Read Online The Black Sheep by Sandy Rideout Yvonne Collins - Free Book Online Page B

crew is behind me. “And I thought you were upstairs milking your fifteen minutes of fame.”
    I consider throwing the cookies at his head, but that would be a sad waste of my newfound talent for baking. “The same way your sister is milking it in New York.”
    â€œHer choice, not mine,” he says. “I want no part of it.”
    I point at the TV. “Except for that, you mean. I hear it’s a gift from the show.”
    He flushes, then looks away. “How about you stop barging into every room I’m in?”
    â€œHow about you stop throwing things at me?”
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” A smirk plays on his lips.
    â€œI’m talking about the basketball.”
    â€œIt was an accident.”
    â€œAccidents don’t happen twice.”
    He stares at the screen in silence for a full minute before finally flicking his eyes at me. “Are you still here?”
    Setting the plate of cookies on the coffee table, I sit down on the couch across from him. If it weren’t for Aaron’s party, I’d walk back up those stairs. But I have to win Mitch over. I can only stand having one enemy in the house, and that role belongs to the ferret. “Look,” I say, “I didn’t get you into this, Maya did. And it’s only a month out of your life.”
    He ignores me.
    â€œIt was really nice of you to agree to participate for her sake,” I add.
    He turns up the volume on the television.
    â€œShe’s going to have a great time in Manhattan,” I shout above the TV. “For the first few days. Then my parents will get progressively obsessive and controlling until she’s begging to come home early. You can expect that call by the end of week two.”
    Although he doesn’t turn his head, Mitch does lower the volume slightly. I take it as a good sign and continue. “My house is like a high-security prison,” I say. “There’s a binder of rules this thick .”
    Mitch rolls his eyes sideways to see how thick. “A binder?”
    â€œNow you see why I like your parents.” Since he’s starting to thaw a little, I say, “I applied to be on The Black Sheep because I was having trouble at home. I just wanted to try something different.”
    â€œYou could do that without dragging your whole family into it.”
    â€œFor your information, I had a really good reason for being upset with my parents.”
    â€œYeah, what did they do? Reduce your shoe allowance?” He raises a hand to his mouth in mock horror.
    â€œIt’s personal,” I say. There’s no way I’m admitting I lost it because they fired my nanny. “But I did have second thoughts. By then it was too late, I’d signed the contract.”
    He turns up the volume again.
    â€œAnyway, I don’t have much of a family to inconvenience,” I yell. “I’m an only child.” I wait for him to say something, and when he doesn’t, I continue. “My parents obviously didn’t go to enough tent rallies.”
    Mitch laughs his odd, barky laugh—and looks startled that it slipped out. “My parents are so embarrassing,” he mutters.
    â€œThey’re funny,” I say, choosing the word carefully. “Funny” can go either way.
    He grunts noncommittally.
    â€œI was at the aquarium today,” I tell him. “Some woman there thinks you’re God’s gift to salt water.”
    He looks at me again. “Yeah? Who?”
    â€œLisa. She wouldn’t let me name the otter with the sore paw: ‘They’re not pets, you know.’ ” I use my uptight teacher voice and he laughs again.
    â€œLisa takes everything seriously. She’s an academic.”
    â€œAn academic? Already?”
    â€œShe’s doing her Master’s thesis on how toxins are affecting the ocean’s food chain.”
    And Judy thinks I’m boring? “Well, I didn’t mean any