Read Online Black and White and Gray All Over by Rachel Wise - Free Book Online Page B

this guy was in love with Kate Bigley, or things were going terribly. I couldn’t tell, and it was going to drive me crazy.
    â€œOkay. Any big weekend plans?” I asked. I had to know if he was going out with her or something.
    â€œNah,” he said. “It’s Jeff’s birthday, so his mom is taking us to paintball on Saturday.”
    â€œFun!” I said. It actually sounded like torture to me, but I know boys love that sort of thing.
    â€œYeah! Anyway, that’s about all. So . . .”
    â€œYeah. So. I need to get going to class. So bye!”
    â€œOh, okay. Bye,” he said. But I walked away first.
    I don’t know why, but I was confused and kind of sad as I walked away. I felt like there was so much being unsaid, and from his side I couldn’t tell if it was good or bad.
    In the newsroom there were lots of other kids working on stories, so I couldn’t look for new Dear Know-It-All letters. I’d e-mail Mr. Trigg and ask him to check for me later. I hoped there’d be something superjuicy for me. If nothing else had come in, I’d have to go with what I had, since I’d need to write the reply on Sunday in order to hand it in on time next week. None of the choices were that great, but I’d have to make do. I waslooking forward to Sunday, actually, because I had a lot of parts of the school uniforms article. On Sunday I’d tie it all together in a draft, then finalize it on Monday. I was also looking forward to the sleepover with Hailey. She could set up a survey on Buddybook for me tonight to poll who was for and who was against the idea. I always like going to the people on things like this, even if it is a little skewed toward those who favor social media.

    After school my mom took me and Hailey to the grocery store to get stuff for Make Your Own Sundaes. We were going to get pizza at the mall and then see the movie and have dessert at home later. My mom refuses to pay movie theater snack prices. We got all kinds of awesome toppings: crispy chocolate shell, dulce de leche, marshmallow cream, waffle cookies to crumble over the top, and three flavors of ice cream. Hailey was in junk-food heaven since her mom is a health nut. As we piled the stuff in the basket, we howled with laughter atthe possible combinations, jokingly pointing to other stuff on the shelves that we could add and making up funny sundae names. My mom was just shaking her head at us, smiling, as we reached the end of the aisle to get on line, when who should we see up ahead but Kate Bigley!
    She was heading toward the checkout line with her own mom, and we called out to her. She smiled and waved, so we went to stand behind her and there were introductions all around. Her mom was pretty and chic, in very trim, fitted clothes that were simple but stylish. She and my mom chatted while we showed Kate all the junk food we’d bought, but I was feeling terribly guilty. I wished there was a way I could have a telepathic conversation with Hailey that Kate couldn’t hear. I wanted to say, I feel bad for Kate and feel like we should invite her, but I don’t want to share my special evening with you with her, too! I thought about the shoe being on the other foot (shoes again!), and how I’d feel if I were Kate, and that’s when I decided to invite her. Only, to my surprise, Hailey beat me to it.
    â€œHey, why don’t you come with us? You couldcome to Sam’s, then the movie, and sleep over afterward with us!”
    Kate’s eyes lit up at the invitation. Hailey looked questioningly at me to see if I was on board and I nodded. “Yes, please come! It will be fun!”
    â€œOh, that’s so sweet of you,” said Kate. “And I wish I could, but my parents are having some dinner guests I’d really like to meet, so I’ve got to stay home, you see?”
    â€œOoh! Who are they?” asked Hailey as I stared daggers at her. She can be sort of