Spoiled Rotten Read Online Free

didn’t pay for all those swimming lessons for nothing.”

chapter five
    Amy was too stubborn to swim. She stood on the beach trying to turn the pages of her soggy book. Then she waved it in the air and shouted, “You ruined my book, Jessica!”
    I shook my head. This kid was unbelievable. She acted more like a five-year-old than someone who would turn twelve in a week. But I was glad I had told Dad and Patti about the book.
    â€œI’ll go get her,” Dad offered. “
    No.” Patti put a hand on his arm. “Her father always gave into her tantrums. It’s time she started to grow up.”
    Patti went back into the cabin where she could keep an eye on Amy without being seen. “Let her sulk for a while. She’ll swim out when she thinks we’ve forgotten about her.”
    I wrapped the beach towel more tightly around myself, but I couldn’t stop my teeth from chattering. So I grabbed some dry clothes and squeezed into the tiny bathroom to get changed. It was the only place on the whole boat where I could get any privacy.
    As I dressed I thought about Patti. I knew she was trying to be fair, but that only made it harder to hate her. I didn’t need her in my life, and I sure didn’t need her spoiled rotten daughter.
    I dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. Then I pulled a pair of sweat pants and a sweatshirt over top. I sat at the table and ate a sandwich, but I couldn’t face the thought of iced tea. It was too cold.
    â€œWhy don’t you get into your sleeping bag?” Patti suggested. “I’ll bring you some hot chocolate.”
    I wanted to say no. I wanted to tell her to leave me alone. But the thought of hot chocolate was hard to resist. “Okay,” I said through chattering teeth.
    Dad glared at me. “Is that any way to answer your mother?”
    â€œShe’s not …” I stopped. What was the use? We all knew she wasn’t my mother but they wanted to pretend she was. By then I was too cold to care. “Thank you, Patti,” I said and crawled into my sleeping bag.
    Dad brought the hot chocolate to me. I sat up and reached for it. He touched my hand. “You’re freezing!” he said.
    I wrapped both hands around the hot mug and Dad tucked the sleeping bag up around my ears.
    â€œI’ll be back in a minute,” he said.
    When he returned he gave me a hot-water bottle. “Tuck this against your stomach,” he said. “I’m heating up some water for the other bottle.”
    I hugged the hot-water bottle like a little kid with a teddy bear. I must have had hypothermia. In ice-cold water it only takes a few minutes to lower the body’s temperature. When that happens your body can’t warm itself up again without help.
    Dad brought the second hot-water bottle and slid it against my back. By the time I finished my drink I was beginning to warm up. But I felt really sleepy. I closed my eyes.
    I woke up later, so hot I felt sick. The air was stifling and I was stuffed in a sleeping bag with two hot-water bottles. My T-shirt stuck to my back. I moaned and struggled to get out of the sleeping bag.
    â€œShut up!” Amy said from the bunk above mine. “I’m trying to read.”
    I opened my eyes and reached for my watch hanging on a hook above my bunk. I looked at it, sat up quickly, and looked again. I couldn’t believe it was almost five o’clock. I wriggled out of my sleeping bag.
    At eye level, Amy glared at me. “Why aren’t you outside?” I asked.
    â€œBecause I got a sunburn when you made me stay on the beach.”
    I talked down to her as if she were three years old. “Amy, I didn’t make you stay there. You’re the one who forgot how to swim.”
    â€œDon’t act like you’re my mother,” she growled.
    That night I went to bed when everyone else did. But I couldn’t sleep. So I got up in the middle of the night and tiptoed out of