When Zachary Beaver Came to Town Read Online Free Page A

because it reminds me of what happened with Tara, and that reminds me of seeing Scarlett and Juan at the lake last night.
    â€œWhere to now?” I ask.
    â€œHow about Wylie’s?”
    â€œIt’s too early for a snow cone,” I say. “Besides, he doesn’t open until one.”
    â€œSwimming?”
    I throw him a steely gaze. He knows better. I haven’t been swimming at the town pool since last summer, when I swallowed a bunch of pool water and started choking. The lifeguard got excited and yanked me out of the pool and did mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
    â€œOh, yeah,” Cal remembers. “Bowling?”

    â€œI guess.” Nothing sounds particularly fun this morning. The wind has started to kick up, and Cal’s red curls blow around his face.
    â€œDid your mom win?”
    â€œFor the hundredth time, the contest isn’t until next Thursday night.”
    â€œYou got cash?” Cal asks, not a bit embarrassed.
    â€œSome. Not enough for both of us.”
    â€œThen I better stop home first. Sure hope Kate has cooled off.”
    â€œYou’re going to hit her up for money?”
    â€œHave to. Billy is as broke as me. He sinks every penny he makes at the drive-in into Wayne’s old junker. Kate saves money like Scrooge.”
    â€œMan, you’re brave.”
    Cal never has money with him. He usually bums some off me, then forgets to pay me back. One day when I was mad at him, I added up every single cent I loaned him since fifth grade. Forty-six bucks. We made up the next day, so I never told him.
    When we return, the McKnights’ station wagon is parked in the driveway and the garbage cans are gone. Inside their house, the Sound of Music album plays in the background. Next to Carole King, Kate likes show tunes best.
    Kate hunches over her sewing machine at the
dining-room table. Billy sleeps on the couch, oblivious to the music and the growl of the machine.
    Cal walks over to Kate and grabs a piece of blue shiny fabric pinned to a pattern section on the table.
    â€œPut that down!” she snaps.
    Holding the piece to his chest, he skips around the room like a sissy, singing with the music, “I am sixteen going on seventeen.” It would have been funny except Kate didn’t deserve it. I want to tell her—I’m not like him. I think he’s acting like a jerk too.
    Kate jumps to her feet, but her shoulders remain hunched. Her face tense, she pushes at the POW bracelets she wears on each arm. Most girls have only one. Not Kate. She says, if some guys are being held prisoner in Vietnam, the least she can do is wear their names on her wrists. “Put it down, Cal Michael McKnight, right this instant! Or else!”
    Billy doesn’t stir. He even starts to snore. I stand there, helpless. I dread these moments when Cal torments Kate for no reason. She really isn’t all that bad.
    Kate chases Cal and yanks the fabric out of his hand. The pattern rips and the fabric drops to the floor. Kate’s eyes bulge. “Now look what you’ve done.”
    â€œWhoops,” Cal says. “I guess this means you won’t loan me three bucks.”
    She grabs the fabric off the ground. “Get out of this
house, Cal McKnight, or I’ll throw you out on your skinny butt!”
    Billy’s eyes pop wide, and without bothering to find out why Kate’s freaking out, he yells, “Get out, Cal. You punk!”
    Cal pulls my shirt as he bolts from the room and heads for the front door. We hop on our bikes and pedal like crazy, the wind smacking our faces. We ride along in silence with only the sound of our tires meeting the pavement. From a distance, I hear the train pulling into the depot. “When are the ladybugs getting here?”
    â€œDad said probably next week sometime.”
    Last year the ladybugs arrived closer to the Fourth of July. Now I wonder if it will be too late for the ladybugs to get rid of the bollworms. I