Snowed in Together Read Online Free Page A

"Bye, Dad!"
    I forgot to write him a note, but he'd probably be zonked out when I got home anyway, and not even realize I'd been gone. Besides, I wanted to be outside before Jeff and his folks got here.
    I stood on the front porch and zipped my jacket. It was pouring out, and, man, it was cold. The wind tore through my jacket and made me feel like one giant goosebump. I had thought about meeting Jeff out by the road, but I decided not to. I didn't want to drag myself into the school looking like a drenched stray cat.
    The Hughes' car pulled into the driveway. I tried to look as if I'd just then stepped outside. I waited until the exact instant the car stopped, then ran and hopped into the back seat, almost landing on top of Tony.
    "Dude," Tony said, "I gave up wrestling, remember?" He shoved me off his leg.
    "You didn't have to wait outside," Jeff said, leaning around Tony's broad shoulders to talk to me.
    "Oh, uh, I wasn't waiting outside. I just stepped out to, uh, see if you were here, when you pulled up." It was a lame excuse, but I was running out of excuses for not letting anyone get as far as the front door.
    Jeff didn't say anything, but he looked at me kind of funny.
    " Ohayo , Wes," Mrs. Hughes said as we pulled out of the driveway.
    " Ohayo, Hughes-san ," I responded in Japanese. I knew Mrs. Hughes parents wanted her to remember her Japanese heritage and pass it on to Jeff, so, as it turned out, Tony and were picking up some of the language, such as "good morning."
    "How are you?" Mrs. Hughes then asked in English.
    "Fine," I answered politely.
    "And your father?" Mr. Hughes asked, sounding very concerned.
    "He's fine too," I said, probably too cheerfully. I curled my toes until they practically poked through the soles of my shoes. Curling my toes was an automatic reflex whenever anyone asked about Mom or Dad. It was tough trying to keep secrets.
    Fortunately, Mr. Hughes didn't pursue the subject.
    Tony nudged me and whispered, "What great ideas did you come up with?” He wriggled his thick eyebrows.
    "Well, um, uh … nothing," I admitted. "What about you?"
    Tony made a big "O" with his thumb and index finger.
    We both looked hopefully at Jeff.
    Jeff shrugged. "I was counting on you guys."
    My hopes for solving the mysteries of puberty rites were quickly dissolving. We rode in silence the rest of the way to school.
    Just before we were dropped off Mrs. Hughes said, "We'll be in Springfield for a couple hours running errands, but we'll be home after that. Just call when you want a ride home."
    "Thanks!" we all said as we hopped out of the car.
    " Sayonara ," Mrs. Hughes said.
    " Sayonara !" we shouted in unison.
    "Man, it's cold," Tony said as we dashed through the pouring rain to the front door of the school.
    I didn't say anything. My thin jacket was practically useless, but I didn't like to call attention to the fact.
    Jeff pulled on the front door handle. "Hey! It's locked!"
    We huddled under the overhang and looked around.
    "You know, I don't see any cars here," Tony said. "You think we got the time wrong?"
    "Nah," Jeff said. "We must've gotten here early, that's all."
    My teeth chattered. My feet already felt like chunks of ice. If Ellyce ever showed up, she'd mistake me for an ice sculpture.
    "Okay," I finally said, "we're three of the smartest guys in the whole school. You'd think one of us could come up with a brilliant plan to impress the girls."
    "Yup," Tony said. "You'd think so."
    "If only there was a book on the subject," Jeff said. "All our lives we've learned everything we needed to know from books."
    "I guess you just can't study Spontaneous Conversation." I stomped my feet and rubbed my hands together.
    "Yeah…. Hey! Is that snow?" Tony pointed to the sky.
    We watched a fat flake drift down to the pavement and melt instantly.
    "Wow!" Jeff exclaimed. "Snow!"
    "Yeah, wow," I said, even though I was freezing. I figured that focusing on a snowflake was better than thinking about how socially inept we