Read Online Twice As Nice by Lin Oliver - Free Book Online Page A

not too friendly, not too angry, just right in the middle. I wondered if Sammie had told Alicia and Sara about our fight, but I was pretty sure she hadn’t because Sara was really friendly and said, “Hey, Charlie. Want to join us for lunch? We’re going to Mr. Walsh’s room to watch a documentary on how dolphins are almost as intelligent as humans.”
    â€œThanks, Sara, but I can’t.”
    â€œCharlie has plans with her other group,” Sammie said. “I guess we’re not good enough for her.”
    Even Sara and Alicia looked surprised at her tone.
    â€œEase up there,” Alicia said. “This is your sister, you’re talking to.”
    â€œThat’s okay,” I said to Alicia. “Sammie and I are just having a little disagreement. No big deal. We’ll get over it. We always do, don’t we, Sams?”
    She didn’t answer. Fine, that was her choice. I said good-bye to the others and continued down the hall out to the lunch pavilion. It was a nice breezy day and kids were streaming in, carrying trays of food and cups of yogurt and icy drinks. I glanced over at the spot I knew so well, and there they were—the SF2s. Sean and Jared were on one side of the bench, wedged in between Ben Feldman and the General. Lauren was balancing a tray with three yogurts and climbing over the other bench to sit down. I paused, suddenly feeling unsure if I was going to be welcome. I hoped Lauren would look up and wave me over, but she was busy chatting with Brooke.
    â€œYou coming to join us?” said a voice from behind me. I turned around to see Spencer, balancing two cheeseburgers and a large drink on a tray.
    â€œOh, Spencer. Hi. I mean, hi, Spencer.” I heard myself gushing and tried to stop. “I was just wondering if it’s okay to be at the table.”
    â€œThere’s only one way to find out,” he said, flashing me a hint of dimple.
    I followed him to the table, and when I got there, Lauren made a spot for me next to her.
    â€œSit here, Charlie,” she said. “I got you a yogurt. Small low-fat vanilla, no toppings, right? See, I haven’t forgotten.”
    I took a seat. Sean and Jared both put down their subs and stared at me, definitely not in a good way.
    â€œSo is everyone okay with this?” Jared said. He didn’t even bother to say my name. I was just a “this.”
    â€œYup, we are,” Lauren said. “We decided that Charlie is coming back to the group.”
    â€œShe is? Why?” Jared asked.
    â€œI have my reasons,” was all Lauren said. It wasn’t exactly a declaration of love for me, but it was good enough. “So you two guys are just going to have to deal with it,” Lauren said with authority.
    â€œWhat if we can’t?” Sean answered, trying to stare her down. But Lauren was not going to back down. She just stared at Sean.
    â€œJust grow up,” she snapped.
    â€œEasy for you to say,” the General said to her, rising to the defense of his two friends. “You’re not the one busting your butt varnishing the deck, sweeping sand off the tennis courts, and pulling up weeds like a gardener.”
    â€œWhy don’t we take a vote on whether or not Charlie can stay?” Brooke said. “This is America, and we’re a democracy after all.”
    â€œYeah,” Jillian jumped in. “Just like they do on
Teens Got Talent
. Last night they voted off that creepy girl who was a contortionist. She could totally dislocate both shoulders and then put them back in the sockets. It was disgusting.”
    Everyone looked at me like I was going to suddenly stand up and do some kind of freaky body trick. It was so embarrassing. I was beginning to feel sorry that I had sat down at the table at all.
    â€œWhoa, guys,” Spencer said, jamming in next to me on the bench. “Stop talking about Charlie like she’s not here. We don’t need to vote on