bounced over to George. The cat leaped up and scampered away.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara and Jed collapsed in laughter, slapping each other high fives.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I jumped angrily to my feet. “Dad!” I screamed. “You <i>promised </i>you’d buy me a new dummy!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed scurried over to the rug and picked up Dennis’ head. He pulled the string, making the dummy’s mouth move. “Amy reeks! Amy reeks!” Jed made the dummy repeat over and over.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Give me that!” I grabbed the head angrily from Jed’s hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy reeks! Amy reeks!” Jed continued chanting.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“That’s enough!” Mom shouted, jumping up off the couch.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed retreated back to the wall.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I’ve been checking the stores for a new dummy,” Dad told me, pulling off his glasses again and examining them closely. “But they’re all so expensive.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Well, how am I ever going to get better at this?” I demanded. “Dennis’ head falls off every time I use him!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Do your best,” Mom said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">What did <i>that </i>mean? I always hated it when she said that.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Instead of Family Sharing Night, we should call this the Thursday Night Fights,” Sara declared.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed raised his fists. “Want to fight?” he asked Sara.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“It’s your turn, Sara,” Mom replied, narrowing her eyes at Jed. “What are you sharing tonight?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I have a new painting,” Sara announced. “It’s a watercolor.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Of what?” Dad asked, settling his glasses back on his face.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Remember that cabin we had in Maine a few summers ago?” Sara replied, tossing back her straight black hair. “The one overlooking the dark rock cliff? I found a snapshot of it, and I tried to paint it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I suddenly felt really angry and upset. I admit it. I was jealous of Sara.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Here she was, about to share another beautiful watercolor. And here I was, rolling a stupid wooden dummy head in my lap.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It just wasn’t fair!<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“You’ll have to come to my room to see it,” Sara was saying. “It’s still wet.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We all stood up and trooped to Sara’s room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">My family lives in a long, one-story ranch-style house. My room and Jed’s room are at the end of one hallway. The living room, dining room, and kitchen are in the middle. Sara’s room and my parents’ room are down the other hall, way at the other end of the house.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I led the way down the hall. Behind me, Sara was going on and on about all the trouble she’d had with the painting and how she’d solved the problems.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I remember that cabin so well,” Dad said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I can’t wait to see the painting,” Mom added.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I stepped into Sara’s room and clicked on the light.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Then I turned to the easel by the window that held the painting—and let out a scream of horror.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">2<o:p></o:p></span></b></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">My mouth dropped open in shock. I stared at the painting, unable to speak.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">When Sara saw it, she let out a shriek. “I—I don’t <i>believe </i>it!” she screamed. “Who <i>did </i>that?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Someone had painted a yellow-and-black smile face in the corner of her painting. Right in the middle of the black rock cliff. Mom and Dad stepped up to the easel, fretful expressions on their faces. They studied the smile face, then turned to Jed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed burst out laughing. “Do you like it?” he asked innocently.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Jed—how <i>could </i>you!” Sara exploded. “I’ll kill you! I really will!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“The painting was too dark,” Jed explained with a shrug. “I wanted to brighten it up.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“But… but… but…” my sister sputtered. She balled her hands into fists, shook them at Jed, and uttered a loud cry of rage.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Jed—what were you doing in Sara’s room?” Mom demanded.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara doesn’t like for anyone to go into her precious room without a written invitation!<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Young man, you know you’re never allowed to touch your sister’s paintings,” Dad scolded.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I can paint, too,” Jed replied. “I’m a good painter.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Then do your own paintings!” Sara snapped. “Don’t sneak in here and mess up my work!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I didn’t sneak,” Jed insisted. He sneered at Sara. “I was just trying to help.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“You were not!” Sara screamed, angrily tossing her black hair over her shoulder. “You ruined my painting!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Your painting reeks!” Jed shot back.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Enough!” </span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom shouted. She grabbed Jed by both shoulders. “Jed—look at me! You don’t seem to see how serious this is. This is the worst thing you’ve ever done!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed’s smile finally faded.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I took another glance at the ugly smile face he had slopped on to Sara’s watercolor. Since he’s the baby in the family, Jed thinks he can get away with anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">But I knew that this time he had gone too far.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">After all, Sara is the star of the family. She’s the talented one. The one with the painting that hung in a museum. Messing with Sara’s precious painting was bound to get Jed in major trouble.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara is so stuck-up about her paintings. A few times, I even thought about painting something funny on one of them. But of course I only <i>thought </i>it. I would <i>never </i>do anything that horrible.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“You don’t have to be jealous of your sister’s work,” Dad was telling Jed. “We’re all talented in this family.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Oh, sure,” Jed muttered. He has this weird habit. Whenever he’s in trouble, he doesn’t say he’s sorry. Instead, he gets really angry. “What’s <i>your </i>talent, Dad?” Jed demanded, sneering.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad’s jaw tightened. He narrowed his eyes at Jed. “We’re not discussing me,” he said in a low voice. “But I’ll tell you. My talent is my Chinese cooking. You see, there are all kinds of talents, Jed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad considers himself a Master of the Wok. Once or twice a week, he chops a ton of vegetables into little pieces and fries them up in the electric wok Mom got him for Christmas.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We pretend it tastes great.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">No point in hurting Dad’s feelings.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Is Jed going to be punished or not?” Sara demanded in a shrill voice.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">She had opened her box of watercolor paints and was rolling a brush in the black. Then she began painting over the smile face with quick, furious strokes.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yes, Jed is going to be punished,” Mom replied, glaring at him. Jed lowered his eyes to the floor. “First he’s going to apologize to Sara.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We all waited.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It took Jed a while. But he finally managed to mutter, “Sorry, Sara.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">He started to leave the room, but Mom grabbed his shoulders again and pulled him back. “Not so fast, Jed,” she told him. “Your punishment is you can’t go to the movies with Josh and Matt on Saturday. And… no video games for a week.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Mom—give me a break!” Jed whined.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“What you did was really bad,” Mom said sternly. “Maybe this punishment will make you realize how horrible it was.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“But I <i>have </i>to go to the movies!” Jed protested.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“You can’t,” Mom replied softly. “And no arguing, or I’ll add on to your punishment. Now go to your room.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I don’t think it’s enough punishment,” Sara said, dabbing away at her painting.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Keep out of it, Sara,” Mom snapped.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yeah. Keep out of it,” Jed muttered. He stomped out of the room and down the long hall to his room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad sighed. He swept a hand back over his bald head. “Family Sharing Night is over,” he said sadly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">* * *<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I stayed in Sara’s room and watched her repair the painting for a while. She kept tsk-tsking and shaking her head.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I have to make the rocks much darker, or the paint won’t cover the stupid smile face,” she explained unhappily. “But if I make the rocks darker, I have to change the sky. The whole balance is ruined.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I think it looks pretty good,” I told her, trying to cheer her up.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“How could Jed do that?” Sara demanded, dipping her brush in the water jar. “How could he sneak in here and totally destroy a work of art?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I was feeling sorry for Sara. But that remark made me lose all sympathy. I mean, why couldn’t she just call it a watercolor painting? Why did she have to call it “a work of art”?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Sometimes she is so stuck-up and so in love with herself, it makes me sick.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I turned and left the room. She didn’t even notice.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I went down the hall to my room and called my friend Margo. We talked for a while about stuff. And we made plans to get together the next day.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">As I talked on the phone, I could hear Jed in his room next door. He was pacing back and forth, tossing things around, making a lot of noise.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Sometimes I spell the word “Jed” B-R-A-T.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Margo’s dad made her get off the phone. He’s real strict. He never lets her talk for more than ten or fifteen minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I wandered into the kitchen and made myself a bowl of Frosted Flakes. My favorite late snack. When I was a little kid, I used to have a bowl of cereal every night before bed. And I just never got out of the habit.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I rinsed out the bowl. Then I said good night to Mom and Dad and went to bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It was a warm spring night. A soft breeze fluttered the curtains over the window. Pale light from a big half-moon filled the window and spilled on to the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I fell into a deep sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">A short while later, something woke me up. I’m not sure what.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Still half asleep, I blinked my eyes open and raised myself on my pillow. I struggled to see clearly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The curtains flapped over the window.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I felt as if I were still asleep, dreaming.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">But what I saw in the window snapped me awake.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The curtains billowed, then lifted away.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">And in the silvery light, I saw a face.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">An ugly, grinning face in my bedroom window. Staring through the darkness at me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">3<o:p></o:p></span></b></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The curtains flapped again.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The face didn’t move.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Who—?” I choked out, squeezing the sheet up to my chin.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The eyes stared in at me. Cold, unblinking eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Dummy eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Dennis.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Dennis stared blankly at me, his white eye catching the glow of the moonlight.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I let out an angry roar, tossed off the sheet, and bolted out of bed. To the window.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I pushed away the billowing curtains and grabbed Dennis’ head off the window ledge. “Who put you there?” I demanded, holding the head between my hands. “Who did it, Dennis?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I heard soft laughter behind me. From the hallway.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I flew across the room, the head still in my hands. I pulled open my bedroom door.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed held his hand over his mouth, muffling his laughter. “Gotcha!” he whispered gleefully.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Jed—you creep!” I cried. I let the dummy head drop to the floor. Then I grabbed Jed’s pajama pants with both hands and jerked them up as high as I could—nearly to his chin!<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">He let out a gasp of pain and stumbled back against the wall.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Why did you do that?” I demanded in an angry whisper. “Why did you put the dummy head on my window ledge?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed tugged his pajama pants back into place. “To pay you back,” he muttered.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Huh? Me?” I shrieked. “I didn’t do anything to you. What did <i>I</i> do?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“You didn’t stick up for me,” he grumbled, scratching his red curly hair. His eyes narrowed at me. “You didn’t say anything to help me out. You know. About Sara’s painting.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Excuse me?” I cried. “How could I help you out? What could I say?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“You could have said it was no big deal,” Jed replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“But it <i>was </i>a big deal!” I told him. “You know how seriously Sara takes her paintings.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Jed. But you deserve to be punished. You really do.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">He stared at me across the dim hallway, thinking about what I’d said. Then an evil smile spread slowly over his freckled face. “Hope I didn’t scare you too much, Amy.” He snickered. Then he picked Dennis’ head up off the carpet and tossed it at me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I caught it in one hand. “Go to sleep, Jed,” I told him. “And don’t mess with Dennis again!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I stepped back into my room and closed the door. I tossed Dennis’ head onto a pile of clothes on my desk chair. Then I climbed wearily back into bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So much trouble around here tonight, I thought, shutting my eyes, trying to relax.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So much trouble…<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Two days later, Dad brought home a present for me. A new ventriloquist’s dummy. That’s when the <i>real </i>trouble began.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">4<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Margo came over the next afternoon. Margo is real tiny, sort of like a mini-person. She has a tiny face, and is very pretty, with bright blue eyes, and delicate features.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Her blond hair is very light and very fine. She let it grow this year. It’s just about down to her tiny little waist.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">She’s nearly a foot shorter than me, even though we both turned twelve in February. She’s very smart and very popular. But the boys like to make fun of her soft, whispery voice.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Today she was wearing a bright blue tank top tucked into white tennis shorts. “I bought the new Beatles collection,” she told me as she stepped into the house. She held up a CD box.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Margo loves the Beatles. She doesn’t listen to any of the new groups. In her room, she has an entire shelf of Beatles CDs and tapes. And she has Beatles posters on her walls.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We went to my room and put on the CD. Margo settled on the bed. I sprawled on the carpet across from her.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“My dad almost didn’t let me come over,” Margo told me, pushing her long hair behind her shoulder. “He thought he might need me to work at the restaurant.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Margo’s dad owns a huge restaurant downtown called The Party House. It’s not really a restaurant. It’s a big, old house filled with enormous rooms where people can hold parties.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">A lot of kids have birthday parties there. And there are bar mitzvahs and confirmations and wedding receptions there, too. Sometimes there are six parties going on at once!<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">One Beatles song ended. The next song, “Love Me Do”, started up.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>love<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>this song!” Margo exclaimed. She sang along with it for a while. I tried singing with her, but I’m totally tone deaf. As my dad says, I can’t carry a tune in a wheelbarrow.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Well, I’m glad you didn’t have to work today,” I told Margo.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Me, too,” Margo sighed. “Dad always gives me the worst jobs. You know. Clearing tables. Or putting away dishes. Or wrapping up garbage bags. Yuck.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">She started singing again—and then stopped. She sat up on the bed. “Amy, I almost forgot. Dad may have a job for you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Excuse me?” I replied. “Wrapping up garbage bags? I don’t think so, Margo.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“No. No. Listen,” Margo pleaded excitedly in her mouselike voice. “It’s a good job. Dad has a bunch of birthday parties coming up. For teeny tiny kids. You know. Two-year-olds. Maybe three- or four-year-olds. And he thought you could entertain them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Huh?” I stared at my friend. I still didn’t understand. “You mean, sing or something?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“No. With Dennis,” Margo explained. She twisted a lock of hair around in her fingers and bobbed her head in time to the music as she talked. “Dad saw you with Dennis at the sixth-grade talent night. He was really impressed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“He was? I was terrible that night!” I replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Well, Dad didn’t think so. He wonders if you’d like to come to the birthday parties and put on a show with Dennis. The little kids will love it. Dad said he’d even pay you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Wow! That’s cool!” I replied. What an exciting idea.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Then I remembered something.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I jumped to my feet, crossed the room to the chair, and held up Dennis’ head. “One small problem,” I groaned.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Margo let go of her hair and made a sick face. “His head? Why did you take off his head?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I didn’t,” I replied. “It fell off. Every time I use Dennis, his head falls off.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Oh.” Margo uttered a disappointed sigh. “The head looks weird all by itself. I don’t think little kids would like it if it fell off.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I don’t think so,” I agreed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“It might frighten them or something,” Margo said. “You know. Give them nightmares. Make them think their own head might fall off.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Dennis is totally wrecked. Dad promised me a new dummy. But he hasn’t been able to find one.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Too bad,” Margo replied. “You’d have fun performing for the kids.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We listened to more Beatles music. Then Margo had to go home.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">A few minutes after she left, I heard the front door slam.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Hey, Amy! Amy—are you home?” I heard Dad call from the living room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Coming!” I called. I made my way to the front of the house. Dad stood in the entryway, a long carton under his arm, a smile on his face.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He handed the carton to me. “Happy Un-birthday!” he exclaimed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Dad! Is it—?” I cried. I tore open the carton. “Yes!” A new dummy!<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I lifted him carefully out of the carton.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The dummy had wavy brown hair painted on top of his wooden head. I studied his face. It was kind of strange. Kind of intense. His eyes were bright blue—not faded like Dennis’. He had bright red painted lips, curved up into an eerie smile. His lower lip had a chip on one side so that it didn’t quite match the other lip.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">As I pulled him from the box, the dummy appeared to stare into my eyes. The eyes sparkled. The grin grew wider.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I felt a sudden chill. Why does this dummy seem to be laughing at me? I wondered.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I held him up, examining him carefully. He wore a gray, double-breasted suit over a white shirt collar. The collar was stapled to his neck. He didn’t have a shirt. Instead, his wooden chest had been painted white.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Big, black leather shoes were attached to the ends of his thin, dangling legs.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Dad—he’s great!” I exclaimed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I found him in a pawnshop,” Dad said, picking up the dummy’s hand and pretending to shake hands with it. “How do you do, Slappy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Slappy? Is that his name?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“That’s what the man in the store said,” Dad replied. He lifted Slappy’s arms, examining his suit. “I don’t know why he sold Slappy so cheaply. He practically<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>gave<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>the dummy away!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I turned the dummy around and looked for the string in his back that made the mouth open and close. “He’s excellent, Dad,” I said. I kissed my dad on the cheek. “Thanks.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Do you really like him?” Dad asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy grinned up at me. His blue eyes stared into mine. He seemed to be waiting for an answer, too.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yes. He’s awesome!” I said. “I like his serious eyes. They look so real.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“The eyes move,” Dad said. “They’re not painted on like Dennis’. They don’t blink, but they move from side to side.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I reached my hand inside the dummy’s back. “How do you make his eyes move?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“The man showed me,” Dad said. “It’s not hard. First you grab the string that works the mouth.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I’ve got that,” I told him.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Then you move your hand up into the dummy’s head. There is a little lever up there. Do you feel it? Push on it. The eyes will move in the direction you push.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Okay. I’ll try,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slowly I moved my hand up inside the dummy’s back. Through the neck. And into his head.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I stopped and let out a startled cry as my hand hit something soft.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Something soft and warm.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">His brain!<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">5<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Ohhh.” I uttered a sick moan and jerked my hand out as fast as I could.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I could still feel the soft, warm mush on my fingers.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy—what’s wrong?” Dad cried.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“His—his brains—!” I choked out, feeling my stomach lurch.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Huh? What are you<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>talking<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>about?” Dad grabbed the dummy from my hands. He turned it over and reached into the back.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I covered my mouth with both hands and watched him reach into the head. His eyes widened in surprise.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He struggled with something. Then pulled his hand out.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yuck!” I groaned. “What’s<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>that!”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad stared down at the mushy, green and purple and brown object in his hand. “Looks like someone left a sandwich in there!” he exclaimed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad’s whole face twisted in disgust. “It’s all moldy and rotten. Must have been in there for months!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yuck!” I repeated, holding my nose. “It really stinks! Why would someone leave a sandwich in a dummy’s head?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Beats me,” Dad replied, shaking his head. “And it looks like there are wormholes in it!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yuuuuuck!” we both cried in unison.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad handed Slappy back to me. Then he hurried into the kitchen to get rid of the rotted, moldy sandwich.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I heard him run the garbage disposal. Then I heard water running as he washed his hands. A few seconds later, Dad returned to the living room, drying his hands on a dish towel.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Maybe we’d better examine Slappy closely,” he suggested. “We don’t want any more surprises—<i>do<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>we?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I carried Slappy into the kitchen, and we stretched him out on the counter. Dad examined the dummy’s shoes carefully. They were attached to the legs and didn’t come off.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I put my finger on the dummy’s chin and moved the mouth up and down. Then I checked out his wooden hands.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I unbuttoned the gray suit jacket and studied the dummy’s painted shirt. Patches of the white paint had chipped and cracked. But it was okay.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Everything looks fine, Dad,” I reported.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He nodded. Then he smelled his fingers. I guess he hadn’t washed away all of the stink from the rotted sandwich.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“We’d better spray the inside of his head with disinfectant or perfume or something,” Dad said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Then, as I was buttoning up the jacket, something caught my eye.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Something yellow. A slip of paper poking up from the jacket pocket.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It’s probably a sales receipt, I thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But when I pulled out the small square of yellow paper, I found strange writing on it. Weird words in a language I’d never seen before.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I squinted hard at the paper and slowly read the words out loud:<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Karru marri odonna loma molonu karrano.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I wonder what that means? I thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And then I glanced down at Slappy’s face.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And saw his red lips twitch.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And saw one eye slowly close in a wink.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">6<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“D-d-dad!” I stuttered. “He—moved!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Huh?” Dad had gone back to the sink to wash his hands for a third time. “What’s wrong with the dummy?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“He moved!” I cried. “He<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>winked<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>at me!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad came over to the counter, wiping his hands. “I told you, Amy—he can’t blink. The eyes only move from side to side.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“No!” I insisted. “He winked. His lips twitched, and he winked.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad frowned and picked up the dummy head in both hands. He raised it to examine it. “Well… maybe the eyelids are loose,” he said. “I’ll see if I can tighten them up. Maybe if I take a screwdriver I can—”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad didn’t finish his sentence.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Because the dummy swung his wooden hand up and hit Dad on the side of the head.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Ow!” Dad cried, dropping the dummy back onto the counter. Dad grabbed his cheek. “Hey—stop it, Amy! That hurt!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Me?”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I shrieked. “I didn’t do it!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad glared at me, rubbing his cheek. It had turned bright red.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“The dummy did it!” I insisted. “I didn’t touch him, Dad! I didn’t move his hand!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Not funny,” Dad muttered. “You know I don’t like practical jokes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came out. I decided I’d better just shut up.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Of course Dad wouldn’t believe that the dummy had slapped him.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I didn’t believe it myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad must have pulled too hard when he was examining the head. Dad jerked the hand up without realizing it.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">That’s how I explained it to myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">What other explanation could there be?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I apologized to Dad. Then we washed Slappy’s face with a damp sponge. We cleaned him up and sprayed disinfectant inside his head.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He was starting to look pretty good.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I thanked Dad again and hurried to my room. I set Slappy down on the chair beside Dennis. Then I phoned Margo.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I got a new dummy,” I told her excitedly. “I can perform for the kids’ birthday parties. At The Party House.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“That’s great, Amy!” Margo exclaimed. “Now all you need is an act.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">She was right.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I needed jokes. A lot of jokes. If I was going to perform with Slappy in front of dozens of kids, I needed a long comedy act.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The next day after school, I hurried to the library. I took out every joke book I could find. I carried them home and studied them. I wrote down all the jokes I thought I could use with Slappy.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">After dinner, I should have been doing my homework. Instead, I practiced with Slappy. I sat in front of the mirror and watched myself with him.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I tried hard to speak clearly but not move my lips. And I tried hard to move Slappy’s mouth so that it really looked as if he were talking.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Working his mouth and moving his eyes at the same time was pretty hard. But after a while, it became easier.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I tried some knock-knock jokes with Slappy. I thought little kids might like those.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Knock knock,” I made Slappy say.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Who’s there?” I asked him, staring into his eyes as if I were really talking to him.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Jane,” Slappy said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Jane who?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Jane jer clothes. You stink!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I practiced each joke over and over, watching myself in the mirror. I wanted to be a really good ventriloquist. I wanted to be excellent. I wanted to be as good with Slappy as Sara is with her paints.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I practiced some more knock-knock jokes and some jokes about animals. Jokes I thought little kids would find funny.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I’ll try them out on Family Sharing Night, I decided. It will make Dad happy to see how hard I’m working with Slappy. At least I know Slappy’s head won’t fall off.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I glanced across the room at Dennis. He looked so sad and forlorn, crumpled in the chair, his head tilted nearly sideways on his shoulders.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Then I propped Slappy up and turned back to the mirror.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Knock knock.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Who’s there?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Wayne.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Wayne who?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Wayne wayne, go away! Come again another day!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">On Thursday night, I was actually eager to finish dinner so that Sharing Night could begin. I couldn’t wait to show my family my new act with Slappy.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We had spaghetti for dinner. I like spaghetti, but Jed always ruins it.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He’s so gross. He sat across the table from me, and he kept opening his mouth wide, showing me a mouth full of chewed-up spaghetti.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Then he’d laugh because he cracks himself up. And spaghetti sauce would run down his chin.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">By the time dinner was over, Jed had spaghetti sauce smeared all over his face and all over the tablecloth around his plate.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">No one seemed to notice. Mom and Dad were too busy listening to Sara brag about her grades. For a change.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Report cards were being handed out tomorrow. Sara was sure she was getting all A’s.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I was sure, too. Sure I<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>wasn’t<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>getting all A’s!<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I’d be lucky to get a C in math. I really messed up the last two tests. And I probably wasn’t going to do real well in science, either. My weather balloon project fell apart, so I hadn’t handed it in yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I finished my spaghetti and mopped up some of the leftover sauce on my plate with a chunk of bread.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">When I glanced up, Jed had stuck two carrot sticks in his nose. “Amy, check this out. I’m a walrus!” he cried, grinning. He let out a few<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>urk urks<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>and clapped his hands together like a walrus.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Jed—stop that!” Mom cried sharply. She made a disgusted face. “Get those out of your nose.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Make him eat them, Mom!” I cried.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed stuck his tongue out at me. It was orange from the spaghetti sauce.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Look at you. You’re a mess!” Mom shouted at Jed. “Go get cleaned up. Now! Hurry! Wash all that sauce off your face.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed groaned. But he climbed to his feet and headed to the bathroom.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Did he eat anything? Or did he just rub it all over himself?” Dad asked, rolling his eyes. Dad had some sauce on his chin, too, but I didn’t say anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“You interrupted me,” Sara said impatiently. “I was telling you about the State Art Contest. Remember? I sent my flower painting in for that?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Oh, yes,” Mom replied. “Have you heard from the judges?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I didn’t listen to Sara’s reply. My mind wandered. I started thinking again about how bad my report card was going to be. I had to force myself to stop thinking about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Uh… I’ll clear the dishes,” I announced.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I started to stand up.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But I stopped with a startled cry when I saw the short figure creep into the living room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">A dummy!<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">My dummy.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He was crawling across the room!<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">7<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I let out another cry. I pointed to the living room with a trembling finger. “M-mom! Dad!” I stammered.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara was still talking about the art competition. But she turned to see what everyone was gaping at.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The dummy’s head popped out from behind the armchair.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“It’s Dennis!” I cried.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I heard muffled laughter. Jed’s muffled laughter.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The dummy reached up both hands and pulled<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>off<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>his own head. And Jed’s head popped up through the green turtleneck. He still had spaghetti sauce smeared on his cheeks. He was laughing hard.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Everyone else started to laugh, too. Everyone but me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed had really frightened me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He had pulled the neck of his sweater way up over his head. Then he had tucked Dennis’ wooden head inside the turtleneck.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed was so short and thin. It really looked as if Dennis were creeping into the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Stop laughing!” I shouted at my family. “It isn’t funny!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I think it’s<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>very<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>funny!” Mom cried. “What a crazy thing to think of!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Very clever,” Dad added.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“It’s not clever,” I insisted. I glared furiously at my brother. “I always knew you were a dummy!” I screamed at him.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy, you really were scared,” Sara accused. “You nearly dropped your teeth!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Not true!” I sputtered. “I knew it was Dennis—I mean—Jed!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Now everyone started laughing at me! I could feel my face getting hot, and I knew I was blushing.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">That made them all laugh even harder.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Nice family, huh?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I climbed to my feet, walked around the table, and took Dennis’ head away from Jed. “Don’t go in my room,” I told him through clenched teeth. “And don’t mess with my stuff.” I stomped away to put the dummy head back in my room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“It was just a joke, Amy,” I heard Sara call after me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yeah. It was just a joke,” Jed repeated nastily.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Ha-ha!” I shouted back at them. “What a riot!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">My anger had faded away by the time we started Family Sharing Night. We settled in the living room, taking our usual places.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom volunteered to go first. She told a funny story about something that had happened at work.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom works in a fancy women’s clothing store downtown. She told us about a really big woman who came into the store and insisted on trying on only tiny sizes.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The woman ripped every piece of clothing she tried on—and then bought them all! “They’re not for me,” the woman explained. “They’re for my sister!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We all laughed. But I was surprised Mom told that story. Because Mom is pretty chubby. And she’s very sensitive about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">About as sensitive as Dad is about being bald.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad was the next to share. He brought out his guitar, and we all groaned. Dad thinks he’s a great singer. But he’s nearly as tone deaf as I am.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He loves singing all these old folk songs from the sixties. There’s supposed to be some kind of message in them. But Sara, Jed, and I have no idea what he’s singing about.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad strummed away and sang something about not working on Maggie’s farm anymore. At least, I<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>think<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>that’s what he was saying.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We all clapped and cheered. But Dad knew we didn’t really mean it.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It was Jed’s turn next. But he insisted that he had already shared. “Dressing up like Dennis—that was it,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">No one wanted to argue with him. “Your turn, Amy,” Mom said, leaning against Dad on the couch. Dad fiddled with his glasses, then settled back.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I picked up Slappy and arranged him on my lap. I was feeling a little nervous. I wanted to do a good job and impress them with my new comedy act.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I’d been practicing all week, and I knew the jokes by heart. But as I slipped my hand into Slappy’s back and found the string, my stomach felt all fluttery.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I cleared my throat and began.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“This is Slappy, everyone,” I said. “Slappy, say hi to my family.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Hi to my family!”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I made Slappy say. I made his eyes slide back and forth.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">They all chuckled.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“This dummy is much better!” Mom commented.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But it’s the same old ventriloquist,” Sara said cruelly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I glared at her.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Just joking! Just joking!” my sister insisted.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I think that dummy reeks,” Jed chimed in.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Give Amy a break,” Dad said sharply. “Go ahead, Amy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I cleared my throat again. It suddenly felt very dry. “Slappy and I are going to tell some knock-knock jokes,” I announced. I turned to face Slappy and made him turn his head to me. “Knock knock,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Knock it off!”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">came the harsh reply.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy spun around to face my Mom.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>“Hey—don’t break the sofa, fatso!”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>he rasped.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>“Why don’t you skip the French fries and have a salad once in a while?”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Huh?” Mom gasped in shock. “Amy—”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy, that’s not funny!” Dad cried angrily.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“What’s your problem, baldy?”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy shouted.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>“Is that your head—or are you hatching an ostrich egg on your neck?”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“That’s enough, Amy!” Dad cried, jumping to his feet. “Stop it—right now!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But—but—Dad—!” I sputtered.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Why don’t you put an extra hole in your head and use it for a bowling ball?”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy screamed at Dad.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Your jokes are horrible!” Mom exclaimed. “They’re hurtful and insulting.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“It’s not funny, Amy!” Dad fumed. “It’s not funny to hurt people’s feelings.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But, Dad—” I replied. “I didn’t say any of that! It wasn’t me! It was Slappy! Really! I wasn’t saying it! I wasn’t!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy raised his head. His red-lipped grin appeared to spread. His blue eyes sparkled.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>“Did I mention you are all ugly?”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>he asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">8<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Everyone started shouting at once.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I stood up and dropped Slappy facedown on the armchair.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">My legs were trembling. My entire body was shaking.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">What’s going on here? I asked myself. I didn’t say those things. I really didn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But Slappy can’t be talking on his own—<i>can<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>he?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Of course not, I realized.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But what did that mean? Did that mean I was saying those horrible, insulting things to my parents without even knowing it?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom and Dad stood side by side, staring at me angrily, demanding to know why I insulted them.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Did you really think that was funny?” Mom asked. “Didn’t you think it would hurt my feelings to call me fatso?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Meanwhile, Jed was sprawled on his back in the middle of the floor, giggling like a moron. He thought the whole thing was a riot.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara sat cross-legged against the wall, shaking her head, her black hair falling over her face. “You’re in major trouble,” she muttered. “What’s your problem, Amy?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I turned to Mom and Dad. My hands were balled into tight fists. I couldn’t stop shaking.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“You’ve got to believe me!” I shrieked. “I didn’t say those things! I really didn’t!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yeah. Right. Slappy is a baaad dude!” Jed chimed in, grinning.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Everybody, just be quiet!” Dad screamed. His face turned bright red.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom squeezed his arm. She didn’t like it when he got too angry or excited. I guess she worried he might totally explode or something.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad crossed his arms in front of his chest. I saw that he had a sweat stain on the chest of his polo shirt. His face was still red.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The room suddenly fell silent.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy, we’re<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>not<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>going to believe you,” Dad said softly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But—but—but—”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He raised a hand to silence me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“You’re a wonderful storyteller, Amy,” Dad continued. “You make up wonderful fantasies and fairy tales. But we’re not going to believe this one. I’m sorry. We’re not going to believe that your dummy spoke up on his own.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But he<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>did!”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>I screamed. I felt like bursting out in sobs. I bit my lip hard, trying to force them back.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad shook his head. “No, Slappy didn’t insult us. You said those things, Amy. You did. And now I want you to apologize to your mother and me. Then I want you to take your dummy and go to your room.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">There was no way they’d ever believe me. No way. I wasn’t sure I believed it myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Sorry,” I muttered, still holding back the tears. “Really. I’m sorry.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">With an unhappy sigh, I lifted Slappy off the chair. I carried him around the waist so that his arms and legs dangled toward the floor. “Good night,” I said. I walked slowly toward my room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“What about my turn?” I heard Sara ask.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Sharing Night is over,” Dad replied grumpily. “You two—get lost. Leave your mom and me alone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad sounded really upset.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I didn’t blame him.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I stepped into my room and closed the door behind me. Then I lifted Slappy up, holding him under the shoulders. I raised his face to mine.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">His eyes seemed to stare into my face.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Such cold blue eyes, I thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">His bright red lips curled up into that smirking grin. The smile suddenly seemed evil. Mocking.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">As if Slappy were laughing at me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But of course that was impossible. My wild imagination was playing tricks on me, I decided.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Frightening tricks.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy was just a dummy, after all. Just a hunk of painted wood.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I stared hard into those cold blue eyes. “Slappy, look at all the trouble you caused me tonight,” I told him.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Thursday night had been awful. Totally awful.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But Friday turned out to be much worse.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">9<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">First I dropped my tray in the lunchroom. The trays were all wet, and mine just slipped out of my hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The plates clattered on the floor, and my lunch spilled all over my new white sneakers. Everyone in the lunchroom clapped and cheered.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Was I embarrassed? Take three guesses.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Later that afternoon, report cards were handed out.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara came home grinning and singing. Nothing makes her more happy than being perfect. And her report card was perfect. All A’s.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">She insisted on showing it to me three times. She showed it to Jed three times, too. And we both had to tell her how wonderful she was each time.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I’m being unfair to Sara.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">She was happy and excited. And she had a right to be. Her report card was perfect—<i>and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>her flower painting won the blue ribbon in the State Art Contest.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">So I shouldn’t blame her for dancing around the house and singing at the top of her lungs.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">She wasn’t trying to rub it in. She wasn’t trying to make me feel like a lowly slug because my report card had two C’s. One in math and one in science.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It wasn’t Sara’s fault that I had received my worst report card ever.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">So I tried to hold back my jealous feelings and not strangle her the tenth time she told me about the art prize. But it wasn’t easy.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The worst part of my report card wasn’t the two C’s. It was the little note Miss Carson wrote at the bottom.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It said:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Amy isn’t working to the best of her ability. If she worked harder, she could do much better than this.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I don’t think teachers should be allowed to write notes on report cards. I think getting grades is bad enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I tried to make up some kind of story to explain the two C’s to my parents. I planned to tell them that<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>everyone<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>in the class got C’s in math and science. “Miss Carson didn’t have time to grade our papers. So she gave us all C’s—just to be fair.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It was a good story. But not a great story.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">No way Mom and Dad would buy that one.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I paced back and forth in my room, trying to think of a better story. After a while, I noticed Slappy staring at me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He sat in the chair beside Dennis, grinning and staring.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy’s eyes weren’t following me as I paced—were they?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I felt a chill run down my back.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It really seemed as if the eyes were watching me, moving as I moved.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I darted to the chair and turned Slappy so that his back was to me. I didn’t have time to think about a stupid dummy. My parents would be home from work any minute. And I needed a good story to explain my awful report card.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Did I come up with one? No.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Were my parents upset? Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom said she would help me get better organized. Dad said he would help me understand my math problems. The last time Dad helped me with my math, I nearly flunked!<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Even Jed—the total goof-off—got a better report card than me. They don’t give grades in the lower school. The teacher just writes a report about you.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And Jed’s report said that he was a great kid and a really good student. That teacher must be<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>sick!</i><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I stared at Jed across the dinner table. He opened his mouth wide to show me a mouth full of chewed-up peas.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sick!<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“You reek,” he said to me. For no reason at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sometimes I wonder why families were invented.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Saturday morning, I called Margo. “I can’t come over,” I told her with a sigh. “My parents won’t let me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“My report card wasn’t too good, either,” Margo replied. “Miss Carson wrote a note at the bottom. She said I talk too much in class.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Miss Carson talks too much,” I said bitterly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">As I chatted with Margo, I stared at myself in the dresser mirror. I look too much like Sara, I thought. Why do I have to look like her twin? Maybe I’ll cut my hair really short. Or get a tattoo.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I wasn’t thinking too clearly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I was too angry that my parents weren’t allowing me to go over to Margo’s house.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“This is bad news,” Margo said. “I wanted to talk to you about performing with Slappy at my dad’s place.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I know,” I replied sadly. “But they’re not letting me go anywhere until my science project is finished.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“You still haven’t turned that in?” Margo demanded.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I kind of forgot about it,” I confessed. “I did the project part—for the second time. I just have to write the report.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Well, I told you, Daddy has a birthday party for a dozen three-year-olds next Saturday,” Margo said. “And he wants you and Slappy to entertain them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“As soon as I finish the science report, I’m going to start rehearsing,” I promised. “Tell your dad not to worry, Margo. Tell him I’ll be great.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We chatted for a few more minutes. Then my mom shouted for me to get off the phone. I talked for a little while longer—until Mom shouted a second time. Then I said good-bye to Margo and hung up.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I slaved over my computer all morning and most of the afternoon. And I finished the science report.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It wasn’t easy. Jed kept coming into my room, begging me to play a Nintendo game with him. “Just one!” And I had to keep tossing him out.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">When I finally finished writing the paper, I printed it out and read it one more time. I thought it was pretty good.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">What it needs is a really great-looking cover, I decided.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I wanted to get a bunch of colored markers and do a really bright cover. But my markers were all dried up.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I tossed them into the trash and made my way to Sara’s room. I knew that she had an entire drawer filled with colored markers.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara was at the mall with a bunch of her friends. Miss Perfect could go out and spend Saturday doing whatever she wanted. Because she was perfect.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I knew she wouldn’t mind if I borrowed a few markers.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed stopped me outside her door. “One game of Battle Chess!” he pleaded. “Just one game!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“No way,” I told him. I placed my hand on top of his head. His red, curly hair felt so soft. I pushed him out of my way. “You always murder me at Battle Chess. And I’m not finished with my work yet.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Why are you going in Sara’s room?” he demanded.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“None of your business,” I told him.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“You reek,” he said. “You double reek, Amy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I ignored him and made my way into Sara’s room to borrow the markers.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I spent nearly an hour making the cover. I filled it with molecules and atoms, all in different colors. Miss Carson will be impressed, I decided.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara returned home just as I finished. She was carrying a big shopping bag filled with clothes she’d bought at Banana Republic.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">She started to her room with the bag. “Mom—come see what I bought,” she called.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom appeared, carrying a stack of freshly laundered towels.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Can I see, too?” I called. I followed them to Sara’s room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But Sara stopped at her door.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The bag fell from her hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And she let out a scream.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom and I crowded behind her. We peered into the bedroom.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">What a mess!<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Someone had overturned about a dozen jars of paint. Reds, yellows, blues. The paint had spread over Sara’s white carpet, like a big, colorful mud puddle.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I gasped and blinked several times. It was unreal!<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I don’t believe it!” Sara kept shrieking. “I don’t believe it!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“The carpet is ruined!” Mom exclaimed, taking one step into the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The emptied paint jars were on their sides, strewn around the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Jed!” Mom shouted angrily. “Jed—get in here! Now!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We turned to see Jed right behind us in the hall. “You don’t have to shout,” he said softly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom narrowed her eyes angrily at my brother. “Jed—how<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>could<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>you?” she demanded through clenched teeth.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Excuse me?” He gazed up at her innocently.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Jed—don’t lie!” Sara screamed. “Did you do this? Did you go in my room again?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“No way!” Jed protested, shaking his head. “I didn’t go in your room today, Sara. Not once. But I saw Amy go in. And she wouldn’t tell me why.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">10<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara and Mom both turned accusing eyes on me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“How could you?” Sara screamed, walking around the big paint puddle. “How<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>could<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Whoa! Wait! I didn’t! I didn’t!” I cried frantically.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I asked Amy why she was going in here,” Jed chimed in. “And she said it was none of my business.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy!” Mom cried. “I’m horrified. I’m truly horrified. This—this is<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>sick!”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yes, it’s sick,” Sara repeated, shaking her head. “All of my poster paint. All of it. What a mess. I know why you did it. It’s because you’re jealous of my perfect report card.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But I didn’t do it!”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I wailed. “I didn’t! I didn’t! I didn’t!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy—no one else could have,” Mom replied. “If Jed didn’t do it, then—”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But I only came in here to borrow markers!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I cried in a trembling voice. “That’s all. I needed markers.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy—” Mom started, pointing to the huge paint puddle.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I’ll show you!” I cried. “I’ll show you what I borrowed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I ran to my room. My hands were shaking as I scooped Sara’s markers off my desk. My heart pounded.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">How could they accuse me of something so terrible? I asked myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Is that what everyone thinks of me? That I’m such a monster?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">That I’m so jealous of my sister, I’d pour out all her paints and ruin her rug?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Do they really think I’m crazy?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I ran back to Sara’s room, carrying the markers in both hands. Jed sat on Sara’s bed, staring down at the thick red, blue, and yellow puddle.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom and Sara stood over it, gazing down and shaking their heads. Mom kept making clucking noises with her tongue. She kept pressing her hands against her cheeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Here! See?” I cried. I shoved the markers toward them. “That’s why I came in here. I’m not lying!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Some of the markers fell out of my hands. I bent to pick them up.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy, there were only three of us home this afternoon,” Mom said. She was trying to keep her voice low and calm. But she spoke through gritted teeth. “You, me, and Jed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I know—” I started.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom raised a hand to silence me. “I certainly didn’t do this horrible thing,” Mom continued. “And Jed says that he didn’t do it. So…” Her voice trailed off.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Mom—I’m not a sicko!” I shrieked. “I’m not!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“You’ll feel better if you confess,” Mom said. “Then we can talk about this calmly, and—”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But I didn’t do it!”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I raged.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">With a cry of anger, I flung the markers to the floor. Then I spun around, bolted from Sara’s room, and ran down the long hall to my room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I slammed the door and threw myself facedown onto my bed. I started sobbing loudly. I don’t know how long I cried.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Finally, I stood up. My face was sopping wet, and my nose was running. I started to the dresser to get a tissue.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But something caught my eye.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Hadn’t I turned Slappy around so that his back was turned to me?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Now he was sitting facing me, staring up at me, his red-lipped grin wider than ever.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Did I turn him back around? Did I?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I didn’t remember.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And what did I see on Slappy’s shoes?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I wiped the tears from my eyes with the backs of my hands. Then I took a few steps toward the dummy, squinting hard at his big leather shoes.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">What<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>was<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>that on his shoes?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Red and blue and yellow… paint?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">With a startled gasp, I grabbed both shoes by the heels and raised them close to my face.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Drips of paint on Slappy’s shoes.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Slappy—what is going on here?” I asked out loud. “What is going on?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">11<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">When Dad came home and saw Sara’s room, he nearly exploded.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I was actually worried about him. His face turned as red as a tomato. His chest started heaving in and out. And horrible gurgling noises came up from his throat.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The whole family gathered in the living room. We took our Sharing Night places. Only, this wasn’t Family Sharing Night. This was What Are We Going To Do About Amy Night.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy, first you have to tell us the truth,” Mom said. She sat stiffly on the couch, squeezing her hands together in her lap.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad sat on the other end of the couch, tapping one hand nervously against the couch arm, chewing his lower lip. Jed and Sara sat on the floor against the wall.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>am<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>telling the truth,” I insisted shrilly. I slumped in the armchair across from them. My hair fell over my forehead, but I didn’t bother to brush it back. My white T-shirt had tear stains on the front, still damp. “If you would only listen to me,” I pleaded.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Okay, we’re listening,” Mom replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“When I went into my room,” I started, “there were splashes of paint on Slappy’s shoes. And—”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Enough!” Dad cried, jumping to his feet.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But, Dad—” I protested.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Enough!” he insisted. He pointed a finger at me. “No more wild stories, young lady. Storytime is over. We don’t want to hear about paint stains on Slappy. We want an explanation for the crime that was committed in Sara’s room today.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But I am giving an explanation!” I wailed. “Why did Slappy have paint on his shoes? Why?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad dropped back onto the couch with a sigh. He whispered something to Mom. She whispered back.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I thought I heard them mention the word “doctor”.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Are you—are you going to take me to a psychiatrist?” I asked timidly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Do you think you need one?” Mom replied, staring hard at me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I shook my head. “No.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Your father and I will talk about this,” Mom said. “We will figure out the best thing to do.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The best thing to do?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">They grounded me for two weeks. No movies.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">No friends over. No trips to the mall. No trips anywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I heard them talking about finding me a counselor. But they didn’t say anything about it to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">All week, I could feel them watching me. Studying me as if I were some kind of alien creature.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara was pretty cold to me. Her room had to be emptied out and a new rug installed. She wasn’t happy about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Even Jed treated me differently. He kind of tiptoed around me and kept his distance, as if I had a bad cold or something. He didn’t tease me, or tell me that I reek, or call me names.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I really missed it. No kidding.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">How did I<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>feel?<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>I felt miserable.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I wanted to get sick. I wanted to catch a really bad stomach flu or something so they’d all feel sorry for me and stop treating me like a criminal.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">One good thing: They said I could perform with Slappy at The Party House on Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Whenever I picked Slappy up, I felt a little weird. I remembered the paint on his shoes and the mess in my sister’s room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But I couldn’t come up with one single explanation. So I practiced with Slappy every night.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I had put a lot of good jokes together. Silly jokes I thought little three-year-olds would find funny.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And I studied myself in the mirror. I was getting better at not moving my lips. And it was getting easier to make Slappy’s mouth and eyes move correctly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Knock knock,” I made Slappy say.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Who’s there?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Eddie.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Eddie who?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Eddie-body got a tissue? I hab a teddible cold!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And then I pulled back Slappy’s head, opened his mouth really wide, and jerked his whole body as I made him sneeze and sneeze and sneeze.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I thought that would really crack up the three-year-olds.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Every night, I worked and worked on our comedy act. I worked so hard.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I didn’t know that the act would never go on.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">On Saturday afternoon, Mom dropped me off at The Party House. “Have a good show!” she called as she drove away.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I carried Slappy carefully in my arms. Margo met me at the door. She greeted me with an excited smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Just in time!” she cried. “The kids are almost all here. They’re total animals!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Oh, great!” I muttered, rolling my eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“They’re total animals, but they’re so cute!” Margo added.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">She led me through the twisting hallway to the party room in back. Clusters of red and yellow balloons covered the ceiling. I saw a brightly decorated table, all yellow and red. A balloon on a string floated up from each chair around the table. Each balloon had the name of a guest on it.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The kids really were cute. They were dressed mostly in jeans and bright T-shirts. Two of the girls wore frilly party dresses.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I counted ten of them, all running wildly, chasing each other in the huge room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Their mothers were grouped around a long table against the back wall. Some of them were sitting down. Some were standing, huddled together, chatting. Some were calling to their kids to stop being so wild.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I’m helping out, pouring the punch and stuff,” Margo told me. “Dad wants you to do your act first thing. You know. To quiet the kids down.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I swallowed hard. “First thing, huh?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I had been excited. I could barely choke down my tuna fish sandwich at lunch. But now I began to feel nervous. I had major fluttering in my stomach.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Margo led me to the front of the room. I saw a low wooden platform there, painted bright blue. That was the stage.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Seeing the stage made my heart start to pound. My mouth suddenly felt very dry.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Could I really step up on that stage and do my act in front of all these people? Kids and mothers?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I had forgotten that the mothers would all be there. Seeing adults in the audience made me even more nervous.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Here is the birthday girl,” a woman’s voice said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I turned to see a smiling mother. She held the hand of a beautiful little girl. The girl gazed up at me with sparkling blue eyes. She had straight black hair, a lot like mine, only silkier and finer. She had a bright yellow ribbon in her hair. It matched her short yellow party dress and yellow sneakers.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“This is Alicia,” the mother announced.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Hi. I’m Amy,” I replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Alicia would like to meet your dummy,” the woman said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Is he real?” Alicia asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I didn’t know how to answer that question. “He’s a real dummy,” I told Alicia.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I propped Slappy up in my arms and slipped my hand into his back. “This is Slappy,” I told the little girl. “Slappy, this is Alicia.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“How do you do?” I made Slappy say.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Alicia and her mother both laughed. Alicia stared up at the dummy with her sparkling blue eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“How old are you?” I made Slappy say.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Alicia held up three fingers. “I’m fffree,” she told him.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Would you like to shake hands with Slappy?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Alicia nodded.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I lowered the dummy a little. I pushed forward Slappy’s right hand. “Go ahead,” I urged Alicia. “Take his hand.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Alicia reached up and grabbed Slappy’s hand. She giggled.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Happy Birthday,” Slappy said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Alicia shook his hand gently. Then she started to back away.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“We can’t wait to see your show,” Alicia’s mother said to me. “I know the kids are going to love it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I hope so!” I replied. My stomach fluttered again. I was still really nervous.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Let go!” Alicia cried. She tugged at Slappy’s hand. She giggled. “He won’t let go!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Alicia’s mom laughed. “What a funny dummy!” She grabbed Alicia’s other hand. “Let go of the dummy, honey. We have to get everyone in their seats for the show.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Alicia tugged a little harder. “But he won’t let go<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>of me,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>Mommy!” she cried. “He wants to shake hands!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Alicia gave a hard tug. But her tiny hand was still wrapped up inside Slappy’s. She giggled. “He likes me. He won’t let go.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Oh, look,” her mother said, glancing to the door. “Phoebe and Jennifer just arrived. Let’s go say hi.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Alicia tried to follow her mom, but Slappy held tight to her hand. Alicia’s smile faded. “Let<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>go!”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>she insisted.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I saw that several kids had gathered around. They watched Alicia tug at Slappy’s hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Let go! Let me go!” Alicia cried angrily.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I leaned over to examine Slappy’s hand. To my surprise, it appeared that his hand had clenched tightly around hers.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Alicia gave a hard tug. “Ow! He’s hurting me, Mommy!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">More kids came over to watch. Some of them were laughing. Two little dark-haired boys exchanged frightened glances.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Please—make him let go!” Alicia wailed. She tugged again and again.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I froze in panic. My mind whirred. I tried to think of what to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Had Alicia gotten her hand caught somehow?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy’s hand couldn’t really close around hers—could it?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Alicia’s mother was staring at me angrily. “Please let Alicia’s hand out,” she said impatiently.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“He’s hurting me!” Alicia cried. “Ow! He’s squeezing my hand!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The room grew very quiet. The other kids were all watching now. Their eyes wide. Their expressions confused.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I didn’t know what to do. I had no control for Slappy’s hands.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">My heart pounded in my chest. I tried to make a joke of it. “Slappy really likes you!” I told Alicia.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But the little girl was sobbing now. Little tears rolled down her cheeks. “Mommy—make him stop!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I pulled my hand out from Slappy’s back. I grabbed his wooden hand between my hands. “Let go of her, Slappy!” I demanded.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I tried pulling the fingers open.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But I couldn’t budge them.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“What is wrong?” Alicia’s mother was screaming. “Is her hand caught? What are you doing to her?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“He’s hurting me!” Alicia wailed. “Owwww! He’s squeezing me!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Several kids were crying now. Mothers rushed across the room to comfort them.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Alicia’s sobs rose up over the frightened cries of the other three-year-olds. The harder she tugged, the tighter the wooden hand squeezed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Let go, Slappy!” I shrieked, pulling his fingers. “Let go! Let go!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I don’t understand!” Alicia’s mother cried. She began frantically tugging my arm. “What are you doing? Let her go! Let her go!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Owwwww!” Alicia uttered a high, heartbreaking wail. “Make him stop! It hurts! It hurts!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And then Slappy suddenly tilted his head back. His eyes opened wide, and his mouth opened in a long, evil laugh.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">12<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I burst into the house and let the screen door slam behind me. I had taken the city bus to Logan Street. Then I had run the six blocks to my house with Slappy hanging over my shoulder.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy, how did it go?” Mom called from the kitchen. “Did you get a ride? I thought we were supposed to come pick you up.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I didn’t answer her. I was sobbing too hard. I ran down the hall to my room and slammed the door.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I hoisted Slappy off my shoulder and tossed him into the closet. I never wanted to see him again. Never.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I caught a glimpse of myself in the dresser mirror. My cheeks were swollen and puffy from crying. My eyes were red. My hair was wet and tangled, and matted to my forehead.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I took several deep breaths and tried to stop crying.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I kept hearing that poor little girl’s screams in my ears. Slappy finally let go of her after he uttered his ugly laugh.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But Alicia couldn’t stop crying. She was so frightened! And her little hand was red and swollen.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The other kids were all screaming and crying, too.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Alicia’s mother was furious. She called Margo’s dad out from the kitchen. She was shaking and sputtering with anger. She said she was going to sue The Party House.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Margo’s dad quietly asked me to leave. He led me to the front door. He said it wasn’t my fault. But he said the kids were too frightened of Slappy now. There was no way I could do my show.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I saw Margo hurrying over to me. But I turned and ran out the door.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I had never been so upset. I didn’t know what to do. A light rain had started to come down. I watched rainwater flow down the curb and into the sewer drain. I wanted to flow away with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Now I threw myself onto my bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I kept picturing little Alicia, screaming and crying, trying to twist out of Slappy’s grasp.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom knocked hard on my bedroom door. “Amy? Amy—what are you doing? What’s wrong?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Go away!” I wailed. “Just go away.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But she opened the door and stepped into the room. Sara came in behind her, a confused expression on her face.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy—the show didn’t go well?” Mom asked softly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Go away!” I sobbed. “Please!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy, you’ll do better next time,” Sara said, stepping up to the bed. She put a hand on my trembling shoulder.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Shut up!” I cried. “Shut up, Miss Perfect!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I didn’t mean to sound so angry. I was out of control.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara stepped back, hurt.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Tell us what happened,” Mom insisted. “You’ll feel better if you tell us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I pulled myself up until I was sitting on the edge of the bed. I wiped my eyes and brushed my wet hair off my face.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And then, suddenly, the whole story burst out of me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I told how Slappy grabbed Alicia’s hand and wouldn’t let go. And how all the kids were crying. And the parents were all screaming and making a fuss. And how I had to leave without doing my act.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And then I leaped to my feet, threw my arms around my mom, and started to sob again.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">She petted my hair, the way she used to do when I was a little girl. She kept whispering, “Ssshh shhhh shhhh.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slowly, I began to calm down.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“This is so weird,” Sara murmured, shaking her head.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I’m a little worried about you,” Mom said, holding my hands. “The little girl got her hand caught. That’s all. You don’t really believe that the dummy grabbed her hand—do you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom stared at me hard, studying me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">She thinks I’m crazy, I realized. She thinks I’m totally messed up.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">She doesn’t believe me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I decided I’d better not insist that my story was true. I shook my head. “Yeah. I guess her hand got caught,” I said, lowering my eyes to the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Maybe you should put Slappy away for a while,” Mom suggested, biting her bottom lip.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yeah. You’re right,” I agreed. I pointed. “I already put him in the closet.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Good idea,” Mom replied. “Leave him in there for a while. I think you’ve been spending too much time with that dummy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yeah. You need a new hobby,” Sara chimed in.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“It wasn’t a hobby!” I snapped.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Well, leave him in the closet for a few days—okay, Amy?” Mom said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I nodded. “I never want to see him again,” I muttered.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I thought I heard a sigh from inside the closet. But, of course, that was my imagination.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Get yourself cleaned up,” Mom instructed. “Wash your face. Then come to the kitchen and I’ll make you a snack.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Okay,” I agreed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara followed Mom out the door. “Weird,” I heard Sara mutter. “Amy is getting so weird.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Margo called after dinner. She said she felt terrible about what had happened. She said her dad didn’t blame me. “He wants to give you another chance,” Margo told me. “Maybe with older kids.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Thanks,” I replied. “But I put Slappy away for a while. I don’t know if I want to be a ventriloquist anymore.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“At the party today—what happened?” Margo asked. “What went wrong?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I don’t really know,” I said. “I don’t really know.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">That night, I went to bed early. Before I turned out the light, I glanced at the closet door. It was closed tightly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Having Slappy shut up in the closet made me feel safer.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I fell asleep quickly. I slept a deep, dreamless sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">When I awoke the next morning, I sat up and rubbed my eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Then I heard Sara’s angry screams down the hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Mom! Dad! Mom! Hurry!” Sara was shouting. “Come see what Amy did now!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">13<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I shut my eyes, listening to my sister’s screams.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">What now? I thought with a shudder. What now?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Ohh!” I let out a low cry when I saw that my closet door was open a crack.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">My heart pounding, I climbed out of bed and began running down the hall to Sara’s room. Mom, Dad, and Jed were already on their way.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Mom! Dad! Look what she did!” Sara screamed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Oh, no!” I heard Mom and Dad shriek.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I stopped in the doorway, peered in—and gasped.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara’s bedroom walls! They were smeared with red paint!<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Someone had taken a thick paintbrush and had scrawled AMY AMY AMY AMY in huge red letters all over Sara’s walls.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Noooo!” I moaned. I covered my mouth with both hands to stop the sound.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">My eyes darted from wall to wall, reading my name over and over.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">AMY AMY AMY AMY.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Why<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>my<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>name?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I suddenly felt sick. I swallowed hard, trying to force back my nausea.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I blinked several times, trying to blink the ugly red scrawls away.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">AMY AMY AMY AMY.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Why?” Sara asked me in a trembling voice. She adjusted her nightshirt and leaned against her dresser. “Why, Amy?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I suddenly realized that everyone was staring at me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I—I—I—” I sputtered.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy, this cannot continue,” Dad said solemnly. His expression wasn’t angry. It was sad.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“We’ll get you some help, dear,” Mom said. She had tears in her eyes. Her chin trembled.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed stood silently with his arms crossed in front of his pajama shirt.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Why, Amy?” Sara demanded again.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But—I<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>didn’t!”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>I finally choked out.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy—no stories,” Mom said softly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But, Mom—I didn’t do it!” I insisted shrilly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“This is serious,” Dad murmured, rubbing his whiskery chin. “Amy, do you realize how serious this is?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed reached out two fingers and rubbed them over one of the red paint scrawls. “Dry,” he reported.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“That means it was done early in the night,” Dad said, his eyes locked on me. “Do you realize how bad this is? This isn’t just mischief.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I took a deep breath. My whole body was shaking. “Slappy did it!” I blurted out. “I’m not crazy, Dad! I’m not! You’ve got to believe me! Slappy did it!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy, please—” Mom said softly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Come with me!” I cried. “I’ll prove it. I’ll prove that Slappy did it. Come on!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I didn’t wait for them to reply. I turned and bolted from the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I flew down the hall. They all followed silently behind me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Is Amy sick or something?” I heard Jed ask my parents.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I didn’t hear the answer.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I burst into my room. They hurried close behind.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I stepped up to the closet and pulled the door open.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“See?” I cried, pointing to Slappy. “See? That proves it! Slappy did it!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">14<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I pointed triumphantly at Slappy. “See? See?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The dummy sat crossed-legged on the closet floor. His head stood erect on his narrow shoulders. He appeared to grin up at us.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy’s left hand rested on the closet floor. His right hand was in his lap.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And in his right hand he clutched a fat paintbrush.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The bristles on the brush were caked with red paint.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>told<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>you Slappy did it!” I cried, stepping back so the others could get a better view.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But everyone remained silent. Mom and Dad frowned and shook their heads.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed’s giggle broke the silence. “This is dumb,” he told Sara.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara lowered her eyes and didn’t reply.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Oh, Amy,” Mom said, sighing. “Did you really think you could blame it on the dummy by putting the paintbrush in his hand?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Huh?” I cried. I didn’t understand what Mom was saying.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Did you really expect us to believe this?” Dad asked softly. His eyes stared hard into mine.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Did you think you could put the brush into Slappy’s hand, and make us think he painted your name on Sara’s walls?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But I<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>didn’t!”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>I shrieked.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“When did he learn how to spell?” Jed chimed in.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Be quiet, Jed,” Dad said sharply. “This is serious. It isn’t a joke.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Sara, take Jed out of here,” Mom instructed. “The two of you go to the kitchen and get breakfast started.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara began to guide Jed to the door. But he pulled away. “I want to stay!” he cried. “I want to see how you punish Amy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Get!” Mom cried, shooing him away with both hands.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara tugged him out of the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I was shaking all over. I narrowed my eyes at Slappy. Had his grin grown even wider?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I stared at the paintbrush in his hand. The red paint on the bristles blurred, blurred until I saw only red.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I blinked several times and turned back to my parents. “You really don’t believe me?” I asked softly, my voice trembling.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">They shook their heads. “How can we believe you, dear?” Mom replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“We can’t believe that a wooden dummy has been doing these horrible things in Sara’s room,” Dad added. “Why don’t you tell us the truth, Amy?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But I<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>am!”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>I protested.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">How could I prove it to them? How?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I let out an angry cry and slammed the closet door shut.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Let’s try to calm down,” Mom urged quietly. “Let’s all get dressed and have some breakfast. We can talk about this when we’re feeling better.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Good idea,” Dad replied, still squinting at me through his glasses. He was studying me as if he’d never seen me before.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He scratched his bald head. “Guess I’ll have to call a painter for Sara’s room. It’ll take at least two coats to cover up the red.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">They turned and made their way slowly from my room, talking about how much it was going to cost to have my sister’s room painted.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I stood in the center of the room and shut my eyes. Every time I closed them, I saw red. All over Sara’s wall:<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">AMY AMY AMY AMY.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But I didn’t do it!” I cried out loud.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">My heart pounding, I spun around. I grabbed the knob and jerked open the closet door.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I grabbed Slappy by the shoulders of his gray jacket and pulled him up from the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The paintbrush fell from his hand. It landed with a thud beside my bare foot.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I shook the dummy angrily. Shook him so hard that his arms and legs swung back and forth, and his head snapped back.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Then I lifted him so that we were eye to eye.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Admit it!” I screamed, glaring into his grinning face. “Go ahead! Admit that you did it! Tell me that you did it!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The glassy blue eyes gazed up at me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Lifelessly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Blankly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Neither of us moved.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And then, to my horror, the wooden lips parted. The red mouth slowly opened.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And Slappy let out a soft, evil,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>“Hee hee hee.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">15<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I can’t come over,” I told Margo glumly. I was sprawled on top of my bed, the phone pressed against my ear. “I’m not allowed out of my room all day.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Huh? Why?” Margo demanded.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I sighed. “If I told you, Margo, you wouldn’t believe me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Try me,” she replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I decided not to tell her. I mean, my whole family thought I was crazy. Why should my best friend think it, too?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Maybe I’ll tell you about it when I see you,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Silence at the other end.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Then Margo uttered, “Wow.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Wow? What does wow mean?” I cried.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Wow. It must be pretty bad if you can’t talk about it, Amy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“It—it’s just weird,” I stammered. “Can we change the subject?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Another silence. “Daddy has a birthday party for six-year-olds coming up, Amy. And he wondered—”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“No. Sorry,” I broke in quickly. “I put Slappy away.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Excuse me?” Margo reacted with surprise.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I put the dummy away,” I told her. “I’m finished with that. I’m not going to be a ventriloquist anymore.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But, Amy—” Margo protested. “You<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>loved<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>playing with those dummies. And you said you wanted to make some money, remember? So Daddy—”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“No,” I repeated firmly. “I changed my mind, Margo. I’m sorry. Tell your dad I’m sorry. I—I’ll tell you about it when I see you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I swallowed hard. And added: “<i>If</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>I ever see you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“You sound terrible,” Margo replied softly. “Should I come over to your house? I think I could get my dad to drop me off.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I’m totally grounded,” I said unhappily. “No visitors.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I heard footsteps in the hall. Probably Mom or Dad checking up on me. I wasn’t allowed to be on the phone, either.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Got to go. Bye, Margo,” I whispered. I hung up the phone.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom knocked on my bedroom door. I recognized her knock. “Amy, want to talk?” she called in.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Not really,” I replied glumly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“As soon as you tell the truth, you can come out,” Mom said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I know,” I muttered.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Why don’t you just tell the truth now? It’s such a beautiful day,” Mom called in. “Don’t waste the whole day in your room.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I—I don’t feel like talking now,” I told her.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">She didn’t say anything else. But I could hear her standing out there. Finally I heard her footsteps padding back down the hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I grabbed my pillow and buried my face in it.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I wanted to shut out the world. And think.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Think. Think. Think.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I wasn’t going to confess to a crime I didn’t do. No way.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I was going to find a way to prove to them that Slappy was the culprit. And I was going to prove to them that I wasn’t crazy.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I had to show them that Slappy wasn’t an ordinary dummy.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He was alive. And he was evil.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But how could I prove it?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I climbed to my feet and began pacing back and forth. I stopped at the window and gazed out at the front yard.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>was<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>a beautiful spring day. Bright yellow tulips bobbed in the flower patch in front of my window. The sky was a solid blue. The twin maple trees in the center of the yard were starting to unfurl fresh leaves.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I took a deep breath. The air smelled so fresh and sweet.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I saw Jed and a couple of his friends. They were Rollerblading down the sidewalk. Laughing. Having a good time.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And I was a prisoner. A prisoner in my room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">All because of Slappy.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I spun away from the window and stared at the closet door. I had shoved Slappy into the back of the closet and shut the door tightly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I’m going to catch you in the act, Slappy, I decided.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">That’s how I’m going to prove I’m not crazy.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I’m going to stay up all night. I’m going to stay up<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>every<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>night. And the first time you creep out of that closet, I’ll be awake. And I’ll follow you.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And I’ll make sure that everyone sees what you are doing.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I’ll make sure that everyone sees that<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>you<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>are the evil one in this house.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I felt so upset. I knew I wasn’t really thinking clearly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But having a plan made me feel a little better.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Taking one last glance at the closet door, I crossed the room to my desk and started to do my homework.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div align="center" class="stars" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">* * *<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom and Dad let me come out for dinner.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad had grilled hamburgers in the backyard, the first barbecue of spring. I loved grilled hamburgers, especially when they’re charred real black. But I could barely taste my food.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I guess I felt too excited and nervous about trapping Slappy.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">No one talked much.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom kept chattering to Dad about the vegetable garden and what she wanted to plant. Sara talked a little about the mural she had started to paint in her room. Jed kept complaining about how he wrecked his knee Rollerblading.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">No one<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">spoke to me. They kept glancing over the table at me. Studying me like I was some kind of zoo animal.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I asked to be excused before dessert.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I usually stay up till ten. But a little after nine, I decided to go to bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I was wide awake. Eager to trap Slappy.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I turned out the light and tucked myself in. Then I lay staring up at the shifting shadows on the bedroom ceiling, waiting, waiting…<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Waiting for Slappy to come creeping out of the closet.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I must have fallen asleep.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I tried not to. But I must have drifted off anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I was startled awake by sounds in the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I raised my head, instantly alert. And listened.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The scrape of feet on my carpet. A soft rustling.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">A shiver of fear ran down my back. I felt goose-bumps up and down my arms.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Another low sound. So near my bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I reached forward quickly. Clicked on the bed table lamp.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And cried out.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">16<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Jed—what are you<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>doing<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>in here?” I shrieked.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He stood blinking at me in the center of the room. One leg of his blue pajama pants had rolled up. His red hair was matted against one side of his head.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“What are you doing in my room?” I demanded breathlessly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He squinted at me. “Huh? Why are you yelling at me? You<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>called<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>me, Amy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I—I<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>what?”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>I sputtered.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“You called me. I heard you.” He rubbed his eyes with his fingers and yawned. “I was asleep. You woke me up.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I lowered my feet to the floor and stood up. My legs felt shaky and weak. Jed had really scared me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I was asleep, too,” I told him. “I didn’t call you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yes, you did,” he insisted. “You told me to come to your room.” He bent to pull down the pajama leg.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Jed, you just woke<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>me<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>up,” I replied. “So how could I call you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He scratched his hair. He yawned again. “You mean I dreamed it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I studied his face. “Jed—did you sneak into my room to play some kind of prank?” I demanded sternly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He wrinkled his face up, tried to appear innocent.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“<i>Did<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>you?” I demanded. “Were you going into the closet to do something with Slappy?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“No way!” he protested. He started to back out of the room. “I’m telling the truth, Amy. I thought you called me. That’s all.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I squinted hard at him, trying to decide if he was telling the truth. I let my eyes wander around the room. Everything seemed okay. Dennis lay in the armchair, his head in his lap.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The closet door remained closed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“It was a dream, that’s all,” Jed repeated. “Good night, Amy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I said good night. “Sorry I got upset, Jed. It’s been a bad day.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I listened to him pad back to his room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The cat poked his head into my room, his eyes gleaming like gold. “Go to sleep, George,” I whispered. “You go to sleep, too, okay?” He obediently turned and disappeared.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I clicked off the bed table lamp and settled back into bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed was telling the truth, I decided. He seemed as confused as I was.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">My eyes suddenly felt heavy. As if there were hundred-pound weights over them. I let out a loud yawn.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I felt so sleepy. And the pillow felt so soft and warm.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But I couldn’t let myself fall back to sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I had to stay awake. Had to wait for Slappy to make his move.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Did I drift back to sleep? I’m not sure.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">A loud<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>click<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>made my eyes shoot open wide.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I raised my head in time to see the closet door start to open.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The room lay in darkness. No light washed in from the window. The door was a black shadow, sliding slowly, slowly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">My heart began to pound. My mouth suddenly felt dry as cotton.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The closet door slid slowly, silently.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">A low<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>creak.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And then a shadow stepped out from behind the dark door.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I squinted hard at it. Not moving a muscle.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Another<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>creak<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>of the door.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The figure took another silent step. Out of the closet. Another step. Another. Making its way past my bed, to the bedroom door.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Yes!<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Even in the night blackness I could see his large, rounded head. I watched his skinny arms dangle at his sides, the wooden hands bobbing as he moved.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The heavy leather shoes slid over my carpet. The thin, boneless legs nearly collapsed with each shuffling step.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Like a scarecrow, I thought, gripped with horror.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He walks like a scarecrow. Because he has no bones. No bones at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Up and down, his whole body bobbed as he crept away.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I waited until he slithered and scraped out the door and into the hall. Then I jumped to my feet.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I took a deep breath and held it.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Then I tiptoed through the darkness after him.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Here we go! I told myself.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Here we go!</i><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">17<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I stopped at the bedroom door and poked my head into the hall. Mom keeps a small night-light on all night just outside her bedroom door. It cast dim yellow light over the other end of the hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Peering into the light, I watched Slappy pull himself silently toward Sara’s room. The big shoes shuffled along the carpet. Slappy’s body bobbed and bent. The big, wooden hands nearly dragged along the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">When my chest started to ache, I realized I hadn’t taken a breath. As silently as I could, I let out a long whoosh of air. Then I took another deep breath and started to follow Slappy down the hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I had a sudden impulse to shout: “Mom! Dad!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">They would burst out of their room and see Slappy standing there in the middle of the hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But, no.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I didn’t want to shout for them now. I wanted to see where Slappy was heading. I wanted to see what he planned to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I took a step. The floorboard creaked under my bare foot.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Did he hear me?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I pressed my back against the wall, tried to squeeze myself flat in the deep shadows.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I peered through the dim yellow light at him. He kept bobbing silently along. His shoulders rode up and down with each shuffling step.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He was just outside Sara’s room when he turned around.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">My heart stopped.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I ducked low. Dropped back into the bathroom.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Had he seen me?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Had he turned around because he knew I was there?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I shut my eyes. Waited. Listened.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Listened for him to come scraping back. Listened for him to turn around and come back to get me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Silence.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I swallowed hard. My mouth felt so dry. My legs were trembling. I grabbed the tile wall to steady myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Still silent out there.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I gathered up my courage and slowly, slowly poked my head out into the hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Empty.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I squinted toward Sara’s room in the yellow light.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">No one there.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He’s in Sara’s room, I told myself. He’s doing something terrible in Sara’s room. Something I’ll be blamed for.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Not<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>this<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>time, Slappy! I silently vowed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">This time you’re going to be caught.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Pressing against the wall, I crept down the hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I stopped in Sara’s doorway.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The night-light was plugged in across from Sara’s room. The light was brighter here.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I squinted into her bedroom. I could see the mural she had started to paint. A beach scene. The ocean. A broad, yellow beach. Kites flying over the beach. Kids building a sand castle in one corner. The mural was tacked up, nearly covering the entire wall.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Where was Slappy?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I took a step into the room—and saw him.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Standing at her paint table.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I saw his big wooden hand fumble over the table of supplies. Then he grabbed a paintbrush in one hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He raised and lowered the brush, as if pretending to paint the air.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Then I saw him dip the paintbrush in a jar of paint.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy took a step toward the mural. Then another step.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He stood for a moment, admiring the mural.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He raised the paintbrush high.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">That’s when I burst into the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I dove toward the dummy just as he raised the paintbrush to the mural.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I grabbed the paintbrush with one hand. Wrapped my other hand around his waist. And tugged him back.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The dummy kicked both legs and tried to punch me with his fists.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Hey—!” a startled voice shouted.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The light clicked on.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy went limp on my arm. His head dropped. His arms and legs dangled to the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sitting up in bed, Sara gaped at me in horror.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I saw her eyes stop at the paintbrush in my hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy—what are you<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>doing?”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>she cried.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And, then, without waiting for an answer, Sara began to shout: “Mom! Dad! Hurry! She’s in here again!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></h3> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">18<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dad came rumbling in first, adjusting his pajama pants. “What’s going on? What’s the problem?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom followed right behind him, blinking and yawning.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I—I took this from Slappy,” I stammered, holding up the paintbrush. “He—he was going to ruin the mural.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">They stared at the paintbrush in my hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I heard Slappy sneak out of the closet,” I explained breathlessly. “I followed him into Sara’s room. I grabbed him just before—before he did something terrible.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I turned to Sara. “You saw Slappy—right? You saw him?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yeah,” Sara said, still in bed, her arms crossed over her chest. “I see Slappy. You’re carrying him on your arm.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The dummy hung over my arm, its head nearly hitting the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“No!” I cried to Sara. “You saw him sneak into your room—right? That’s why you turned on the light?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara rolled her eyes. “I saw<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>you<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>come into my room,” she replied. “You’re<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>carrying<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>the dummy, Amy. You’re holding the dummy—and the brush.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But—but—but—” I sputtered.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">My eyes darted from face to face. They all stared back at me as if I had just landed on Earth in a flying saucer.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">No one in my family was going to believe me. No one.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The next morning, Mom hung up the phone as I came down for breakfast. “You’re wearing shorts to school?” she asked, eyeing my outfit—olive-green shorts and a red, sleeveless T-shirt.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“The radio said it’s going to be hot,” I replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed and Sara were already at the table. They glanced up from their cereal bowls, but didn’t say anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I poured myself a glass of grape juice. I’m the only one in my family who doesn’t like orange juice. I guess I<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>am<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>totally weird.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Who were you talking to on the phone?” I asked Mom. I took a long drink.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Uh… Dr. Palmer’s secretary,” she replied hesitantly. “You have purple above your lip,” she told me, pointing.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I wiped the grape juice off with a napkin. “Dr. Palmer? Isn’t she a shrink?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom nodded. “I tried to get an appointment for today. But she can’t see you until Wednesday.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But, Mom—!” I protested.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Mom placed a finger over her mouth. “Sssshhh. No discussion.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But, Mom—!” I repeated.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Ssshhh. Just talk to her once, Amy. You might enjoy it. You might think it’s helpful.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yeah. Sure,” I muttered.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I turned to Sara and Jed. They stared down at their cereal bowls.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I sighed and set the juice glass down in the sink.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I knew what this meant. It meant that I had until Wednesday to prove to my family that I wasn’t a total wack job.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">In the lunchroom at school, Margo begged me to tell her what was going on with me. “Why were you locked up in your room all day yesterday?” she demanded. “Come on, Amy—spill.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“It’s no big deal,” I lied.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">No way I was going to tell her.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I didn’t need the story going around school that Amy Kramer believes her ventriloquist dummy is alive.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I didn’t need everyone whispering about me and staring at me the way everyone in my family did.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Dad wants to know if you’ll change your mind about the birthday party,” Margo said. “If you want to perform with Slappy, you can—”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“No. Forget it!” I interrupted. “I put Slappy in the closet, and he’s staying there. Forever.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Margo’s eyes went wide. “Okay. Okay. Wow. You don’t have to bite my head off.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Sorry,” I said quickly. “I’m a little stressed out these days. Here. Want this?” I handed her the brownie Mom had packed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Thanks,” Margo replied, surprised.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Later,” I said. I crinkled up my lunch bag, tossed it in the trash, and hurried away.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">In my room that night, I couldn’t concentrate on my homework. I kept staring at the calendar.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Monday night. I had only two nights to prove that I wasn’t crazy, that Slappy really was doing these horrible things.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I slammed my history book shut. No way I could read about the firing on Fort Sumter tonight.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I paced back and forth for a while. Thinking. Thinking hard. But getting nowhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">What could I do?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">What?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">After a while, my head felt about to split open. I reached up both hands and tugged at my hair.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Aaaaagh!” I let out a furious cry. Of anger. Of frustration.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Maybe I’ll just get rid of Slappy, I decided.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Maybe I’ll take him outside and toss him in the trash.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And that will end the whole problem.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The idea made me feel a little better.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I turned and took two steps toward the closet.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But I stopped with a gasp when I saw the doorknob slowly turn.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">As I stared in shock, the closet door swung open.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy stepped out.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He slumped forward and stopped a few feet in front of me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">His blue eyes glared up at me. His grin grew wider.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy,” he rasped, “it’s time you and I had a little talk.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">19<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Amy, now you are my slave,” Slappy said. His threat came out in a harsh, cold rasp. The eerie voice made me shiver.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I stared back at him. I couldn’t reply.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I gaped into those glassy blue eyes, that red-lipped smirk.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“You read the ancient words that bring me to life,” the dummy whispered. “And now you will serve me. You will do everything I ask.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“No!” I finally managed to choke out. “No! Please—!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yes!” he cried. The grinning wooden head bobbed up and down, nodding. “Yes, Amy! You are my slave now! My slave forever!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I w-won’t!” I stammered. “You can’t make me—” My voice caught in my throat. My legs wobbled like rubber. My knees buckled, and I nearly fell.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy raised one hand and grabbed my wrist. I felt the cold, wooden fingers tighten around me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“You will do as I tell you—from now on,” the dummy whispered. “Or else…”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Let go of me!” I cried. I struggled to tug my arm free. But his grasp was too tight. “Or else<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>what?”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>I cried.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Or else I will destroy your sister’s mural,” Slappy replied. His painted grin grew wider. The cold eyes glared into mine.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Big deal,” I muttered. “Do you really think I’ll be your slave because you wreck her painting? You’ve already wrecked Sara’s room—haven’t you? That doesn’t mean I’ll be your slave!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I’ll keep on destroying things,” Slappy replied, tightening his grip on my wrist, tugging me down toward him. “Maybe I’ll start wrecking your brother’s things, too. And you will be blamed, Amy. You will be blamed for it all.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Stop—” I cried, trying to twist free.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Your parents are already worried about you—aren’t they, Amy?” the dummy rasped in that harsh, cold whispery voice. “Your parents already think you’re crazy!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Stop! Please—!” I pleaded.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“What do you think they’ll do when you start wrecking everything in the house?” Slappy demanded. “What do you think they’ll do to you, Amy?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Listen to me!” I shrieked. “You can’t—”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He jerked my arm hard. “They’ll send you away!” he rasped, his eyes flashing wildly. “That’s what your parents will do. They’ll send you away. And you’ll never see them again—except on visiting days!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He tilted back his wooden head and uttered a shrill laugh.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">A low moan escaped my throat. My entire body shuddered with terror.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy tugged me closer. “You will be an excellent slave,” he whispered in my ear. “You and I will have many good years together. You will devote your life to me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“No!” I cried. “No, I won’t!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I sucked in a deep breath. Then I swung my arm hard, as hard as I could.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I caught the dummy by surprise.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Before he could let go of my wrist, I pulled him off balance.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He let out a startled grunt as I lifted him off the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He’s just a dummy,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I told myself.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Just a dummy. I can handle him. I can beat him.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">His hand fell off my wrist.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I ducked low. Grabbed his boneless arm with both hands. Swung my shoulder. Flipped him over my back.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He landed hard on his stomach. His head made a loud<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>clonk<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>as it hit the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Breathing hard, my heart thudding wildly, I dove.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I can handle him. I can beat him.</span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I tried to pin him to the floor with my knees.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But he spun away and scrambled up, faster than I could believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I cried out as he swung his wooden fist.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I tried to dodge away. But he was too fast.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The heavy fist hit me square in the forehead.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">My face felt as if it had exploded. Pain shot down my body.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Everything went bright red.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And, holding both sides of my head, I crumpled to the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">20<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I can handle him. I can beat him.</span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The words repeated in my mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I blinked my eyes. Raised my head.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I refused to give up.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Through the haze of red, I reached up with both hands.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I grabbed Slappy by the waist and pulled him down.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Ignoring my throbbing forehead, I wrestled him to the ground. He kicked both feet and thrashed his arms wildly. He swung at me, trying to land another blow.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But I dug my knee into his middle. Then I wrapped my hands around his thrashing arms and pinned them to the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Let go, slave!” he squealed. “I command you—let go!” He struggled and squirmed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But I held tight.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">His eyes darted frantically from side to side.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">His wooden jaw clicked open and shut, open and shut, as he strained to squirm free.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I command you to let go, slave! You have no choice! You must obey me!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I ignored his shrill cries and swung his arms behind his back. Holding them tightly in place, I climbed to my feet.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He tried to kick me with both shoes. But I let go of the arms and grabbed his legs.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I swung him upside down. Once again, his head hit the floor with a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>clonk.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It didn’t seem to hurt him a bit.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Let go! Let go, slave! You will pay! You will pay dearly for this!” He screamed and protested, squirming and swinging his arms.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Breathing hard, I dragged him across the rug—and swung him into the open closet.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He dove quickly, trying to escape.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But I slammed the door in his face. And turned the lock.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">With a sigh, I leaned my back against the closet door and struggled to catch my breath.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Let me out! You can’t keep me in here!” Slappy raged.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He began pounding on the door. Then he kicked the door.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I’ll break it down! I really will!” he threatened. He pounded even harder. The big wooden hands thudded against the wooden door.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I turned and saw the door start to give.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He’s going to break it open! I realized.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">What can I do? What can I do now?<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I tried to fight back my panic, struggled to think clearly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy furiously kicked at the door.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I need help, I decided.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I bolted into the hall. Mom and Dad had their bedroom door closed, I saw. Should I wake them up?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">No. They wouldn’t believe me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I’d drag them into my room. Slappy would be slumped lifelessly on the closet floor. Mom and Dad would be even more upset about me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara, I thought. Maybe I can convince Sara. Maybe Sara will listen to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Her door was open. I burst into her bedroom.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">She stood at the mural, brush in hand, dabbing yellow paint on the beach.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">She turned as I ran in, and her face tightened in anger. “Amy—what do<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>you<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>want?” she demanded.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“You—you’ve got to believe me!” I sputtered. “I need your help! It wasn’t me who did those horrible things. It really wasn’t, Sara. It was Slappy. Please—believe me! It was Slappy!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yes. I know,” Sara replied calmly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></h3> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">21<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Huh?” My mouth dropped open. I stared at her in surprise. “What did you say?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara set down the paintbrush. She wiped her hands on her gray smock. “Amy—I know it’s Slappy,” she repeated in a whisper.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I—I—” I was so stunned, I couldn’t speak. “But, Sara—you—”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!” she cried with emotion. She rushed forward and threw her arms around me. She hugged me tightly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I still didn’t believe what she had said. My head was spinning.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I gently pushed her away. “You knew all this time? You knew it was Slappy and not me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara nodded. “The other night, I woke up. I heard someone in my room. I pretended to be asleep. But I had my eyes open partway.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“And—?” I demanded.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I saw Slappy,” Sara confessed, lowering her eyes. “I saw him carrying a red paintbrush. I saw him painting AMY AMY AMY AMY all over my walls.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But you didn’t tell Mom and Dad?” I cried. “You made them think it was me? And the whole time, you knew the truth?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara kept her eyes on the floor. Her black hair fell over her face. She brushed it back with a quick, nervous sweep of one hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I—I didn’t want to believe it,” she confessed. “I didn’t want to believe that a dummy could walk on its own, that it could be… alive.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I glared at her. “And, so—?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“So I accused you,” Sara said with a sob. “I guess the truth was just too scary. I was too frightened, Amy. I<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>wanted<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>to believe it was you doing those horrible things. I wanted to pretend it wasn’t the dummy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“You<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>wanted<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>to get me in trouble,” I accused. “That’s why you did it, Sara. That’s why you lied to Mom and Dad. You<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>wanted<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>to get me in trouble.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">She finally raised her face to me. I saw two tears trailing down her cheeks. “Yeah, I guess,” she murmured.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">She wiped the tears off with her hands. Her green eyes locked on mine. “I—I guess I’m a little jealous of you,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Huh?” My sister had stunned me again. I squinted at her, trying to make sense of her words. “You?” I cried. “You’re jealous of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>me?”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">She nodded. “Yeah. I guess. Everything is easy for you. You’re so relaxed. Everyone likes your sense of humor. It’s not like that for me,” Sara explained. “I have to paint to impress people.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">This had to be the biggest surprise of all. Sara jealous of me?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Didn’t she know how jealous I was of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>her?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I suddenly had a funny feeling in my chest. My eyes brimmed with tears. Strong emotion swept over me like an ocean wave.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I rushed forward and hugged Sara.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">For some reason, we both started laughing. I can’t explain it. We stood there in the middle of her room, laughing like lunatics.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I guess we were just so glad that the truth was out.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Then Slappy’s painted face flashed back into my mind. And I remembered with a chill why I had burst into my sister’s room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“You have to help me,” I told her. “Right now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara’s smile vanished. “Help you do what?” she demanded.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“We have to get rid of Slappy,” I told her. “We have to get rid of him for good.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I tugged her hand. She followed me down the hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“But—how?” she asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Stepping into my room, we both cried out at once.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We heard a final kick—and the closet door swung open.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy burst out, his eyes wild with rage.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Guess what, slaves?” he rasped. “Slappy wins!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">22<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Grab him!” I cried to my sister.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I reached out both arms and made a frantic dive for the dummy. But he scampered to the side and slipped away from my tackle.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">His blue eyes flashed excitedly. His red lips twisted in an ugly grin.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Give up, slaves!” he rasped. “You cannot win!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara held back, hands against the door frame. I could see the fear in her eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I made another grab for Slappy. Missed again.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Sara—help me!” I pleaded.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara took a step into the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I leaped at Slappy, grabbed one boneless ankle.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">With a grunt, he pulled out of my grasp. He darted toward the door—and ran right into Sara.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The collision stunned them both.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara staggered back.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy teetered off balance.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I threw myself at him, caught his arms, and pulled them behind his back.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He squirmed and twisted. He kicked out furiously.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But Sara grabbed both of his big leather shoes. “Tie him in a knot!” she cried breathlessly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He kicked and thrashed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But we held tight.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I twisted his arms behind him. Twisted them around each other. Twisted. Twisted. Then tied them in as tight a knot as I could.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy squirmed and bucked, grunting loudly, his wooden jaws clicking.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">When I glanced up from my work on the arms, I saw that Sara had wrapped his legs in a knot, too.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy tilted back his head and uttered a roar of rage. His eyes slid up into his head so that only the whites showed.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>“Put me down, slaves! Put me down at once!”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">With one hand, I grabbed a wad of tissues from my bed table and jammed it into Slappy’s mouth.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He uttered a grunt of protest, then went silent.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Now what?” Sara cried breathlessly. “Where should we put him?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">My eyes shot around the room. No, I decided. I don’t want him in my room. I don’t want him in the house.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Outside,” I instructed my sister, holding on to the knotted arms with both of my hands. “Let’s get him outside.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Struggling to hold on to the bucking legs, Sara glanced at the clock. “It’s after eleven. What if Mom and Dad hear us?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I don’t care!” I cried. “Hurry! I want him out of here! I never want to see him again!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We dragged Slappy out into the hall. Mom and Dad’s door remained closed.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Good, I thought. They hadn’t heard our struggle.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara carried him by the knotted legs. I held on to the arms.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy had stopped struggling and squirming. I think he was waiting to see what we were going to do with him. The wad of tissues had silenced his cries.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I didn’t know where to take him. I only knew I wanted him out of the house.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We carried him through the darkened living room and out the front door. We stepped into a hot, sticky night, more like summer than spring. A pale sliver of a moon hovered low in a blue-black sky.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">There was no breeze. No sounds of any kind. Nothing moved.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara and I carried the dummy to the driveway. “Should we take him somewhere on our bikes?” she suggested.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“How will we balance him?” I asked. “Besides, it’s too dark. Too dangerous. Let’s just carry him a few blocks and dump him somewhere.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“You mean in a trash can or something?” Sara asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I nodded. “That’s where he belongs. In the trash.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Luckily, the dummy didn’t weigh much at all. We made our way to the sidewalk, then carried him to the end of the block.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy remained limp, his eyes rolled up in his head.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">At the corner, I spotted two circles of white light approaching. Car headlights. “Quick—!” I whispered to Sara.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We slipped behind a hedge just in time. The car rolled by without slowing.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We waited for the glow of red taillights to disappear in the darkness. Then we continued down the next block, carrying the dummy between us.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Hey—how about those?” Sara asked, pointing with her free hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I squinted to see what she had spotted. A row of metal trash cans lined up at the curb in front of a dark house across the street.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Looks good,” I said. “Let’s shove him in and clamp down the lid. Maybe the trash guys will haul him away tomorrow.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I led the way across the street—and then stopped. “Sara—wait,” I whispered. “I have a better idea.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I dragged the dummy toward the corner. I motioned to the metal drain down at the curb.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“The sewer?” Sara whispered.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I nodded. “It’s perfect.” Through the narrow opening at the curb, I could hear running water far down below. “Come on. Shove him in.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy still didn’t move or protest in any way.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I lowered his head to the drain opening. Then Sara and I pushed him in headfirst.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I heard a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>splash<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>and a hard<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>thud<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>as he hit the sewer floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We both listened. Silence. Then the soft trickle of water.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara and I grinned at each other.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We hurried home. I was so happy, I skipped most of the way.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The next morning, Sara and I came to the kitchen for breakfast together. Mom turned from the counter, where she was pouring herself a cup of coffee.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Jed was already at the table, eating his Frosted Flakes. “What’s<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>he<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>doing down here?” Jed asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He pointed across the table.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">At Slappy. Sitting in the chair.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">23<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara and I both gasped.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yes. Why is that dummy down here?” Mom asked me. “I found him sitting there when I came in this morning. And why is he so dirty? Where has he been, Amy?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I could barely choke out a word. “I… uh… I guess he fell or something,” I finally mumbled.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Well, take him back upstairs,” Mom ordered. “He’s supposed to be kept in the closet—remember?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Uh… yeah. I remember,” I said, sighing.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“You’ll have to clean him up later,” Mom said, stirring her coffee. “He looks as if he’s been wallowing in the mud.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Okay,” I replied weakly.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I hoisted Slappy up and slung him over my shoulder. Then I started to my room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I—I’ll come with you,” Sara stammered.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“What for?” Mom demanded. “Sit down, Sara, and eat your breakfast. You’re both going to be late.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara obediently sat down across from Jed. I made my way down the hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I was halfway to my room when Slappy raised his head and whispered in my ear, “Good morning, slave. Did you sleep well?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I tossed him into the closet and locked the door. I could hear him laughing inside the closet. The evil laugh made me shake all over.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">What am I going to do now?<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I asked myself.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>What can I do to get rid of this creature?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The day dragged by. I don’t think I heard a word my teacher said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I couldn’t get Slappy’s evil, grinning face out of my mind. His raspy voice rattled in my ears.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I won’t be your slave!<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I silently vowed.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>I’ll get you out of my house—out of my life—if it’s the last thing I do!</i><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">That night, I lay wide awake in my bed. How could I sleep, knowing that evil dummy sat in the closet a few feet away?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The night was hot and steamy. I had pushed the window open all the way, but there was no breeze. A fly buzzed by my head, the first fly of spring.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Staring up at the twisting shadows on the ceiling, I brushed the fly away with one hand. As soon as the buzzing vanished, another sound took its place.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">A click. A low squeak.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The sound of the closet door opening.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I raised myself up off the pillow. Squinting into the darkness, I saw Slappy creep out of the closet.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He took a few shuffling steps, his big shoes sliding silently over my carpet. He turned.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Was he coming toward my bed?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">No.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">His head and shoulders bobbed as he pulled himself to the door. Then out into the hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">He’s going to Sara’s room, I knew.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But what was he going to do there? Did he plan to pay us back for what we did to him last night?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">What new horror was he going to create?<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I lowered my feet to the floor, climbed out of bed, and followed him out into the hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <h3 align="center" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 16pt;">24<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="fp" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">My eyes adjusted quickly to the dim yellow light from the night-light at the other end of the hall. I watched Slappy slither toward my sister’s room. He moved as silently as a shadow.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I held my breath and kept my back against the wall as I followed behind him. When he turned into Sara’s room, I stepped away from the wall and started to run.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I reached the bedroom doorway in time to see Slappy pick up a wide paintbrush from Sara’s supply table. He took a step toward the mural on the wall.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">One step.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And then another small figure leaped out of the darkness.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The lights flashed on.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Dennis!” I cried.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Stand back!”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dennis ordered in a high, shrill voice. He lowered his wooden head and charged at Slappy.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara sat up in her bed and uttered a frightened cry.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I could see the stunned expression on Slappy’s face.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dennis flew at Slappy. He slammed his head into Slappy’s middle.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Slappy let out a loud<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>“Oooof!”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>He staggered back. Fell.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">A loud<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>thud<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>rang through the room as the back of Slappy’s head hit Sara’s iron bedpost.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I raised both hands to my cheeks and gasped as Slappy’s head cracked open.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The wooden head split down the middle.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I watched the evil face crack apart. The wide, shocked eyes slid in different directions. The red lips cracked and fell away.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The head dropped to the floor in two pieces. And then the body collapsed in a heap beside them.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">My hands still pressed against my face, my heart pounding, I took a few steps into the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dennis ran past me, out to the hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">But my eyes were locked on the two pieces of Slappy’s head. I stared in horror as an enormous white worm crawled out of one of the pieces. The fat worm slithered and curled to the wall—and vanished into a crack in the molding.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara climbed out of bed, breathing hard, her face bright red from the excitement.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The closet door swung open. Mom and Dad came bursting out.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Girls—are you okay?” Dad cried.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We nodded.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“We saw the whole thing!” Mom exclaimed. She threw her arms around me. “Amy, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. We should have believed you. I’m so sorry we didn’t believe you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“We believe you now!” Dad declared, staring down at Slappy’s broken head, his crumpled body. “We saw everything!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It was all planned. Sara and I had worked it out before dinner.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara convinced Mom and Dad to hide in the closet. Mom and Dad were really creeped out by the way I was acting. They were willing to do anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">So Sara pretended to go to sleep. Mom and Dad hid in the closet.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I left the closet door unlocked to make it easier for Slappy to get out.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I knew Slappy would creep into Sara’s room. I knew Mom and Dad would finally see that I’m not crazy.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And then Jed burst out dressed as Dennis, with Dennis’ head propped up on top of his turtleneck sweater.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We knew that would shock Slappy. We knew it would give us a chance to grab him.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We didn’t know what a great job Jed would do. We didn’t know that Jed would actually destroy the evil dummy. We didn’t know that Slappy’s head would crack apart. That was just good luck.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Hey—where<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>is<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>Jed?” I asked, my eyes searching the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Jed? Jed?” Mom called. “Where are you? You did a great job!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">No reply.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">No sign of my brother.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Weird,” Sara muttered, shaking her head.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We all trooped down the hall into Jed’s room.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We found him in bed, sound asleep. He groggily raised his head from the pillow and squinted at us. “What time is it?” he asked sleepily.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“It’s nearly eleven,” Dad replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Oh, no!” Jed cried, sitting up. “I’m sorry! I forgot to wake up! I forgot I was supposed to dress up like Dennis!”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre1" style="margin: 1pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18pt;"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I felt a shiver run down my back. I turned to my parents. “Then who fought Slappy?” I asked. “Who fought Slappy?”<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="calibre8" style="margin: 0cm;"> <br /></div> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> </div> <br /> <div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> <br /></div> </div>

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