Read Online Face the Music by Andrea K. Robbins - Free Book Online Page A

together.  “Parents these days.  Sometimes they don’t have a clue.”
    “Seems that way.”
    “Well , anyway, it was hilarious,” Emily said.   “ Allie was charged up for weeks.  It was all she could talk about.   Tell him about the letter you had to write. ”
    I smiled as I remembered.  “ Sh e complained to my principal .  He told me to write a letter of apology .”
    “ Did you ?”
    I nodded.
    “And?  What happened?” he asked.
    Emily was excited .  “The lady probably didn’t understand a word of it.   I know I didn’t! ”
    I gave an innocent shrug.
    Emily continued, “ There are only so many five-syllable words you can cram into a sentence.  What was that one part, where you twisted it all around?  What did it say?”
    I did a mental tally and shook my head.  “There weren’t any five syllable words.  The longest one was only four, and that was ‘respectfully’.  Hardly a brain teaser.”
    “Okay, anyway.”  Emily rolled her eyes .   “ Tell him what you wrote. ”
    I recited it slowly so I wouldn’t mess up.  “It said, ‘ I respectfully ask your acc ession for my veracious comment.’ ”
    Chris and Emily exchanged a look.  “You see?” she said.  “ N o sense.”
    He looked dumbfounded.  “ A ccession?”
    I smirked.  “Acceptance.”
    “And veracious?”
    “Truthful.”
    It didn’t take him long to figure it out.  “That’s really funny,” he laughed.  “I wish I had your vocabulary.”
    “Naw.”  I waved a dismissive hand.  “I just know how to use a thesaurus.”
    Emily stood and smoothed out the front of her slacks .  “It was sure good to see you again, Chris.  I’ve got to go get dressed for work.  Don’t let her give you too much trouble.”  She flicked her head in my direction.  “She can be a bit mouthy.”
    He looked at me and winked.  “I think I can handle her.”
    My stomach did a flip-flop.
    “Have you been here long?” I asked, watching as Molly piled a stack of books on his lap.
    “Not at all.”
    “ Good.  Are you okay here for another minute?”
    “Take your time; it looks like I’ve got to catch up on some reading .”   Molly had climbed onto the couch and snuggled against his side.  He seemed content to sit with her.
    Emily grabbed my arm and pulled me into her room when I walked by her bedroom door .  “What’s this all about?” she asked, nodding towards the living room.
    I kept my voice low.  “He has a niece he really misses, so I invited him to the park to play with Molly.  I thought it would cheer him up.”  I gave her a sideways look.  “You don’t mind, do you?  We’re just going over to the playground for a while.”
    She grinned as she wrapped her apron around her waist .  “Do you really think he’s here to play with Molly?  I bet he’d rather play with you.”  Her eyebrows lifted suggestively. 
    “Would you keep it down?”  The living room was just on the other side of her bedroom wall.  “It’s not like that.”  I mulled over the fact that I’d just had this same conversation with Lauren.  “I have no interest in hooking up with Chris Knots.   Did you gi ve him my number, by the way?” I asked, thinking about the text he’d sent .
    “ Nope,” she said, giving me a blank look.  “How can you be so indifferent about him ?  Don’t you think he’s sexy?  Because if you don’t, I - .”
    “You’ll nothing,” I said.  “Ju st stay out if it, Em.  Please.”
    After Emily left, I went to the bathroom and examined my hair in the mirror.  The wind had taken a toll on my ponytail ; flyaways stuck out in all directions.  I yanked out the rubber band, shook it down, and ran a brush through it before going back to the living room.  Molly was o n Chris’s lap , showing off her princess book.
    “See that mouse?” she said, pointing.  “It gonna be a horse.  Isn’t that funny?”
    “What?  I think you’re crazy.  Mice can’t be horses,” he