Secrets of Valhalla Read Online Free Page A

forward and played with the frayed lacesof her Converse sneakers. “No, but you do get lonely. At least I do. I always kind of wished that I had a sibling. Your sister seems nice.”
    Buzz thought about Tia and how she loved to interfere in his life. “Trust me. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”
    â€œBut at least you have someone to talk to—when things aren’t great at home. Someone who’ll understand.”
    â€œI guess,” Buzz responded. He and Tia tended to avoid those types of conversations. They definitely never spoke about the frostiness that existed between their parents or how that had become glacial in the months before Mum’s trip.
    â€œYou’re a guy of few words, aren’t you?” the girl said. “My parents say you have to talk the talk if you are going to walk the walk.” Her brow creased. “That’s what they’re doing right now. Talking about whether they’re going to walk out on each other. Talking about whether Dad is actually going to move to the UK with us. But I’m not supposed to know that.” She whacked a hand over her mouth again. “I’m doing it again, aren’t I?” she said through her fingers. “Oversharing? Grandmother says it’s not dignified to air one’s dirty laundry. But I think sometimes your washing machine may be broken and you just have to make the best of a bad situation, right?” She pinned him with her hazel gaze. “What do you think?”
    â€œUm,” Buzz began, not really sure how to answer.
    â€œNot um—the name is Amaryllis, but you can call me Mary.” The girl arched a dark, slightly messy eyebrow. “But never Scary Mary, just Mary, okay?”
    â€œOkay,” he promised. “I’m Buzz.”
    â€œBuzz, as in the sound a bee makes,” the girl mused. “Interesting. Did you know that bees are the only insects that make food that humans can eat?”
    Buzz shook his head.
    â€œOr that eating honey makes you smarter?”
    Buzz shook his head again. I bet she eats a lot of honey.
    â€œWhy are you named after the sound a bee makes, then?” Mary asked, hardly pausing for breath. “Is your mom an apiologist?”
    â€œNo. At least I don’t think so. She’s a botanist,” he said. “What’s an apiologist?”
    â€œIt’s a person who studies honeybees,” the girl replied. “While a person who keeps bees is called an apiarist.”
    â€œRight.” Buzz could feel all the girl’s facts raining down on him like hail. It wasn’t wholly unpleasant—it just stung a bit. “Buzz is actually short for Buzzard. My name is Frederick Buzzard.”
    â€œSo you’re named after a bird, not a bee. In fact, you’ve got a whole animal kingdom thing going on. That’s awesome!”
    â€œAwesome?”
    â€œYeah, you could have been named after a flower. Imagine how annoying that would be.”
    â€œEr, I guess,” Buzz conceded, not that he could think of any boys’ names that were flowers.
    â€œYeah, your name is definitely not on the annoying spectrum.”
    â€œIt’s my father’s name, really,” he found himself explaining. “I’m Frederick Buzzard the second, but strictly speaking I should be Frederick Buzzard the third because my father was named after the founder of the orphanage he was left at and—”
    Mary began to chuckle.
    â€œWhat?” Buzz questioned. “What’s so funny?”
    â€œI don’t know,” she said. “There I was thinking you were the strong, silent type when actually you’re quite verbose.”
    Buzz was pretty sure verbose meant talkative, which seemed rich coming from Mary. “You’re pretty chatty yourself, you know,” he pointed out.
    â€œNo filters, remember?” She looked at her watch, with its big, digital face. “I’d better