Read Online Notes From a Liar and Her Dog by Gennifer Choldenko - Free Book Online Page B

good at science,” she says as she tips a pill in with the point of her knife.
    “But you’re a teacher,” I say.
    “I’m an art teacher. I did pretty well in English,history, and art, of course. But not science. Chemistry—” She shakes her head. “Forget it.”
    I’m so surprised, I stop what I’m doing. She notices this and looks over at me. “Not everyone’s as smart as you, you know,” she says.
    The smile comes to my lips before I can stop it. But as soon as I feel it there, I push it away. I don’t want her to know how pleased I am. Still, I hope she will keep talking more about this. More about me and how smart I am.
    “At least, that’s what Sam Lewis says.”
    “Cave Man?”
    Carol laughs a funny laugh, kind of a snort. “I guess I should feel lucky that I’m only ‘Just’ Carol and not something worse. Anyhow, Sam Lewis says you try to pass your work off as Harrison’s. He says you even try to copy that weird handwriting Harrison has.”
    “Not anymore,” I say as I pick up another chunk of meat.
    “Yes, he said he talked to you about it and got you to stop.”
    I bite the pouch of skin under my lip. I want to tell her this isn’t true. That he only thinks we’ve stopped. That we’ve outsmarted him. That we switch report cards now. But I know I shouldn’t. She has two strikes against her. One, she’s a teacher. And two, she told on me once already. I say nothing, the urge to brag practically choking me.
    “We don’t know why you did it, though.”
    I shrug. My mind clamps on the “we.” Cave Man and Carol have talked about me? I like this idea.
    “No really, Ant, why?”
    “Harrison’s father likes it when Harrison gets good grades,” I say.
    “Harrison’s not stupid—why doesn’t he do his own work?” she asks as she finishes her last cube.
    I shrug again. “He’d rather draw.”
    She sighs and shakes her head. “Well, what about you? Aren’t your parents, or whatever you call them, upset when you bring home bad grades?”
    “They’re used to it.”
    “Well, what do they think now that you got all those A’s?” she asks, studying me as if the answer is somewhere on my face.
    “They think I’m smart,” I say, and I try to smile modestly while looking directly at her. Another good lying technique. Always hold a person’s look. Never be the first to turn away.
    “That’s nice,” she says as I feel something move in my pocket. Pistachio. I’d forgotten about him, but now he’s getting restless.
    We are done with our pill duty. This is my chance. “Look,” I say, “I have to go to the bathroom.”
    “Okay.” She picks up the plate of pill-stuffed beef chunks. “It’s down by the front of the lion exhibit. It’s all painted with zebra stripes. You can’t miss it.”
    I go out the gate, step in the tub of bleach, then walk past the lion-viewing station to the zebra-painted bathroom. I’m smiling to myself. This Zoo Teen thingis really fun! But then the bottom drops out of my stomach when I remember the conversation I overheard last Sunday. As soon as I get happy, then my dad quits his job and we move again.
    I cut around behind the bathroom. Then, I look to see if it is safe to put Tashi down here. Nope. Too many kids by the lions’ viewing area, so I cut through by the side of the exhibit. Two years is a long time, my brain tries to calm my stomach. And when we moved to Sarah’s Road, he said it would be the last move. He said it would be forever. Besides, I asked him if we were moving and he said no.
    I am near the lions now, but a safe distance from Just Carol and the public part of the zoo. This seems perfect, so I put Pistachio down on the dirt and right away he arches his back and sticks his nose and his tail in the air. He looks like a parade horse. I’m so happy to see him behaving like himself again, strutting around as if it’s top secret business for him to smell everything. I take off my jacket and toss it on a straw bale. I feel much