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Show Peppermint Monday looked proud of herself. "She'll kill herself," I said. I had lost my appetite along with my temper. Andrea didn't mind meatloaf, so I handed her my hardly touched sandwich. "Probably," Andrea agreed, "but at least I won't look so bad." I sat with my chin in my hands. My elbows were supported by the table, which I knew was bad manners. Staring was bad manners too, but I was staring at Andrea while she ate. She didn't notice me though , but her brother did. He was sitting on the far north table, and he was smiling. I couldn't smile back and for once it wasn't because of my braces. Saturday was a little cloudy with a threat of rain. Rain could get nasty, but a cloud cover would cool off the afternoon. By then we'd be needing cooling off. Jason was up as early as I was. He was eager to go too. Pa said we were both "damn fool kids" for trying such a stunt, but ma had already told us pa had gone as a kid. He could have probably given us some valuable pointers, but we didn't ask because we weren't supposed to know he'd gone. He liked us to think he'd been entirely sane and responsible. We met at Knotter's Flat. I didn't know how it got its' name because it wasn't flat. Actually it was a little hill. Grandma Ruby didn't even know where the name came from, so I guess nobody did. It was close to the trail though and a good meeting place. Renae wasn't there when we arrived. I hoped shed changed her mind. There were thirteen boys, if you counted Jason and Mark. Matt was there too, talking to Billy- I had somehow avoided thinking about the possibility that Billy might show up. It didn't seem right that I should have to put up with both him and Renae. |
