Rattled Read Online Free Page A

your fingers. Maybe you should just return the ball to Lydia.”
    â€œGood morning, Bernadette!” Mom yelled from across the street.
    Mrs. Swicker jumped, startled. “Oh, hello, Justine.” She gave a weak wave.
    Mom dusted off her hands and joined us in the driveway. “All settled in now?”
    â€œYes, thank you,” Mrs. Swicker answered stiffly.
    I sensed there was some kind of shift, something had changed. A tiny voice in my head urged me to invite Sam and Megan over, again . I knew I should be taking advantage of the fact that Jilly was babysitting all the time. I could have Sam all to myself. Oh, and Megan too. I stepped around Mrs. Swicker. “You guys want to come over and play some Ping-Pong?”
    â€œCan we, Mom?” Sam asked.
    Mrs. Swicker’s eyes darted around the circle of people awaiting her answer. “Fine. Just for a while.”
    Miracle of miracles. You could have knocked me over with a feather. It took me a second to put it all together, but the shift was that Mom was there. I think Mrs. Swicker didn’t want to say no in front of her.
    â€œCome on.” I didn’t want to give Mrs. Swicker a chance to change her mind.
    We hurried across the street and downstairs to the rec room.
    I picked up the paddles. “Do you know how to play?”
    â€œNo. We’ll learn as we go,” Sam said.
    â€œOkay,” I said. “How about we do a rotation?”
    Sam and I started, hitting the ball back and forth to each other as I gave him some instructions and a few pointers.
    â€œSo…how long have you played the violin?” I asked. If trashy teenage TV dramas have taught me anything, it’s that boys are impressed if you show interest in things they’re interested in.
    His face lit up. “For as long as I can remember. Someday I’d love to play with a real orchestra, maybe even write music.”
    â€œWow. My big goal is to get through all five seasons of Lost before the end of the summer.”
    He laughed.
    â€œDo you play anything, Megan?”
    â€œShe’s a fantastic piano player,” Sam said proudly. He went on to explain how there had been a piano at one of the houses they’d rented, and Megan had taught herself to play.
    â€œThat’s amazing. I think I must be tone deaf or something. No musical talent whatsoever,” I said as I rubbed the back of my head. I’d banged it on the corner of the table picking up the ball for the umpteenth time. Sam wasn’t very good at Ping-Pong.
    We switched partners, Sam and Megan played. I was ball girl. I was very busy.
    After a while they got into a bit of a groove. As they volleyed back and forth, it gave me the chance to openly check Sam out. I wondered if he watched Gossip Girl —the way his bangs were super long in the front and they fell across his eyes, he really had a Chace Crawford thing going on. There was no doubt about it, he was going to be the cutest guy at school. I felt a little burst of joy inside knowing I would already have the inside track—I’d be the envy of every girl at the West.
    â€œLater we should walk over to the school. You might want to check it out,” I suggested. “What grade are you guys going into anyway?”
    â€œMeg ten, me twelve,” Sam said.
    â€œSo, Megan, we might be in some of the same classes. Sam, you could end up in some of Jilly’s.” It made my throat hurt to finish the sentence.
    That’s when Sam broke the news. They were home-schooled.
    I couldn’t think of anything to say. I felt totally deflated.
    Apparently home-schooling was the way to go because they moved so much. They moved so much because Mrs. Swicker was a photographer and she liked to change locations constantly.
    I remained quiet for a long time, trying to get my head around this new development. It was a real bummer. “I wish you weren’t. Home-schooled, that is.”
    â€œOh, it’s not so