Chapter Thirteen

ARRIVING AT TRACEY'S home Amanda felt like she could have been in the Meadowbrook cafeteria. Chaos reigned.

In the living room, one of the seven girls was lying on the rug, kicking and yelling. Another one was screaming. In the kitchen, one girl spilled her milk and started crying, while another snatched a cookie from her sibling's plate, and they started fighting. The mother's helper was nowhere in sight, and Tracey's mother looked to be on the verge of hysteria.

“Stop it! All of you, stop it! Go upstairs – – it's time for your nap.” None of the septuplets paid any attention to her, just as Tracey's mother didn't pay any attention to the fact that “Tracey” had just walked in.

Amanda moved into Mrs. Devon's line of vision and spoke loudly. “What's going on?”

“Lizzie left us!” the woman wailed. “I've called every agency in town, and there's no one available! What am I going to do?”

Amanda surveyed the pandemonium. Having spent a lot of time with the septuplets over the weekend, she had a sense of each personality She focused on the one who was the bossiest of the group, and at the top of her lungs, she screamed, “Mandie!”

The septuplet who was taking cookies by force from the others actually looked in her direction.

“Help me,” Amanda ordered her. “We have to get everyone upstairs. It's story time.”

Mandie turned to the sweet one, Randie. “C'mon, we're going upstairs.”

Randie was in the process of twisting Brandies hair into sloppy braids, so those two started out together. One by one, the others followed, until there was only one crying child left in the kitchen. Amanda grabbed Tandie's hand and half walked, half dragged her out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Mrs. Devon brought up the end of the line.

Once they were all gathered in the girls' huge bedroom, Amanda asked, “Whose turn is it to pick

the story?”

“Me! Me! “Vandie cried out. She was the whiny one. Amanda shook her head.

“Let me think... Friday night was Brandie, Saturday afternoon it was Kandie's turn, Mandie chose the story on Saturday night...”

“I picked the story yesterday,” Randie declared.

“It's my turn! It's my turn!” Vandie shrieked.

“No, I told you yesterday – – we're going in alphabetical order. Sandie picks the story today. You come last.”

“That's not fair!” Vandie whined.

“Tough,” Amanda said. “Life isn't fair. Sandie, go and choose a story.”

As Sandie raced over to the bookcase, Amanda realized that Mrs. Devon was looking at her oddly.

“Did you cut your hair?”

“Yes,” Amanda said shortly. “I had my hair cut on Saturday with the money you paid me for Friday night.”

“Saturday? I didn't notice it.”

“No,” Amanda said. “You never do. Maybe you should take a look at me once in a while.”

“Here's my story, Tracey,” Sandie announced. The girls gathered in a semicircle, as Amanda had taught them over the weekend, and Amanda took her place in the center, facing them.

As she started reading, from the corner of her eye Amanda could see Mrs. Devon standing there, still looking a little dazed, as if she'd stumbled into a strange new world. As Amanda read, the septuplets were quiet, and by the time she'd finished the story, they were yawning. With the help of Tracey's mother, she got them into bed for their naps.

As they left the room together, Mrs. Devon continued to look at Amanda as though she'd never seen her before in her life. When the doorbell rang, she seemed relieved to have something else to do and hurried to open the door. Amanda was surprised to see Jenna there.

“Um, is Aman – – I mean, Tracey home?”

“I'm here,” Amanda said. She joined Mrs. Devon at the door. “Come on in.”

Tracey's mother seemed even more surprised than Amanda. “Tracey, who is this?”

“A friend of mine, Jenna Kelley,” Amanda replied. “Come upstairs to my room, Jenna.”

As they headed to the stairs, she caught another glimpse of Mrs. Devon's bewildered expression. Amanda wasn't surprised – – Tracey probably hadn't had a visitor since her eighth birthday.

“What are you doing here?” Amanda asked as soon as they were inside Tracey's bedroom with the door closed. This was when she noticed that the other girl was carrying a bag.

Jenna wouldn't meet her eyes. She looked past Amanda as she spoke. “I, uh, I need a place to stay. For a couple of nights. Can I stay here?”

There were twin beds in Tracey's room. “Yeah, I suppose so. Why do you need a place to stay?”

Jenna shifted her gaze to the other side of the room. “It's my mother... She's got a bunch of friends there. It looks like she's about to have another one of her parties. Which means I won't get any sleep tonight.”

“Oh.” Amanda looked at her curiously. “Has this ever happened before?”

Jenna nodded. “Just last week, and the noise kept

me up all night. Sometimes I just go over to the train station and hang out with Slug and those guys. But this time – – I don't know, I just don't feel like it.”

“They're probably in jail anyway for trying to shoplift from Target,” Amanda said matter-of-factly. “You know what, Jenna? I don't think you even like those people. And I'll bet you've never stolen anything in your life.”

Jenna faced her indignantly. “What makes you think that?”

“Because I don't think you're as bad as you pretend you are. And if you were stealing, you'd probably have more food in your house.”

Jenna's face went white. “Don't you feel sorry for me. Don't you dare feel sorry for me.”

“Don't worry – – I don't and I won't,” Amanda said with feeling. “I don't want your life any more than I want Tracey's.”

Jenna was taken aback. “Don't tell me you're thinking about snatching my body!”

Amanda got up and began pacing the room. “I don't make those decisions.” Her need to confide, to talk to someone, was irresistible. And at least she

didn't care what Jenna thought about her. “It just happens when I feel really sorry for someone. That's how I got inside Tracey's body.”

“Yeah, I read that in your mind, and I still can't believe it,” Jenna said. “You feel sorry for people?” Her brow furrowed. “You're still really Amanda Beeson, the meanest girl at school, right?”

“That's why I'm the meanest girl!” Amanda cried out. “I can't let myself feel sorry for people because I could end up being them! Do you think I want to be Tracey Devon? Or you?”

Jenna's mouth was still open. But the only word that came out was “Wow!”

“Exactly,” Amanda said. “See? I'm not the perfect princess you think I am.”

“I never thought you were perfect,” Jenna muttered.

“And you're not the gangster I thought you were,” Amanda added.

“I really was in reform school,” Jenna argued. “Why were you sent there?”

Jenna looked away again.” I was hanging out with some creeps, and they were dealing drugs. The

cops raided the house where we were staying, and someone planted stuff in my pocket.”

Amanda nodded smugly. “I knew I was right about you. You're a big fake.”

“So are you,” Jenna pointed out.

Amanda shrugged, and there was a long silence. Finally, Jenna spoke. “Remember when I was telling you about Serena and the hypnotism? How she wanted me to find out if this guy was into her? Well... I don't think she was really interested in him. There's something else going on. I couldn't read her mind, but I got the feeling she has secrets.”

Amanda nodded. “Yeah, I think she's kind of weird, too.”

Jenna gazed at her quizzically. “You know what? We kind of think alike.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Amanda said. “But that doesn't mean we're going to be friends,” she added hastily.

“Absolutely not,” Jenna assured her.

“Good.” Amanda stopped pacing. “Let's go to the kitchen and find something to eat. And I'll tell Tracey's mother you're staying for a while.”

“What if she says no?” Jenna asked.

Amanda grinned. “She's going to have to get used to a different kind of daughter. The kind that always gets her own way.”

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14