My Time as Caz Hazard Read Online Free Page B

me,” she whined to the clerk. “I tried this ring on and it won’t come off.”
    With a quick snap I tugged the tags off a silky red scarf and shoved it down the front of my sweater. Then I walked right past Amanda and the saleswoman, glancing at them as if casually curious. Amanda now had oil on her finger, and the ring was sliding slowly off.
    She met me outside, as before.
    Exhilaration coursed through me. “I can’t believe I did that,” I squealed. We were just tapping our fists together in congratulations when a man stepped up behind us.
    â€œExcuse me, girls,” he said. I turned just enough to see a hint of a paunch, a black leather belt, a blue shirt. Without waiting to hear more, without even glancing at each other, Amanda and I started running.
    â€œHey! Stop! You girls come back…” his booming voice bounced through thehalf-empty mall after us. We didn’t stop. We didn’t stop until we were two blocks away. Then we collapsed on a bus stop bench.
    â€œWas he a security guard?” I gasped.
    â€œI don’t know. I think he was wearing a radio,” Amanda said.
    â€œMaybe he was just some guy who wanted to ask the time.”
    â€œI don’t think so.”
    â€œBut he didn’t chase us,” I said.
    Amanda started laughing. “He might have had a heart attack. I could hardly keep up with you. Did you run track in a past life or something?”
    As I caught my breath and started to relax again, I remembered the scarf inside my sweater. I pulled it out slowly, like a magician pulling handkerchiefs from his sleeve. It seemed even brighter in the sunshine. It would look great on Mel, but I hadn’t exactly been seeing her much since I switched schools. When I remembered Ted’s reaction to the chocolate bar, I decided against offering it to her.
    â€œIt’s gorgeous,” raved Amanda.
    I shrugged. “Red looks terrible on me. Might look good on you, though.”
    I wrapped it loosely around her neck. “Was it worth the run?” I asked.
    She smiled. A real smile, not her usual smirk. “Definitely.”

Chapter Seven
    I got home late and found Ted sitting on the floor of the kitchen, eating handfuls of cereal out of the box. A dusting of broken flakes covered his baggy sweatshirt. Not exactly a fashion statement.
    He was smarter than he looked, though. Lately he’d been proofreading my homework for me. On Ms. Samuels’ advice, I’d asked him to circle any errors in pencil, but notcorrect them. Then I would go through and fix everything, erasing his pencil marks as I went. For a grade nine kid, he had pretty good spelling.
    From his slouch on the floor, he motioned me to silence and pointed to the vent above him. We could hear voices echoing down from the upstairs bedroom. I sank down beside him and helped myself to a handful of his cereal.
    â€œThat’s pure stupidity,” came my mom’s muffled shout.
    â€œI simply assumed,” my dad said.
    That’s how my mom and dad fought. Mom yelled and Dad answered in his I’m-so-much-more-reasonable-than-you voice. A voice that obviously made Mom even more angry.
    â€œWell, you can unassume. You’re an unmotivated lump. You can barely pay for their food, let alone their education. I can’t believe you would even consider…”
    â€œWhat are they talking about?” I whispered to Ted.
    â€œUs.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œThey’re talking about which one gets to keep us,” he mumbled.
    â€œI thought we were staying here!” I said, forgetting to whisper for a minute.
    Ted put a finger to his lips. “So did I. So did everyone except Mom, apparently. She says she has an extra bedroom in her apartment for us.”
    â€œThere is no way I’m sharing a bedroom with you,” I told him.
    â€œIt’s not like I want your putrid perfume in my bedroom,” he said, “but no one’s asking