MacGregor had been using toxic pesticides in his garden for decades – Peter Rabbit had to be in really big trouble by now. Maybe Cooper’s ideas weren’t as bad as everybody thought. “But I don’t really know very much about real teaching.”
“And
I
do?” asked Cooper. “I never even taught my dog to bring the ball back. He goes after it all right, but then he looks around for anyone who isn’t me and gives it to them.”
Maybe he was even funnier than I’d thought. “Yeah, but I’m kind of shy.”
“You should’ve seen how nervous I was at first, Gracie.” He was leaning forward again. “I thought I was going to be the youngest person in Crow’s Point ever to go into cardiac arrest. But now I really enjoy it. We laugh a lot. Mainly at me, it may be true, but we do laugh.”
I was weakening. I’d had a good time pointing out bat roosts and planting butterflies. “I’ll admit that I’m tempted… But, you know, I can’t. Not today.” I couldn’t. Savanna joked that there were only three things you could really depend on in life: death, taxes and Gracie Mooney. She expected me to be in Java like I’d said. And so did I. “I have to wait for Savanna. Something must have happened to her phone so she can’t call me, but I know she’ll show.”
“Doesn’t your dad teach history?” said Cooper. “Didn’t he ever tell you how we’re supposed to learn things from the past?”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning Savanna is always late. Archie says she’s even late when he picks her up later than the time they agreed on. And she’s always got some really terrific, not to say inspired, excuse. You know, like today it’ll turn out there was a herd of elephants that escaped from a travelling circus who were blocking her way.”
I laughed. Uneasily. It had never occurred to me before that the runaway sheep story might not be true.
“I just think it’s stupid for you to sit here all afternoon when you could be doing something really interesting.”
“I can’t. I really can’t.” Five minutes after I walked out of Java, Savanna would arrive, shaken and upset because she was so late and needed to tell me what had happened – but all she’d find would be an empty table and a half-drunk cup of peppermint tea.
Cooper snapped his fingers. “OK, I have an idea.”
Another one?
“Why don’t you leave a note for her at the counter? Since her phone isn’t working. Then if she does show up, she’ll know where you are. She can come after you if she wants.”
“I don’t know…” Friends don’t desert their post. What if there really had been a robbery or she’d had to have emergency surgery? How bad was I going to feel then?
“Look, you’re not abandoning Savanna, Gracie. You’re just waiting for her somewhere else.”
That was true. It wasn’t as if I was going to be a million miles away. I’d be just up the road, at the other end of town. If Savanna called from Java, I could be back in no time. “Well… OK, but I’m probably not going to stay long. I’m just going to check it out.”
“Great.” You’d think he’d won the lottery or something. I’d never seen Cooper look so pleased. “I guarantee that you’re going to like Neighbours, Gracie. It’s cool.” He pulled a notebook and pen from the pocket of his jacket and handed them to me. “Come on, be daring. Seize this moment of opportunity the way a dolphin rides a wave. Write her a note. Just tell the cashier it’s for the girl with all the hair who sounds like she’s herding a flock of geese.”
Chapter Five
Why I Never Got to the Mall
As soon as I stepped through the door of Neighbours, I liked it. It had a really easy-going, friendly kind of atmosphere. You could hear people laughing. Every person we passed said, “hi”. And Mrs Darling couldn’t have been happier to see me if I’d been teaching English for the last fifty years. “If Zebediah recommends you, then that’s good enough for me,” said Mrs
“And
I
do?” asked Cooper. “I never even taught my dog to bring the ball back. He goes after it all right, but then he looks around for anyone who isn’t me and gives it to them.”
Maybe he was even funnier than I’d thought. “Yeah, but I’m kind of shy.”
“You should’ve seen how nervous I was at first, Gracie.” He was leaning forward again. “I thought I was going to be the youngest person in Crow’s Point ever to go into cardiac arrest. But now I really enjoy it. We laugh a lot. Mainly at me, it may be true, but we do laugh.”
I was weakening. I’d had a good time pointing out bat roosts and planting butterflies. “I’ll admit that I’m tempted… But, you know, I can’t. Not today.” I couldn’t. Savanna joked that there were only three things you could really depend on in life: death, taxes and Gracie Mooney. She expected me to be in Java like I’d said. And so did I. “I have to wait for Savanna. Something must have happened to her phone so she can’t call me, but I know she’ll show.”
“Doesn’t your dad teach history?” said Cooper. “Didn’t he ever tell you how we’re supposed to learn things from the past?”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning Savanna is always late. Archie says she’s even late when he picks her up later than the time they agreed on. And she’s always got some really terrific, not to say inspired, excuse. You know, like today it’ll turn out there was a herd of elephants that escaped from a travelling circus who were blocking her way.”
I laughed. Uneasily. It had never occurred to me before that the runaway sheep story might not be true.
“I just think it’s stupid for you to sit here all afternoon when you could be doing something really interesting.”
“I can’t. I really can’t.” Five minutes after I walked out of Java, Savanna would arrive, shaken and upset because she was so late and needed to tell me what had happened – but all she’d find would be an empty table and a half-drunk cup of peppermint tea.
Cooper snapped his fingers. “OK, I have an idea.”
Another one?
“Why don’t you leave a note for her at the counter? Since her phone isn’t working. Then if she does show up, she’ll know where you are. She can come after you if she wants.”
“I don’t know…” Friends don’t desert their post. What if there really had been a robbery or she’d had to have emergency surgery? How bad was I going to feel then?
“Look, you’re not abandoning Savanna, Gracie. You’re just waiting for her somewhere else.”
That was true. It wasn’t as if I was going to be a million miles away. I’d be just up the road, at the other end of town. If Savanna called from Java, I could be back in no time. “Well… OK, but I’m probably not going to stay long. I’m just going to check it out.”
“Great.” You’d think he’d won the lottery or something. I’d never seen Cooper look so pleased. “I guarantee that you’re going to like Neighbours, Gracie. It’s cool.” He pulled a notebook and pen from the pocket of his jacket and handed them to me. “Come on, be daring. Seize this moment of opportunity the way a dolphin rides a wave. Write her a note. Just tell the cashier it’s for the girl with all the hair who sounds like she’s herding a flock of geese.”
Chapter Five
Why I Never Got to the Mall
As soon as I stepped through the door of Neighbours, I liked it. It had a really easy-going, friendly kind of atmosphere. You could hear people laughing. Every person we passed said, “hi”. And Mrs Darling couldn’t have been happier to see me if I’d been teaching English for the last fifty years. “If Zebediah recommends you, then that’s good enough for me,” said Mrs
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