Tianna the Terrible (Anika Scott Series) Read Online Free

kind of liked the octopus we'd eaten at the coast in Kenya, but smoked? Maybe it would turn out to be great, like green eggs and ham in that Dr. Seuss book. For a second I even thought about buying it to see. I giggled and said, "We ought to buy some for Uncle Kurt."
    "Gross!" Sandy said. "Mom would probably make us eat it."
    "At least we'd find out what it tastes like," I answered. "It costs enough that it ought to be good.
    "You're weird," Sandy said.
    "Sophisticated people eat all kinds of things," I said, turning my back on her, my nose in the air. Just then I almost collided with the most handsome man I've ever seen. He dodged, a disgusted look on his face, and swept past.
    Sandy laughed out loud. I would have kicked her, but she was out of range.
    We looked in the other shops and saw raw and cut diamonds, camera and video gear, expensive sports clothes, fancy chocolates, and all kinds of neat things.
    "We've only got fifteen minutes left," I said, looking up at a big clock. "We'd better find something for Uncle Kurt and Aunt Doreen."
    Sandy made a face, but we started to look. She chose a net bag of tiny round cheeses. I couldn't find anything.
    We passed a shop that sold flower bulbs packaged in cardboard boxes. I grabbed the nearest box I could afford and bought it. Then we ran to meet Mom and Daddy.
    When we were standing in line to go through security to board our next fight, I took out the box of tulip bulbs and looked at it.
    On the bottom was a list of countries with little pictures of flags. Underneath the flags was written, "It is illegal to import these bulbs into countries not on this list."
    Canada wasn't on the list. Oh no, I thought. It's against the law to take these tulips into Canada. I stared at them a second, then stuffed the box into the very bottom of my bag.
    The next airplane we were on was almost empty. As soon as the seatbelt sign went off Daddy said, "Let's each find a row of seats and get some sleep. It's already midnight by Kenya time."
    I lay on my back across three seats with my knees doubled up so they wouldn't stick into the aisle. Airplane noise filled my head, and the blanket over me was scratchy. I kept worrying about the tulips and thought I'd never go to sleep, but I must have. When I opened my eyes, the window in my row of seats had sunshine in it.
    My face felt all squashed and itchy where it had been against the seat. I rubbed it and sat up. Mom saw me and said, "Hi, sleepyhead."
    "What time is it?" I asked. My voice was all croaky.
    "It's past noon in Toronto, but it's still the middle of the night in Kenya. My watch says 4:30 a.m.," Daddy said, grinning. "You slept a little more than four hours."
    I nodded and sat there with my eyes half-open. It looked like morning, but it sure didn't feel like morning. Being out of time with the sun felt very weird. We switched airplanes in Toronto, and by the time we were getting close to Calgary I felt numb all over. I looked over at Daddy and felt even worse. There were huge circles under his eyes, and his skin looked almost gray.
    "Anika, go and wash your face and brush your hair so you'll look nice when we land," Mom said.
    In the tiny, noisy bathroom, I pulled the brush through my hair, which was sticking out every which way from sleeping. My bangs were sticking up so that the red scar from the cut and all of my forehead showed. I glared at myself. My forehead wasn't really too green and purple anymore. With a sigh, I got the brush wet and tried to make my bangs lie down. Then I jerked at my too-small dress, which was completely wrinkled. I stuck my tongue out at my reflection and went back to my seat.
    Sandy was glued to the window. "Look, mountains!"
    "Mom said you have to go brush your hair," I said, holding out the brush.
    "I did already."
    "When, yesterday?" I asked. She made a face, then grabbed the brush and pushed past me.
    I sat in the window seat and looked out. Straight below us the ground looked like a dusty quilt. It was