Read Online Emma Jean Lazarus Fell in Love by Lauren Tarshis - Free Book Online Page B

Dreyfuss, Aki Bofinger, Barry Lee, and Andrew Dinger. It pleased Emma-Jean to note that all were upstanding members of the William Gladstone community. She had harbored some concern that the admirer might be unsuitable for Colleen in some way. Regrettably, there were some boys in the seventh grade who could not be counted on for courtly companionship.
    There had been a particularly unfortunate episode at the leprechaun dance this past March. Toward the end of the evening, Brandon Mahoney and several of his more rambunctious cohorts had commandeered the dance floor, stripped off their shirts, and banged their bare stomachs together like walruses competing for mates. Several girls had run shrieking from the cafeteria, and Mr. Tucci, the principal, had corralled the boys into the office and detained them until the dance was over.
    Emma-Jean was confident that none of these four left-handed boys would engage in such an ungentlemanly display.
    With only four boys to observe, Emma-Jean’s job became much more manageable, and she could shift to the next phase of her investigation: surveillance of Colleen’s locker. She had identified an ideal observation post: a utility room located across the hall from Colleen’s locker. The room was kept unlocked, and the door had a small window through which Emma-Jean could watch.
    As for missing her classes, that was not a problem. She wrote a general memo to all of her teachers explaining that she was working on an independent study project that would require her to miss classes for several days. Due to her impeccable academic record and unblemished disciplinary file, none of her teachers had questioned her plan.
    Emma-Jean stood watch throughout Friday, taking just a short break to eat her lunch with her friends and enjoy a few moments of fresh air on the blacktop. She also did some light calisthenics to keep her muscles from cramping. She was performing a stretching maneuver when suddenly the door to the utility room swung open. Though she had permission to be out of classes, she had not specified that she would be spending her time in the utility room, which was marked with a sign that said “No Admittance.” It was thus a relief when the doorway filled with the large figure of Mr. Johannsen.
    He stepped back in alarm when he saw Emma-Jean.
    â€œYou almost gave me a heart attack there, missy,” he said. “I thought you were a grizzly waiting to pounce.”
    â€œMr. Johannsen, you know there are no grizzly bears in Connecticut,” she said, quickly closing the door behind him.
    â€œYou got me there,” he said, smoothing what was left of his fluffy white hair.
    He eyed her with some concern.
    â€œEverything a-okay here?” he said. “Kids giving you trouble?”
    â€œNo,” said Emma-Jean, who found it perplexing that Mr. Johannsen so frequently asked her this question. Of course she wished there was less locker slamming and shrieking between classes, and more vigilant toilet flushing in the girls’ room. But none of that was terribly troubling.
    â€œThen mind if I ask what you’re doing standing next to my water heater?” Mr. Johannsen asked.
    â€œI am performing surveillance on Colleen’s locker,” Emma-Jean said.
    â€œYou are, are you?” Mr. Johannsen said.
    â€œYes,” Emma-Jean said. “I am.”
    â€œMind if I ask why?”
    Emma-Jean hesitated for a moment, but then decided that Mr. Johannsen, who had flown top-secret missions during the Vietnam War, could be trusted with the classified details about Colleen’s secret admirer.
    â€œA boy left an anonymous note in Colleen’s locker,” Emma-Jean explained. “She has asked me to find him so that she can invite him to the Spring Fling.”
    â€œAh, the Spring Fling,” Mr. Johannsen said. “I’m afraid I’ll be missing that one. The grandsons are coming in that weekend. We’re having a little family