The Perfect Present Read Online Free

over the twins’ house today with Jayla). Traitors.
    I was the first person to arrive at church. My grandmother and mother both had missionary meetings, so I went upstairs to loosen my limbs. As I stretched, I couldn’t help but think about how lonely I’d felt these past two weeks. Christmastime was supposed to be a time of family and friends, but I wasn’t in the Christmas spirit because Jayla had stolen my joy.
    Tionna was spending a lot of time with Jayla and the twins. At first, she tried to get me to go with them, but I refused, so she eventually stopped asking. Tionna would come home bragging about how much fun they’d had. I would just put my pink Beats on my ears and not say a word.
    I was starting to feel like an outsider. Jayla had joined the afterschool book club at the library, she’d gotten a spot in band, and she’d even taken my spot as teacher’s pet in Mrs. Wilson’s class. She was not only stealing my joy, she was stealing my life.
    All that stuff bothered me, but not as much as the book club did. The book club was a place for us to read and discuss our favorite books. Mrs. Jackson, who was over the club, also encouraged us to write. When Jayla first popped up at the book club meeting, talking about she had just finished writing a book, I knew there would be trouble.
    I was the treasurer of the club. Each girl paid one dollar a month. The dues helped pay for a fun trip to a reading and science expo in Durham, North Carolina in the summer.
    It was my job to collect the money and give it to Mrs. Jackson. I collected the money as usual and placed it in the red moneybag. We had just wrapped up the meeting and Mrs. Jackson had brought us pizza to celebrate. Some of the boys from the basketball team must have smelled it, because they came in begging for some pizza. I ignored them and finished writing my treasurer’s report. I laid the moneybag down on the table near the back of the room and walked to get a bottle of water. When I returned back to the table, the bag and money were gone. I panicked.
    â€œWhere are the bag and the money?” I asked frantically.
    Tionna and the twins came over to where I was standing. Jayla stayed in the reading corner with the cushy chairs.
    â€œDid you take it anywhere?” Vanessa asked.
    â€œNo, I left it on the table!”
    Everyone started looking around the table and the floor. Mrs. Jackson came over to see what was going on.
    â€œI. . . I lost the money. It was sitting right here, but now it’s gone!” I cried.
    Mrs. Jackson hugged me. Tionna and the twins had sad looks on their faces.”
    Vanessa said, “Don’t worry, Jazz, we will help you find the money.”
    I nodded, but the big tears kept falling.
    â€œDid anyone leave the room?” Mrs. Jackson asked.
    â€œThe other book club members left,” Teresa said.
    â€œMaybe it was one of boys from the basketball team who’d come in to get some of our pizza,” Tionna said.
    â€œLet’s go catch them and ask them,” Vanessa said. The girls left the room on a search for the money. Mrs. Jackson left to report it to her boss.
    I plopped down in the hard chair behind the desk. Tears were still trickling down my cheeks.
    â€œWell, looks like somebody can’t do their job. Who leaves a bag of money laying around? How stupid can you be?” Jayla asked.
    From the smirk on her face, I knew she had the money.
    â€œYou’re a thief,” I said, standing up to go get Mrs. Jackson. “And I’m going to tell.”
    â€œNo one will believe you,” Jayla laughed. “Remember, I’m the nice girl. You are the mean girl.”
    I stopped and looked at Jayla. The sad part was, she was probably right. Everyone would think I was just making up stuff about Jayla because I’d been so mean.
    â€œJayla, you think you are so smart,” I snapped. “All of your mess will catch up with you.”
    She laughed