Read Online Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake Eyes by Wendelin Van Draanen - Free Book Online
Authors: Wendelin Van Draanen
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eighth graders. She went around saying stuff like “Hey, Xandi, Jennifer! I am, like, so honored to be on your team.” And “Becky, Kris, Cindy! Wow! I am going to work so hard to be worthy. You guys are awesome!”
Gag me.
She tried it on Ms. Rothhammer, but she got shut down cold. “Don't think for a minute I suffer from selective memory, Heather. You've got a lot to make up for.”
“Aw, Coach … we were rivals before. But now I'm, you know,
with
you.”
“Well then, I expect you to treat
all
of your teammates with respect and kindness.
All
of them.”
Heather gives Ms. Rothhammer one of her better innocent looks. “Of
course
, Coach. C'mon, all that stuff's ancient history as far as I'm concerned.”
Ms. Rothhammer studies her carefully, but doesn't reply. Instead, she calls, “Two laps, everybody!”
And of course as we do our laps, Heather runs beside me for as long as it takes to whisper, “You are on the menu, loser, and there's nothing she can do to stop it!”
Which made me nervous, okay? I mean, there was Babs on the sidelines with Mr. Vince, acting all, you know, conspiratory, and there I am, fumbling balls and missing calls and just
blowing
it while Heather plays smooth and confident.
Afterward, Heather goes off with the eighth graders like she's one of them, while Ms. Rothhammer tries to give me a pep talk.
“Look,” I finally tell her, “Heather's saying that Babs is going to replace me.”
“What?”
“That's what she's saying, okay? And did you see her and Mr. Vince? They looked like they were plotting to take over the world.”
“Listen, Sammy. I don't want you to give that another thought. Heather is trying to psych you out again. You should be used to this tactic. Don't let it get to you! This is
your
team, and Babs Filarski is not in the wings as your replacement.”
“They weren't out there talking about the weather! They were drawing out plays and stuff. Mr. Vince wouldn't do that unless he had something planned. It's like he's horning in on our team.”
“Well,” Ms. Rothhammer says, “I don't like it any better than you do, but Mr. Vince is right in that I have no authority to say he can't watch practice.” She takes a deep breath. “I have to pick my battles with him carefully,Sammy, and whether or not he sits in on practice is not a battle I think is worth fighting. I prefer to just ignore him, and that's exactly what you should do with Babs.” She eyes me and says, “That
is
a battle worth fighting, and one I'd win. So don't give it another thought, okay?”
That was hopeless, but I said, “Okay,” anyway.
Dot's dad was waiting in his big green DeVries Nursery delivery truck, ready to take Dot home. He offered Marissa and me a lift too, but Marissa had her bike and well, as far as I knew, Mr. DeVries didn't know about me living with Grams. Besides, Marissa and I always walk as far as we can together, and since I hadn't had the chance to tell her about what had happened with Pepe and Officer Borsch and everything, I didn't
want
a ride. I wanted to walk and talk.
So we waved bye to Dot and Mr. DeVries and headed out on foot. And we were trucking along Cook Street, me running a million miles an hour at the mouth about seeing Heather at the mall and how Pepe's mom hadn't shown up, when Marissa says, “Hey! Let's go check out the fields at the high school!”
“What?
Now
?”
“Sure! It won't take that long. Just a quick look? It's been forever since I've been there.”
“But —”
“Come on! I'll give you a ride on my handlebars.”
I took a step back from her. “That's okay. I'll walk. And in case you hadn't noticed, I was in the middle of telling you how I got stuck with that baby. All night.”
“Right, right. So go on. What happened after youdecided to go home? And why didn't you just go to the police?”
“If you would
listen
…”
“Okay!”
So I picked up where I'd left off, only all of a sudden Marissa decides she wants to take a
Gag me.
She tried it on Ms. Rothhammer, but she got shut down cold. “Don't think for a minute I suffer from selective memory, Heather. You've got a lot to make up for.”
“Aw, Coach … we were rivals before. But now I'm, you know,
with
you.”
“Well then, I expect you to treat
all
of your teammates with respect and kindness.
All
of them.”
Heather gives Ms. Rothhammer one of her better innocent looks. “Of
course
, Coach. C'mon, all that stuff's ancient history as far as I'm concerned.”
Ms. Rothhammer studies her carefully, but doesn't reply. Instead, she calls, “Two laps, everybody!”
And of course as we do our laps, Heather runs beside me for as long as it takes to whisper, “You are on the menu, loser, and there's nothing she can do to stop it!”
Which made me nervous, okay? I mean, there was Babs on the sidelines with Mr. Vince, acting all, you know, conspiratory, and there I am, fumbling balls and missing calls and just
blowing
it while Heather plays smooth and confident.
Afterward, Heather goes off with the eighth graders like she's one of them, while Ms. Rothhammer tries to give me a pep talk.
“Look,” I finally tell her, “Heather's saying that Babs is going to replace me.”
“What?”
“That's what she's saying, okay? And did you see her and Mr. Vince? They looked like they were plotting to take over the world.”
“Listen, Sammy. I don't want you to give that another thought. Heather is trying to psych you out again. You should be used to this tactic. Don't let it get to you! This is
your
team, and Babs Filarski is not in the wings as your replacement.”
“They weren't out there talking about the weather! They were drawing out plays and stuff. Mr. Vince wouldn't do that unless he had something planned. It's like he's horning in on our team.”
“Well,” Ms. Rothhammer says, “I don't like it any better than you do, but Mr. Vince is right in that I have no authority to say he can't watch practice.” She takes a deep breath. “I have to pick my battles with him carefully,Sammy, and whether or not he sits in on practice is not a battle I think is worth fighting. I prefer to just ignore him, and that's exactly what you should do with Babs.” She eyes me and says, “That
is
a battle worth fighting, and one I'd win. So don't give it another thought, okay?”
That was hopeless, but I said, “Okay,” anyway.
Dot's dad was waiting in his big green DeVries Nursery delivery truck, ready to take Dot home. He offered Marissa and me a lift too, but Marissa had her bike and well, as far as I knew, Mr. DeVries didn't know about me living with Grams. Besides, Marissa and I always walk as far as we can together, and since I hadn't had the chance to tell her about what had happened with Pepe and Officer Borsch and everything, I didn't
want
a ride. I wanted to walk and talk.
So we waved bye to Dot and Mr. DeVries and headed out on foot. And we were trucking along Cook Street, me running a million miles an hour at the mouth about seeing Heather at the mall and how Pepe's mom hadn't shown up, when Marissa says, “Hey! Let's go check out the fields at the high school!”
“What?
Now
?”
“Sure! It won't take that long. Just a quick look? It's been forever since I've been there.”
“But —”
“Come on! I'll give you a ride on my handlebars.”
I took a step back from her. “That's okay. I'll walk. And in case you hadn't noticed, I was in the middle of telling you how I got stuck with that baby. All night.”
“Right, right. So go on. What happened after youdecided to go home? And why didn't you just go to the police?”
“If you would
listen
…”
“Okay!”
So I picked up where I'd left off, only all of a sudden Marissa decides she wants to take a
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