Read Online The Graham Cracker Plot by Shelley Tougas - Free Book Online Page A

said.
    â€œDaisy Bauer. Queen of Not Knowing the Difference in Barns.”
    â€œGraham Cracker. King of Not Reading a Map.”
    Then, like a mom yelling at us to “Stop it right now or else,” the sky exploded. Boom. Bam . Thunder and rain—rain so hard it sounded like a thousand hammers on the car’s roof. The windshield looked like the shower door in my grandma’s bathroom, blurry and white, with some shadows that could be the road and could be some trees.
    Ashley put her hands over her face and screamed.
    â€œHey!” Graham reached over and took hold of the steering wheel. “Stop the car, Ashley.”
    â€œI can’t see.”
    â€œIt’s generally recommended to keep your eyes open and your hands on the wheel.”
    I didn’t like Graham’s calm. “Turn on the wipers!”
    Graham clicked something by the steering wheel. The wipers ran fast, but they couldn’t keep up with the gush of water on the windshield.
    â€œI can’t see,” she said. “We’re gonna get hit. We’re gonna GET HIT!” Her breathing came hard and fast.
    I felt the car come to a stop. “You can’t stop in the middle of the road.”
    â€œIt’s a gravel road,” Graham said. “Nobody’s out here.”
    The car swayed in a blast of wind, and suddenly it was dark. Ashley wouldn’t take her hands off her face. Her shoulders shook. “Driving in the rain is dangerous. It’s bad. It’s bad.”
    Graham turned on the overhead light as a branch slapped the back window. “What should we do?”
    â€œTurn on the radio. Push the button until you hear a weather voice,” I said.
    Graham pushed the radio button. Country. Another push. Dance mix. Another push. More country. More dance mix. A jewelry store commercial. Finally, a weather voice. “… seek shelter immediately. Severe thunderstorms can produce straight-line winds and tornadoes with little warning. This path of super cells is traveling west-southwest at thirty miles an hour. If you do not have a basement, seek shelter in an interior room without windows…”
    â€œTornadoes?” Ashley grabbed the wheel, stomped the gas, and the car roared forward. “We gotta hide.”
    â€œTurn the radio off,” I told Graham. “It’s making her freak out.”
    Ashley braked hard, and the car skidded and stopped. She took off her sweater and wrapped it around her head, over her eyes.
    Graham whirled around. “Ashley’s brain cells are flying outta her ears!” Damn if he wasn’t right.
    The wind turned to a howl. High-pitched and wobbly, like the pretend ghost noises you make during a scary story. Whoooo  … whoooo  … The wind was making fun of us. Stupid, stupid kids.
    â€œNow what?” I whispered.
    I don’t think Graham could hear me, but he wiggled around and pulled something from his pocket. He licked it and pressed his hand against his forehead. “The Idea Coin!” he shouted. He froze for a few seconds. Then he turned to Ashley. “Keep moving forward. Take it slow. I’ll look out the side window.” She didn’t take the sweater off her head and eyes, but she followed his commands. “Slower! No, faster than that! Good, good. A little more to the right.”
    The car bucked and bolted, slowed and sputtered. Rain and wind beat the car.
    â€œI think it’s a house. Turn here!”
    A turn, followed by more howling, a thump, and a bump. The car stopped. Ashley turned the engine off. Everything was silent for a moment—a second of nothing, no engine, no wind, nothing but breathing. Graham slipped the coin in his pocket. Then a blast of lightning and thunder rocked the car.
    Ashley screamed. Graham screamed. I screamed. Suddenly the doors were open. Ashley had both hands on Graham’s back because she couldn’t see. He ran. She clutched his shirt and followed. I