Read Online What a Doll! by P.J. Night - Free Book Online

thought. Oh well. Too bad.
    And then Lizzy went right into another headstand, her rainbow cast sticking high up in the air. Sophie and Cadence stared at her, their mouths wide open in shock. Then Cadence whispered something to Sophie and they both laughed.
    After her second headstand, Lizzy went back to her place on the bed, like she didn’t know what had come over her all of a sudden. Like someone else had taken over her body. She sat down for a minute and looked at the television screen.
    Oh, no, thought Emmy. I’m not done with you yet.
    Emmy turned around. “My turn!” she crowed to Sam. By now she had positioned herself in such a way that she could see into Lizzy’s window and play with Sam at the same time. “Look what I can do with it.” She threw the doll against the wall so hard that it bounced off and landed with a loud plunk on the floor. Emmy picked it up and did it again as Sam laughed and laughed. This was the most fun Emmy could remember having with her brother.
    Then, like a jack-in-the-box, Lizzy popped off the couch and ran straight into the wall, hard. Then she collapsed on the floor in a heap.
    Sophie hit a button on the remote control, pausing whatever it was they were watching. Sophie and Cadence continued to look annoyed, and they looked like they were yelling at her. Emmy could just imagine their snobby voices: Would you stop! Seriously, what is your problem? But Lizzy ran into the wall again and again. Depending on how Emmy threw the doll, sometimes Lizzy would slide feet first, sometimes she’d slam her shoulder into the wall. Each time, she hit the wall so hard that she’d fall down. But each time, she’d get up and do it again. She looked like a little kid who wasn’t getting enough attention and had resorted to doing crazy tricks.
    Finally, she stopped and sat there on the floor, confused. She looked dazed. More specifically, Emmy thought, she looks like a cartoon character who has just hit its head. Stars and swirls might as well be circling above her. For a split second Emmy worried that maybe she went a little too far. After all, what if she had given Lizzy a concussion? But then Emmy shoved the thought out of her head. Lizzy was just getting what she deserved, Emmy figured.
    Then Lizzy’s mom entered the room. She looked concerned and more than a little perplexed. She bent down next to Lizzy, and Cadence and Sophie looked like they were explaining something to her. They still looked totally annoyed, but also a little scared.
    How’s your fabulous sleepover going now? Emmy asked Lizzy in her head. Guess it’s not going exactly the way you’d planned. Guess you hadn’t planned on being a total spaz.
    Lizzy sat up straight and looked like she was trying to collect herself. Then Emmy saw Cadence and Sophie rolling up their sleeping bags and putting on their backpacks. They walked slowly out of the room as Lizzy’s mom gently tried to put Lizzy in bed and tuck her in under the covers. She must have thought she had a fever or something. She must have thought she was delirious.
    And that seemed to be the end of Lizzy’s sleepover party. Emmy laughed out loud, forgetting that Sam was still in the room. She couldn’t help herself. It was probably the last time Cadence and Sophie would ever talk to Lizzy again.
    Emmy went to sleep that night unable to stop herself from feeling wildly pleased by her actions with the little doll. What a fool Lizzy had made of herself at her own sleepover party!

    The next morning Emmy felt more energetic than she had in a long time. She enjoyed her weekend. She was in such a good mood she offered to help her mom do the grocery shopping and her dad sort the recycling. She also helped Sam with his homework, which pleased her parents to no end. All the while she kept the doll on her desk. She was just waiting for inspiration. What else could she do to Lizzy with this magic little doll?
    Monday morning