Read Online The Secret of Ferrell Savage by J. Duddy Gill & Sonia Chaghatzbanian - Free Book Online

me,” she said.
    â€œBut this is my problem,” I said. “It has nothing to do with you.”
    Mary’s voice trembled as she spoke. “There’s something I never told you before. I’ve never told anyone.” She sat back on the couch, and I sat next to her. “My great-great-grandfather was Shannon Wilson Bell.”
    â€œUh-oh,” I said. Now it was starting to make sense. “He was one of the guys Alferd ate.”
    Mary nodded.
    â€œGosh, I’m sorry, Mary. I always knew there was something weird about me. I guess it goes back a long way. Wow, I’m really sorry.” What else could I say? What does any guy say to the girl he’s crushing on when he finds out his family ate hers for dinner? This could be a real relationship buster.
    â€œSo, you come from a long line of weirdos. At least your family shows some strength and gumption. I’m related to someone who was stupid enough to be eaten by a cannibal.”
    â€œMaybe it’s not because he was stupid. Maybe he was a slow runner,” I pointed out.
    â€œWhat kind of idiot goes up to the mountains and gets himself eaten by another person? Couldn’t hehave outsmarted Packer instead? No, because obviously he was a loser.”
    â€œBut that’s him, not you,” I protested.
    â€œIt’s a pattern. Don’t you see? My great-great-grandfather was on his way to finding gold, but he got eaten instead. Then my great-grandfather made a fortune, lost all his money in the stock market, and jumped out the window.”
    â€œOoh.” I cringed.
    â€œMy father’s great-aunt was a genius who invented a carpet cleaner that contained toxic ingredients and who went to jail when hundreds of cats and dogs got sick. And my grandfather? Well, he wrote a book that turned out to be made up of words he stole from other writers. See? Everyone from my dad’s side of the family is a loser!”
    â€œWow, that’s a lot of bad luck,” I said. “What about your dad?”
    â€œMy dad was fine until he invested everything in a company that went bankrupt right when Mom found out she was pregnant with me. He lost all the money. That’s when he left her.”
    â€œWhat’s he doing now?” I asked.
    â€œHe’s a telemarketer. He calls people’s homes while they’re eating dinner and asks them if they wantto switch their cable provider.” She stood up like she was about to leave, but didn’t. “That’s what my future looks like.”
    In all the years I’d known Mary, I’d never seen her look so small, like a mouse in a dark corner. She stood there, fidgeting with the tie of her hoodie and looking down at the floor.
    â€œYou’re not like them,” I repeated. I got up from my chair and took a step closer to her. I was surprised she didn’t back up. “You’re not stupid. And I don’t know about your dad, but I do know he’d have to be stupid to leave you and your mom.”
    Then Mary did the weirdest thing I’ve ever known her to do. She stepped toward me and wrapped her arms around me for half a split second, maybe less. Then she pushed herself away, and I was flung in the opposite direction. And as I was being flung away, I realized what had just happened.
    Mary had hugged me.

Chapter Thirteen
    BEFORE DINNER MOM SENT MARY and me down to Spinelli’s for a bag of red lentils. It had snowed an inch or two the previous night, and our feet crunched as we walked. I felt a little awkward after the hug and couldn’t think of anything to say. Mary was quiet too.
    The way I saw it was like this: Mary’s and my friendship was like my old Converse shoes. I had outgrown them in the fall, and as much as I knew I needed and wanted a new pair, I wasn’t quite ready to make the move. I had worn them—with the holes in the big toe knuckles and the red paint from Mary’sand my summer camp