Dead Is Just a Dream - [Dead Is - 08] Read Online Free Page B

Kellie and Katie came out of the barn soon afterward.
    “Jessica, what happened?” Kellie asked.
    “I’m fine,” I replied. “I just twisted my ankle. Can you help me?”
    Standing on either side of me, my sisters supported me while I limped over to the picnic table. I called Mom. “I think I sprained my ankle,” I told her.
    “Have Poppy take you to Dr. Joyce’s,” she ordered. “Your dad and I will meet you there.”
    When Poppy arrived, she helped me to the van. “Buckle up,” she said, “and put this on your ankle.” She handed me a Ziploc bag of ice.
    “Did Mom call you?” I asked.
    “No, Rose told me to bring it,” she said. “Now I know why.”
    Rose? Then I remembered that Poppy’s sister was telepathic.
    After what I considered to be too much fussing, the doctor confirmed that it was a bad sprain and wrote me an excuse note to skip soccer. I’d have to make a copy for Flo, since I’d probably have to miss a couple of weeks of virago training, too.

Chapter Five
    Mom made me stay home from school the next day. I spent the entire time reading in my room with some comfort food for sustenance. It was the longest I’d sat still in years. I even dozed off for a couple of hours from boredom.
    I was relieved when Eva came to visit me after school.
    “How’s the invalid?” she asked.
    “Bored out of my mind,” I told her. “Amuse me. What happened at school today?”
    “Nothing much.” She brightened. “We did get a new art teacher.”
    “It’s not creepy artist guy, is it? Jensen Kenton?”
    She made a face. “Hardly,” she replied. “Mr. Martin is cute and young. And he carves these amazing marionettes out of pieces of scrap wood. Remember the ones at the library? Those are his. We’re even carving our own marionettes in his class. He’s so talented.”
    “Does Evan have to worry?” I asked.
    She giggled. “Gross. There’s nothing creepier than having a crush on a teacher. Unless it’s a teacher having a crush on a student.”
    “Just checking,” I said.
    “Anyway, I can’t stay long,” Eva said. “I’ve got to submit a sketch for my marionette by Monday.”
    She handed me a stack of homework.
    I groaned.
    Mom knocked on the door. “Jessica, you have another visitor,” she said. “Are you decent?”
    I hadn’t combed my hair all day and I probably had Cheetos breath. “Just a minute,” I called.
    “Hand me my crutches,” I whispered to Eva.
    “Why?”
    “Because Mom never asks if I’m decent unless it’s a boy. It’s probably Dominic.”
    Eva followed me to the sink and I brushed my teeth and combed my hair, and then swapped the ratty T-shirt I’d been wearing for something more attractive.
    “All clear,” I called.
    My boyfriend entered the room. “Raven told me you sprained your ankle,” he said. “So I thought I’d bring you something to cheer you up.” He was holding a bunch of balloons.
    “I just remembered I was supposed to meet Evan,” Eva said. She jumped off my bed and headed out the door before I could say anything.
    Dominic looked after her in amusement. “Was it something I said?”
    “She was trying to give us some privacy,” I told him.
    He bent down to kiss me, which made me glad I had brushed my teeth. “I like that idea.”
    “Enjoy it while you can,” I said. “Because Katie will be in here within seconds.”
    My prediction came true when my sister bounded into the room. “Dominic, I’m glad you’re here to visit me,” she said.
    Dominic and Katie were great friends. He gave me a charming smile when she led him away to look at her dollhouse. “We’ll be back,” he said.
    A few minutes later, I heard Katie shouting. I grabbed my crutches and hobbled down the hall to see what was wrong.
    “The princess is missing,” she said.
    “She’s probably just in a snit and hiding somewhere,” I told her.
    “We’ll find her,” Dominic said soothingly. “I promise.”
    We looked all over, but Princess Antonia had