she consumed macaroni and cheese at a record speed. “You’ve been coughing something awful.”
My heart rate doubled, but I tried to answer calmly. “Yeah, it was pretty bad. I kept thinking I was over it, then – bam – it’d come right back. But I’m feeling a lot better now.” I covered my mouth as another burst of coughing erupted. My throat and chest ached from all the coughing.
Sandy looked up from her salad in concern. “You sure you’re not contagious?”
“Have you been to a doctor?” added Janet. “Maybe it’s whooping cough or something.”
“I promise, I’m not contagious,” I rasped. “I’ve just got a tickle in my throat.”
“I bet you got sick when you ran away.” Lois fixed me with an inquisitive gaze.
My stomach tightened. I did not want to talk about that, especially with Lois. She was the biggest blabbermouth in the world. But Lois kept eyeing me, expecting a reply, and I felt my cheeks beginning to flush.
“So, where’d you get that idea?” I said.
Lois’s plump face creased with disbelief. “What, that you ran away? Everybody knows that! Your mom was calling all over the place, trying to find you. She said you’d been gone for a week already.”
My face burned. That explained Mom’s refusal to leave my misbehavior out of her note. What could I say now? The stupid fuzziness in my head made it hard to think.
“Yeah, well, it was kind of an experiment,” I said. “I slept in a garage for a couple nights.”
“Was it fun?” Sandy’s brown eyes danced with adventure.
I shrugged. “Depends what you call fun. I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Why, what happened?” Lois pried.
The stress of answering their questions made my dizziness worse. “Look, can’t we talk about something else?”
Lois opened her mouth to protest, but Janet cut in first. “Hey Lois, did you see Caleb Tanner’s new wheels? Man, would I love to have a ride in that thing!”
“What, that red Mustang? I hear his dad bought him that for his birthday. Some present!”
“I am so jealous! Looks new, too.”
I concentrated on my turkey burger, content to let the laughter and conversation swirl around me. Thanks to Janet’s quick thinking, my adventures had been forgotten.
Or so I thought. Even before Lois had finished eating, she began circulating the news that I had indeed run away and had slept in a garage. “And something terrible happened,” she added, “something so awful she’s afraid to talk about it.”
I kept my head ducked as I tried to force down the rest of my food. Leave it to Lois to do this to me. Why didn’t I invent a better story? I guess my head’s more messed up than I thought. I knew I needed to lie down for a while, but how could I?
I didn’t notice Janet standing at my elbow until she spoke.
“Tess, you okay?”
I jerked in surprise, upsetting my carton of milk.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Janet grabbed a napkin and helped me mop up the mess. “Are you all right, girl? You seem really out of it.”
For a brief second, our eyes met. Had we been alone, I might have told her the truth; instead, I turned away and said, “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”
Janet squeezed my arm. “It sure is good to see you again. I’m sorry you’ve had such a rough time.”
“Yeah, well, it’s nothing, really. I did something stupid. I just hope I’m really over that flu. I feel kind of weird.”
“Maybe you better go down and let the nurse check you out.”
“Nah. I’ll be okay.” To prove it, I shoved back my chair and stood up.
Janet picked up her tray and followed me to the trash can. “Well, I’ll see you later then, but you take care of yourself. You don’t look so good.”
Although kindly intended, her words struck panic in my heart. Could Janet tell I wasn’t being straight with her? Did she suspect it was more than the flu that had kept me out of school for so long?
In the restroom, the combination of nerves and dizziness proved too much and I lost my
My heart rate doubled, but I tried to answer calmly. “Yeah, it was pretty bad. I kept thinking I was over it, then – bam – it’d come right back. But I’m feeling a lot better now.” I covered my mouth as another burst of coughing erupted. My throat and chest ached from all the coughing.
Sandy looked up from her salad in concern. “You sure you’re not contagious?”
“Have you been to a doctor?” added Janet. “Maybe it’s whooping cough or something.”
“I promise, I’m not contagious,” I rasped. “I’ve just got a tickle in my throat.”
“I bet you got sick when you ran away.” Lois fixed me with an inquisitive gaze.
My stomach tightened. I did not want to talk about that, especially with Lois. She was the biggest blabbermouth in the world. But Lois kept eyeing me, expecting a reply, and I felt my cheeks beginning to flush.
“So, where’d you get that idea?” I said.
Lois’s plump face creased with disbelief. “What, that you ran away? Everybody knows that! Your mom was calling all over the place, trying to find you. She said you’d been gone for a week already.”
My face burned. That explained Mom’s refusal to leave my misbehavior out of her note. What could I say now? The stupid fuzziness in my head made it hard to think.
“Yeah, well, it was kind of an experiment,” I said. “I slept in a garage for a couple nights.”
“Was it fun?” Sandy’s brown eyes danced with adventure.
I shrugged. “Depends what you call fun. I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Why, what happened?” Lois pried.
The stress of answering their questions made my dizziness worse. “Look, can’t we talk about something else?”
Lois opened her mouth to protest, but Janet cut in first. “Hey Lois, did you see Caleb Tanner’s new wheels? Man, would I love to have a ride in that thing!”
“What, that red Mustang? I hear his dad bought him that for his birthday. Some present!”
“I am so jealous! Looks new, too.”
I concentrated on my turkey burger, content to let the laughter and conversation swirl around me. Thanks to Janet’s quick thinking, my adventures had been forgotten.
Or so I thought. Even before Lois had finished eating, she began circulating the news that I had indeed run away and had slept in a garage. “And something terrible happened,” she added, “something so awful she’s afraid to talk about it.”
I kept my head ducked as I tried to force down the rest of my food. Leave it to Lois to do this to me. Why didn’t I invent a better story? I guess my head’s more messed up than I thought. I knew I needed to lie down for a while, but how could I?
I didn’t notice Janet standing at my elbow until she spoke.
“Tess, you okay?”
I jerked in surprise, upsetting my carton of milk.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Janet grabbed a napkin and helped me mop up the mess. “Are you all right, girl? You seem really out of it.”
For a brief second, our eyes met. Had we been alone, I might have told her the truth; instead, I turned away and said, “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”
Janet squeezed my arm. “It sure is good to see you again. I’m sorry you’ve had such a rough time.”
“Yeah, well, it’s nothing, really. I did something stupid. I just hope I’m really over that flu. I feel kind of weird.”
“Maybe you better go down and let the nurse check you out.”
“Nah. I’ll be okay.” To prove it, I shoved back my chair and stood up.
Janet picked up her tray and followed me to the trash can. “Well, I’ll see you later then, but you take care of yourself. You don’t look so good.”
Although kindly intended, her words struck panic in my heart. Could Janet tell I wasn’t being straight with her? Did she suspect it was more than the flu that had kept me out of school for so long?
In the restroom, the combination of nerves and dizziness proved too much and I lost my
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