Read Online Tallahassee Higgins by Mary Downing Hahn - Free Book Online Page A

of a pony?"
    Jane nodded. "That's her. Never talks to anybody, just walks along with her nose up in the air. She was my mom's English teacher, but she's retired now."
    "But, Jane—" I grabbed her arm so tightly she winced. "If Johnny was my father, she's my grandmother! My
grandmother
!"
    "My gosh, Mrs. Russell a grandmother." Jane shook her head. "She just doesn't seem the type."
    "You better hurry up, Jane," Matthew yelled from almost a block away. "You're going to be late! You, too, Leopard Girl!"
    "Come on, Talley." Jane started running. "If we're late one more time, Mrs. Duffy is going to give us detention!"
    "Who cares?" I said, but I hurried to catch up with Jane. Any more trouble and Mrs. Duffy would call my aunt and uncle in for a conference. Aunt Thelma hated me enough already. For all I knew, she'd send me off to a foster home the next time I did something she didn't like.
    ***
    That morning, instead of working on my report on Germany, I thought about Mrs. Russell and how I might introduce myself to her. As Jane said, she wasn't exactly a friendly person, certainly not the grandmotherly type. If the wolf had come to her house, I'll bet she would have run him off long before Little Red Riding Hood arrived.
    I finally decided that I would walk up and down in front of Mrs. Russell's house till she noticed me. One good look and she would run down the sidewalk and throw her arms around me, sobbing with joy, delighted to find her long-lost, one and only grandchild.
    Just as I was imagining this wonderful reunion scene, Mrs. Duffy announced that it was time for art, my favorite subject, the only thing I get A's in except P.E.
    We lined up and went down the hall to the art room. Jane and I sat together, as usual. I was painting a picture of a girl surfboarding. The foam on the top of the wave looked perfect, but the girl herself wasn't quite right. Her head was a little too big for her body or something.
    "Is that supposed to be you on your surfboard?"
    I looked up, surprised to see Dawn standing next to me. She and Terri and Karen hadn't spoken to me for weeks. Once I'd seen a note Dawn had passed to Terri; in it, she'd said that I was stuck-up. "She thinks her mother is so great. Well, so what? She's still here, isn't she."
    Dawn stared at the picture. I could feel her breath on my hand she was so close to it.
    "No," I said, even though the girl had red hair and I'd been thinking about being in California while I drew. "She's just made-up."
    "You're pretty good at making things up, aren't you?" Dawn looked me in the eye. We were almost nose to nose.
    I noticed that Terri and Karen were standing behind Dawn. Terri had her hands behind her back, as if she was hiding something.
    "Ask her," Terri prompted Dawn.
    "How's that movie coming along?" Dawn pushed her hair back, showing off the little cloisonné earrings she was wearing.
    "What movie?" I concentrated on the blue sky I was painting.
    "You know. The one with your mother and Richard Gere." She popped her gum, and I could smell artificial grape. "
The Island
or whatever it's called."
    "It's fine." I looked at her and frowned, stung into saying something. "Liz just called to say she's sending for me soon. They've definitely got a part for me."
    "Really." Dawn looked at Terri and nodded.
    "How about this then?" Terri waved the
People
magazine she'd hidden behind her back. Richard Gere grinned at me from the cover. "There's a whole article in here about him and this new movie he's making with Sissy Spacek. There's no mention of your mother or any film about an island!"
    "You made it all up, didn't you!" Dawn popped her gum and smirked.
    "Your mother isn't any movie star," Terri added, shoving her face so close to me I could smell her breath.
    "Don't talk to me like that!" I put down my brush and clenched my fists. Boy, did I want to sock them.
    Dawn leaned toward me, bumping the jar of water on the table. Before I could move my painting, muddy gray water ran across it,