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

did at her sleepover.”
    â€œWell, we should go over there and see,” Cadence replied. Emmy got her ketchup and went back to her table. She nibbled her grilled cheese and fries as she watched Sophie and Cadence approach Lizzy’s table. Lizzy looked like she wanted to hide but was cornered, literally, in the cafeteria. Sophie and Cadence stood close to Lizzy. At first it looked like they were interrogating her and Lizzy wasn’t answering. Then it looked like they were trying to grab the hat off of Lizzy’s head, while Lizzy had her hands on it as if she was holding on for dear life. It was like watching television with the sound muted. Emmy wished she were sitting closer. Still, she had a pretty good view, just like she had a view into Lizzy’s room from her own bedroom at home.
    So when Cadence forcefully tugged the hat off Lizzy’s head, Emmy could clearly see what was underneath.
    A whacked-out mess.
    Lizzy’s hair was all short, but some pieces were longer than others, giving the impression that her hair was sprouting in unimaginable ways.
    Emmy watched Sophie and Cadence put their hands to their mouths in disbelief. She also saw half the lunchroom do the same as they slowly noticed the scene in the corner. Lizzy looked the way Emmy felt in that dream she sometimes had where she wasn’t wearing any clothes in public. Exposed. Mortified. Lizzy saw Emmy staring and, for a moment, the two held each other’s gaze. You’re finally getting what you deserve, Emmy thought. You deserve to be friendless.
    Then Emmy looked away.
    For the rest of the day Emmy noticed that no one talked to Lizzy. They just pointed and laughed. She kept the hat on, but it was too late. Everyone had seen what was underneath. A whole lot of nothing with a little bit of crazy.

    At the dinner table that night, Emmy was in an especially good mood. She stabbed happily at her salad with her fork as she and her parents listened to Sam describe the high and low of his day. His high was getting to be the line leader at recess, and his low was that his team lost a dodgeball game. Pretty different from Emmy’s day. Sam’s life is so simple, Emmy thought, putting aside her good mood for a second and hating him a little. She remembered when her life was that simple.
    â€œHow about you, Emmy?” her dad asked her when Sam had finished. Emmy stayed silent. She wasn’t exactly eager to report to her family that the high point of her day was the unveiling of Lizzy’s hair and her subsequent humiliation in front of the entire school. But it was true.
    And now Emmy’s mom was looking at her in a way that let Emmy know that she knew about Lizzy’s hair. She must have talked to Lizzy’s mom. Emmy felt a small stab of guilt. But of course, there was no way she could ever be blamed for the haircut, if you could even call it a haircut. Emmy remained silent.
    â€œWell, there’s an elephant in the room, it seems,” her mom said.
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” Sam said. “What elephant?”
    â€œThat means there’s something that no one wants to talk about, but it’s obviously there,” Emmy’s dad explained patiently to Sam. “Right, Emmy?”
    â€œI guess,” Emmy said, now pushing her salad around her plate with her fork. She felt her parents’ eyes on her as she looked down at her plate.
    â€œWell, I talked to Marilyn on the phone today,” Emmy’s mom said. “What on earth do you think made Lizzy want to do that to her hair?”
    Emmy started to respond when she suddenly began laughing uncontrollably. Her parents frowned. But she couldn’t stop. There was an edge of hysteria to her laughter, and her eyes were starting to tear.
    Her mom sighed. “I understand you feel hurt by the way Lizzy has been treating you lately, honey,” she said. “But Marilyn said Lizzy’s day was just horrible. She said everyone at