Read Online The Wish by Gail Carson Levine - Free Book Online Page B

for a second. Wetly. He pulled back. His face was bright red.
    â€œI’ll practice,” he said. “My brother can . . . Then we’ll practice. I have to go.” He picked up his tube, smiled at me, and ran away.
    As soon as I got on my train, I wondered what I was doing. I should have been figuring out how to stay popular, but instead, I’d chosen one of the least popular kids for my boyfriend.
    And what was so stupid about that? I liked him. The spell would end and I’d have a boyfriend I liked who didn’t care that it ended.
    But everybody else would care, and I cared about everybody else. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I did. I remembered the line in Hamlet that Jared had quoted, “To thine own self be true.” But who was mine own self? That’s what I wanted to know.
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    I got home at four. As soon as I walked in, Ardis called, wanting to hear about my afternoon with Jared. When I told her about the caricature, she wanted a preview before I took it to school tomorrow. I asked her if she could come over.
    â€œWe could walk Reggie together,” I said, “and you could get to know him better.” And she could get to know me better.
    I heard her take a deep breath. “Wilma, I am a little bit afraid of dogs. Reggie seems great, but—”
    â€œReggie wouldn’t hurt you.”
    â€œIt might. Animals hate me.”
    â€œReggie doesn’t hate anybody, but never mind. You’ll see the caricatures tomorrow.”
    â€œLook, I’ll come. But if I’m too scared, I’m going home. And if it eats me, my dad is a lawyer and he’ll—”
    â€œHe won’t eat you.”
    I hung up. What a day! I hadn’t had a friend over in months. And I’d never had a boyfriend.
    Reggie started barking and then the doorbell rang. I made him sit and stay, which stopped his barking.
    â€œWhere did it go?” Ardis said as I opened the door. “Oh. I forgot how big it is. I have to go now.”
    â€œCome on in. Reggie, stay.”
    â€œYou’re sure it’s safe?” She inched into our apartment.
    â€œUh-huh. Do you want to pet him?”
    â€œNo thanks.”
    â€œHe’s wagging his tail at you,” I said.
    â€œThat’s because it can’t wait to eat me.” She laughed nervously. “Can I pet it later?”
    â€œSure.”
    â€œMaybe a year from now?”
    â€œWhenever.” Whether or not we’re friends then. I reached for his leash. As soon as he realized he was getting an extra walk, he was all over me, jumping, licking, wagging.
    Ardis stood back. “Aren’t you scared it will knock you over?”
    Outside, I let him pull me to the nearest lamppost, but then I made him behave.
    â€œAnimals don’t like me,” Ardis said.
    â€œReggie likes you.”
    â€œI went to horseback-riding camp the summer after sixth grade. The horses hated me.”
    â€œThey couldn’t have.”
    â€œThey did. On one ride, my horse kept putting its head down to eat grass, and everybody in our bunk got ahead of me, and the counselors didn’t notice. I was alone with the horse, and I kept thinking it was going to throw me off and then trample me. That was one horse. Another one walked so near the trees that branches kept hitting me.”
    I said, “I don’t know about horses, but dogs will listen if you’re consistent and if you . . .”
    Ardis had the same expression people have when they watch a TV program somebody else picked. Polite, and annoyed. But what did she want me to say? Didn’t she want to learn about animals? I tried to figure it out. What would I want to hear if I was talking about being scared of something?
    At BeeBee’s sleepover, when I was uncomfortable about the chopsticks, I wouldn’t have wanted anybody to tell me how much fun it was to eat with them, or how easy they were to handle. That would have made me feel