Read Online The Middle of Everywhere by Monique Polak - Free Book Online Page A

it: stealing your dad’s beer is probably not the coolest thing a guy can do. Then again, I was the one who carted it all the way from Montreal. I had to load those cases into Mom’s car, check them in at Trudeau Airport, then wait for those babies at Kuujjuaq to make sure they got loaded onto the fifteen-seater Twin Otter plane that brought me (and the beer) to George River.
    â€œGreat to see you, Son!” Dad had said, clapping my arm when he met me at the little airport here. “How’d you do on that small plane? Not too bumpy for you?” But Dad didn’t wait for me to answer. He was already asking, “Hey, did my beer make it here okay?”
    Looking back, I think Dad was more excited when he saw those cases of beer than when he saw me.
    The way I see it, Dad owes me the beers I swiped. So I’m not going to feel guilty. Nope, I’m going to lie back and try to get myself some shut-eye. Those beers were part of the deal. They’re what I charge for shipping and handling. Family discount included.

NINE
    C hris and I are walking home after school. Some days, if his mom is on her way back from work, she picks us up. Today she’s not waiting at her usual spot. No problem. We’re in grade three now. Big enough to walk by ourselves.
    Chris and I are carrying the papier-mâché masks we made in art. Chris made a monster with a green face. Mine’s a dog. It has pointy ears and a long snout with big black nostrils at the end. The paint on mine isn’t completely dry, so I’m waving it in the air while I walk. Wait till Mom sees it. She’ll want to hang it up on the wall for sure.
    â€œHey, you guys, wait for me!” When we turn around, we see Tammy, running to catch up with us, her white-blond hair flapping behind her.
    We make room so Tammy can walk between us.
    â€œNice dog!” she says. Then she looks at Chris’s mask. “Scary!”
    â€œWhere’s yours?” Chris asks.
    â€œIt’s not dry yet. But I made a princess. With a gold crown and real jewels. Well, real plastic jewels. Miss Brisson attached them with her glue gun. She brought it from home specially for me. That’s why my mask’s not dry yet.”
    â€œMine’s not dry either,” I tell Tammy. Tammy makes me nervous because she is so pretty. As pretty as a princess. I like it when she walks home with us.
    I hear the thud of heavy footsteps coming up behind us. Even before I look to see who’s coming, I feel a pit form at the bottom of my stomach. Don’t be Roland Ipkins. Not today. Not now. Not when Tammy Akerman is watching.
    I hear Roland’s laugh before I see him. It’s a mean laugh, just like Roland. He’s with his two friends—Eddie Silverstone and Trevor Tait. They’re all in grade four. Roland should really be in grade five, but he flunked a grade.
    When Roland laughs, Eddie and Trevor laugh too.
    Roland sidles up next to me. He’s twice my size. “Bringing home your art project to show your mommy?” he calls out. Then he sneers. Roland’s sneer makes me nervous too, but not the kind of nervous Tammy Akerman makes me. Roland makes me bad nervous. Pain in my stomach, trembling knees kind of nervous.
    When Chris speeds up, so do I. But Tammy stops walking. Uh-oh. Now what do I do? I watch as Tammy puts her hands on her hips and spins around to face Roland and his friends. “Why do you have to be so mean?” she asks Roland.
    Chris is walking even faster now. “Come on,” he whispers under his breath. He pulls on the sleeve of my sweater, but I shake myself free.
    â€œNo,” I tell him, “we should wait for Tammy.” I stop, but Chris doesn’t.
    â€œWhy do you hang around with those two losers anyway?” Roland is asking Tammy.
    I feel my cheeks get hot when he says that.
    â€œThey’re not losers. You’re the loser,” Tammy tells him. My heart is thumping under