Read Online Georgia's Greatness by Lauren Baratz-Logsted - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Lauren Baratz-Logsted
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windows, although we supposed, having seen the front of the house, we shouldn't have expected any. It was like a dungeon except it wasn't in a basement. The floor was made of cold-looking cement, and there wasn't a stick of furniture or a pillow or a decoration or a painting in sight. But there was one other person, and we don't mean Ms. Harkness, and we don't mean Invisible Georgia.
"McG!" we cried, unable to address our teacher properly in the midst of our shock.
"Eights!" she cried back at us, equally shocked.
And what was even more shocking? The McG actually looked relieved to see us.
"What's going on here?" Annie demanded, rounding on Ms. Harkness.
"Isn't it obvious?" Ms. Harkness said. "And I was informed that you eight—now seven—were supposed to be so very smart. Well, from where I'm sitting, you don't seem very smart at all."
"You're not sitting," Rebecca pointed out. "You're standing."
It probably wasn't the best time for rudeness, but we couldn't blame Rebecca. And, truth be told, if we hadn't been so scared right then, we would have cheered for her.
"Fine." Ms. Harkness bit off the word. "I'm not sitting. But I still can't believe you can't figure this out."
"You kidnapped our teacher," Annie said.
"Yes," Ms. Harkness admitted freely.
"Then you impersonated a substitute teacher," Durinda said.
"Yes again," Ms. Harkness said.
It would normally have been Georgia's turn to speak, but she was too busy being invisible.
"You staged the St. Patrick's Day parade for a purpose," Jackie said.
"So you could lure us here afterward," Marcia said.
"I don't like you anymore," Petal said, her lower lip starting to quiver.
"Now I'm not sure why I ever did," said Rebecca.
"I wish I'd never carried that stupid flag," said Zinnia.
"This isn't getting us anywhere," Ms. Harkness said. "You still haven't told me why I would do all this."
And we still didn't know. We did have our theories. But if we voiced those theories, we might be giving away information best kept secret... Top Secret.
"Fine," Ms. Harkness said when it became obvious that we wouldn't speak anymore. "I know all about your mother being a scientist. Believe me, I know a lot about your dear mother."
How dare she talk about Mommy as though she knew her!
"And I know about that project your mother was working on," Ms. Harkness went on. "I don't know all the details, but I know it involves the secret of eternal life."
Her eyes looked kind of crazy when she said that last part. It was amazing, we were beginning to realize, how crazy certain adults got when the subject of the secret of eternal life came up.
"I want to know what you know," Ms. Harkness said. "I want you to tell me where your mother is. I want that secret! "
But we remained silent. We remained silent because (1) we really didn't have the answers she wanted—we knew very little, other than that our parents had both disappeared, or died; and (2) we wouldn't have told her anything even if we did know. She was obviously a crazy lady, and who knew what would happen if such Top Secret information fell into the wrong hands? She was so crazy, she probably imagined herself taking over the world.
"So that's the way it's going to be, then?" Serena Harkness said, crossing her arms across her chest as she tapped one high-heeled foot in anger. "You're just going to keep everything to yourselves? Well, if that's the way you want to play it"—and here she turned on her heel and started striding to the door—'Tll lock you in until you get so hungry, you'll beg me to let you talk! I'll tell you one thing before I go, though: I'm glad that pesky Georgia isn't here. She always was the most trouble of you Eights!"
Then she left the room, and we heard the door lock behind her.
We looked at the McG. The McG looked at us.
Then something happened that we never could have imagined happening, not in a million years.
The McG opened up her arms wide and held them toward us.
"Oh, Eights!" she said, somehow
"McG!" we cried, unable to address our teacher properly in the midst of our shock.
"Eights!" she cried back at us, equally shocked.
And what was even more shocking? The McG actually looked relieved to see us.
"What's going on here?" Annie demanded, rounding on Ms. Harkness.
"Isn't it obvious?" Ms. Harkness said. "And I was informed that you eight—now seven—were supposed to be so very smart. Well, from where I'm sitting, you don't seem very smart at all."
"You're not sitting," Rebecca pointed out. "You're standing."
It probably wasn't the best time for rudeness, but we couldn't blame Rebecca. And, truth be told, if we hadn't been so scared right then, we would have cheered for her.
"Fine." Ms. Harkness bit off the word. "I'm not sitting. But I still can't believe you can't figure this out."
"You kidnapped our teacher," Annie said.
"Yes," Ms. Harkness admitted freely.
"Then you impersonated a substitute teacher," Durinda said.
"Yes again," Ms. Harkness said.
It would normally have been Georgia's turn to speak, but she was too busy being invisible.
"You staged the St. Patrick's Day parade for a purpose," Jackie said.
"So you could lure us here afterward," Marcia said.
"I don't like you anymore," Petal said, her lower lip starting to quiver.
"Now I'm not sure why I ever did," said Rebecca.
"I wish I'd never carried that stupid flag," said Zinnia.
"This isn't getting us anywhere," Ms. Harkness said. "You still haven't told me why I would do all this."
And we still didn't know. We did have our theories. But if we voiced those theories, we might be giving away information best kept secret... Top Secret.
"Fine," Ms. Harkness said when it became obvious that we wouldn't speak anymore. "I know all about your mother being a scientist. Believe me, I know a lot about your dear mother."
How dare she talk about Mommy as though she knew her!
"And I know about that project your mother was working on," Ms. Harkness went on. "I don't know all the details, but I know it involves the secret of eternal life."
Her eyes looked kind of crazy when she said that last part. It was amazing, we were beginning to realize, how crazy certain adults got when the subject of the secret of eternal life came up.
"I want to know what you know," Ms. Harkness said. "I want you to tell me where your mother is. I want that secret! "
But we remained silent. We remained silent because (1) we really didn't have the answers she wanted—we knew very little, other than that our parents had both disappeared, or died; and (2) we wouldn't have told her anything even if we did know. She was obviously a crazy lady, and who knew what would happen if such Top Secret information fell into the wrong hands? She was so crazy, she probably imagined herself taking over the world.
"So that's the way it's going to be, then?" Serena Harkness said, crossing her arms across her chest as she tapped one high-heeled foot in anger. "You're just going to keep everything to yourselves? Well, if that's the way you want to play it"—and here she turned on her heel and started striding to the door—'Tll lock you in until you get so hungry, you'll beg me to let you talk! I'll tell you one thing before I go, though: I'm glad that pesky Georgia isn't here. She always was the most trouble of you Eights!"
Then she left the room, and we heard the door lock behind her.
We looked at the McG. The McG looked at us.
Then something happened that we never could have imagined happening, not in a million years.
The McG opened up her arms wide and held them toward us.
"Oh, Eights!" she said, somehow
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