after that.
Carol stayed in her room all day, after sheâd delivered her papers. I went in to visit her at one point, and she told me flat out that the whole thing was all my fault, and if it wasnât for me, sheâd have her new bike already and Mom and Dad wouldnât be quarreling and she wouldnât have to be hiding in her unairconditioned bedroom on a hot Sunday in July. She gave me the feeling she didnât really want to talk, so I left and went into Mom and Dadâs bedroom. Mom was making a point of sitting in the living room with Dad, even if he wasnât talking to her, so there was plenty of privacy. I called every single one of my friends who was home for the summer except Lisa. There werenât that many of them. Most of my friends were in camp, which had just started, or else on trips with their parents or visiting their grandparents, but there were three left, and I called them all. Sheila said Kid Power sounded like a good idea; sheâd like to earn some money, but her mother would never let her put her phone number anyplace public. Her mother had an unlisted phone number. Every time she had a crisis, she had the number changed. Sometimes it was impossible to reach Sheila for weeks. Ted said Kid Power sounded like a good idea, except he wouldnât want to do anything that would take too much time away from his baseball practice. Ted wants to be another Catfish Hunter when he grows up. And Margie said Kid Power sounded like a good idea except the only thing she could really do was babysit. That sheâs good at because she has three younger brothers and sisters so sheâs had lots of practice. None of them was the least bit interested in gross and net or how much money I had made or whether I should raise the rate for the oatmeal cookies at yard sales. It really made me appreciate Lisa. Besides, there was no one else I could turn to about those beetles. So I called her up, in spite of all my resolutions. She picked up the phone, and it took all my nerve to say, âHi, Lisa,â after I heard her say âHello?â
âOh itâs you,â Lisa said. âIâm still not talking to you.â And she hung up.
I went downstairs after that and sat in silence with Dad watching the ballgame. Fortunately it was a double-header, so except for Mom occasionally calling out to us, âWanted: Egg Processor. Good Hours. Call 264-9087,â I was able to sit and look at the ballplayers and not think about anything at all.
The second game of the doubleheader went into extra innings. At some point during it Mom went into the kitchen and made herself a salad. Carol came downstairs and opened up a can of tuna fish. She didnât bother putting it on a plate, just ate it right out of the can. Nobody even told her to drain out the oil. Dad and I shared a big bag of potato chips.
âAll natural,â Dad muttered. âLots of nutrition in potato chips.â
It was the only thing he said all day.
I spent the next morning working hard. First I went over to Mrs. Blakeâs and helped her cure Peachy, who bit me. Then I went over to Mrs. Edwardsâ and visited for two hours. She didnât need anything, but she seemed glad to have my company, and I was glad not to be at home.
After I left Mrs. Edwards, I went to Mrs. Townsendâs garden and checked out the Japanese beetles. Sure enough, they were eating all the leaves and flowers. The leaves looked like doilies. The roses just looked lousy.
Part of me just wanted to run as far away as I could from there and let the beetles do their worst, but I knew I couldnât give up without a fight. I owed that much to the Townsends. The problem was that even though I was considerably bigger than the beetles, they outnumbered me about a thousand to one. And I didnât know how to get rid of so many.
I picked one up and put it in the palm of my hand. I took my other hand and tried to squoosh the bug to death,
Carol stayed in her room all day, after sheâd delivered her papers. I went in to visit her at one point, and she told me flat out that the whole thing was all my fault, and if it wasnât for me, sheâd have her new bike already and Mom and Dad wouldnât be quarreling and she wouldnât have to be hiding in her unairconditioned bedroom on a hot Sunday in July. She gave me the feeling she didnât really want to talk, so I left and went into Mom and Dadâs bedroom. Mom was making a point of sitting in the living room with Dad, even if he wasnât talking to her, so there was plenty of privacy. I called every single one of my friends who was home for the summer except Lisa. There werenât that many of them. Most of my friends were in camp, which had just started, or else on trips with their parents or visiting their grandparents, but there were three left, and I called them all. Sheila said Kid Power sounded like a good idea; sheâd like to earn some money, but her mother would never let her put her phone number anyplace public. Her mother had an unlisted phone number. Every time she had a crisis, she had the number changed. Sometimes it was impossible to reach Sheila for weeks. Ted said Kid Power sounded like a good idea, except he wouldnât want to do anything that would take too much time away from his baseball practice. Ted wants to be another Catfish Hunter when he grows up. And Margie said Kid Power sounded like a good idea except the only thing she could really do was babysit. That sheâs good at because she has three younger brothers and sisters so sheâs had lots of practice. None of them was the least bit interested in gross and net or how much money I had made or whether I should raise the rate for the oatmeal cookies at yard sales. It really made me appreciate Lisa. Besides, there was no one else I could turn to about those beetles. So I called her up, in spite of all my resolutions. She picked up the phone, and it took all my nerve to say, âHi, Lisa,â after I heard her say âHello?â
âOh itâs you,â Lisa said. âIâm still not talking to you.â And she hung up.
I went downstairs after that and sat in silence with Dad watching the ballgame. Fortunately it was a double-header, so except for Mom occasionally calling out to us, âWanted: Egg Processor. Good Hours. Call 264-9087,â I was able to sit and look at the ballplayers and not think about anything at all.
The second game of the doubleheader went into extra innings. At some point during it Mom went into the kitchen and made herself a salad. Carol came downstairs and opened up a can of tuna fish. She didnât bother putting it on a plate, just ate it right out of the can. Nobody even told her to drain out the oil. Dad and I shared a big bag of potato chips.
âAll natural,â Dad muttered. âLots of nutrition in potato chips.â
It was the only thing he said all day.
I spent the next morning working hard. First I went over to Mrs. Blakeâs and helped her cure Peachy, who bit me. Then I went over to Mrs. Edwardsâ and visited for two hours. She didnât need anything, but she seemed glad to have my company, and I was glad not to be at home.
After I left Mrs. Edwards, I went to Mrs. Townsendâs garden and checked out the Japanese beetles. Sure enough, they were eating all the leaves and flowers. The leaves looked like doilies. The roses just looked lousy.
Part of me just wanted to run as far away as I could from there and let the beetles do their worst, but I knew I couldnât give up without a fight. I owed that much to the Townsends. The problem was that even though I was considerably bigger than the beetles, they outnumbered me about a thousand to one. And I didnât know how to get rid of so many.
I picked one up and put it in the palm of my hand. I took my other hand and tried to squoosh the bug to death,
Similar Books
