Mary Anne Saves the Day Read Online Free Page B

Spier.”
    â€œHi, Mary Anne Spier.” Dawn’s blue eyes, which were almost as pale as her hair, sparkled happily.
    â€œDid you just move here?” I asked. “Or did you switch schools or something?”
    â€œJust moved here,” she replied. “Last week.” She began to eat slowly and methodically, takingfirst a bite of macaroni stuff, then a bite of carrots, then a bite of salad. She worked her way around the plate in a circle. “Our house is still a mess,” she went on. “Packing cartons everywhere. Yesterday it took me twenty minutes to find my brother for dinner.”
    I giggled. At that moment, I happened to look up and see Kristy across the cafeteria. She was watching me. As soon as I caught her eye, she began talking to Mariah and Miranda again, making it look as if they were having the time of their lives without me.
    Well, two can play that game, I thought. Even though I have never been much good at talking to people I don’t know well, I leaned across the table and put my head next to Dawn’s conspiratorially.
    â€œYou want to know who the weirdest kid in school is?”
    She nodded eagerly.
    He happened to be sitting at the table next to Kristy’s. I took advantage of that to point in her direction. “It’s Alexander Kurtzman. The one wearing the three-piece suit. See him?” I whispered.
    Dawn nodded.
    â€œDon’t ever try to butt in front of him on the lunch line. Don’t even try to get in
back
of him,unless he’s at the end of the line. His hobby is obeying rules.”
    It was Dawn’s turn to laugh. “Who else should I know about?” she asked.
    I pointed out a few other kids. We spent the rest of the lunch hour whispering and laughing. Twice I caught Kristy’s eye. She looked absolutely poisonous. I knew I wasn’t helping our fight, but I kind of liked the idea of getting even with her for not letting me sit at our table.
    â€œHey, do you want to come over to my house after school tomorrow?” Dawn asked.
    â€œWell … well, sure,” I replied. It felt so strange to be talking with somebody besides Kristy, Claudia, Stacey, or the Shillabers. I wasn’t sure that I had ever made a new friend all on my own. Mariah and Miranda had originally been friends Kristy had made, Stacey had been a friend of Claudia’s, and I had just grown up with Kristy and Claudia.
    â€œOh, that’s wonderful!” exclaimed Dawn. She must have been really lonely.
    I began to feel guilty. I knew full well that one reason I wanted to go over to Dawn’s house was to make Kristy (and Stacey and Claudia) mad.
    I hoped Kristy would see me leaving schoolwith Dawn the next afternoon. I hoped she would be surprised. I hoped she would be mad (madder than she already was). I even hoped she’d be a little hurt.
    â€œThat would be fun,” I added. “Where do you live?”
    â€œBurnt Hill Road.”
    â€œThat’s not too far from me! I live on Bradford Court.”
    â€œGreat! We can watch a movie.”
    â€œOkay!”
    Dawn and I got up and cleared our places.
    â€œWant to eat lunch again tomorrow?” asked Dawn. “Or will your friends be back?”
    I paused. What if we’d all made up by the next day? I decided to cross that bridge when I came to it. “I don’t know,” I answered.
    â€œIt doesn’t really matter anyway,” said Dawn quietly.
    â€œOkay. Well … see you.”
    â€œSee you.”
    We left the cafeteria.
    I didn’t see Kristy, Claudia, or Stacey again until school let out that day. Just after the last bell rang, I was standing in the front doorway of Stoneybrook Middle School, looking out across the lawn.
    Then I saw them, all three of them. They were walking home from school, each one alone, each one still probably mad.
    I set out slowly after them. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized I had never given Claudia the