Read Online Case File 13 #3 by J. Scott Savage - Free Book Online Page B

smirk. “I guess I lose a chocolate cupcake.”
    Nick raised a single eyebrow—something he’d been working on over the past few weeks. “Do I even want to know why?”
    Angie flipped back her red hair and grinned. “I bet Dana that at least one of you would get lost in the woods and they’d have to send out search-and-rescue.”
    â€œNice to know you cared,” Nick said, the sarcasm in his voice thicker than caramel on a banana split.
    Carter pulled a piece of licorice out of his jacket, slipped it into his pack, and whispered something toward the back pocket.
    â€œWhat’s with him?” Dana asked.
    Angelo’s right eye twitched. “Uh, nothing.” He looked toward the front corner of the room, where a group of girls were crowded around a desk. “What’s going on over there?”
    Tiffany sniffed. “Kimber Tidwell is such a twit. She’s decided that hats and puffy skirts are now in fashion. Although where she came up with such a ridiculous idea, I have no clue. Not a single fashion designer has said anything of the kind.”
    Tiffany was a nut about fashion trends. But Kimber had been the most popular girl in the school since kindergarten. Anything she and her friends Torrie and Rebel decided was cool suddenly became trendy whether Tiffany liked it or not.
    â€œTake your seats, please,” Ms. Schoepf said.
    As Nick went to his desk, he mouthed to Carter, “Keep it hidden.”
    Carter gave a thumbs-up. But the homunculus was already squirming around in his backpack. It would be a miracle if someone didn’t notice it—especially Angie and her friends, who had eagle eyes when it came to figuring out what the boys were up to.
    Fortunately, Ms. Schoepf kept them all busy with a math test, a history pop quiz, and a long lecture on the importance of the semicolon. Even Nick didn’t have time to think about the homunculus.
    It wasn’t until the lunch bell rang and the kids began heading out the door to the playground that he remembered to check on Carter.
    â€œHow’s it going?” he asked.
    â€œNot good,” Carter whispered. “Carter Junior’s been restless. I don’t think the licorice agreed with his stomach.”
    â€œNo kidding,” Nick said. “Did it ever occur to you to try feeding it something healthy? Like, say, vegetables?”
    â€œVegetables are for rabbits and hamsters,” Carter said.
    â€œKeep your voices down,” Angelo said. He glanced over at Kimber, Torrie, and Rebel, who were flouncing around in skirts that could have fit at least three girls each from what Nick could see.
    â€œI’m telling you,” Kimber told anyone who would listen. “Soon everyone will be wearing puffy skirts. It’s going to be like polyester in the seventies.”
    â€œIf you mean ugly, uncomfortable, and something you’ll want to hide pictures of inthe future, I’m sure you’re right,” Tiffany said.
    Rebel lowered her sunglasses and peered out from under a floppy hat with a huge orange sunflower on the side. “Look. It’s the wannabe patrol. Where’s your I-wish-I-was-cool-too badge?”
    Torrie spun around, making her pink skirt open like a carnation around her legs, and glared at Tiffany. “By the time the masses realize what’s cool, we’ll be wearing the next new thing.”
    â€œJust ignore them,” Angie said. “They’d wear cardboard boxes if they thought it would get them attention.”
    â€œTrust me,” Kimber said. “We’d look better in cardboard than you look in those . . .” She waved her hands at Angie’s clothes. “. . . whatever you call that.”
    Angelo nodded toward the far corner of the schoolyard and whispered to Nick and Carter, “Let’s get away from everyone else and get a look at the you-know-what.”
    Making sure no one was following them, the