Read Online What Would Emma Do? by Eileen Cook - Free Book Online Page B

smart.”
    “What is the matter with you? It’s like you’re taking their side.” Joann’s face was flushed. “The town is pulling together over this. Didn’t you hear Reverend Evers? We need to stand together. I know you don’t like Darci, but I wouldn’t think you were mean enough to want someone to hurt her.”
    “No one hurt her. I’m not taking sides, because there isn’t a side.”
    “Then what happened to them?”
    “I don’t think anything happened to Darci.”
    “And Kimberly? How do you explain what happened to her?”
    I chewed on the inside of my lip, frustrated that I couldn’t say more.
    “Look, you know Kimberly. Do you really think she’s the kind who wouldn’t take drugs? What about the time at the Barn last year when she had all those wine coolers and ended up passing out in the horse stall and no one could find her for, like, an hour? Or when she got it in her head that she’d take all those diet pills to lose weight and ended up throwing up in gym class? She spewed right through the volleyball net. She might convince her parents she’s an angel, but you know she’s not.”
    “But she was at Darci’s that night. No way they would do anything like that at Reverend Evers’s house. Even Kimberly would never take that kind of chance. Getting wasted at his house. I don’t think so.”
    “Maybe they weren’t there. They could sneak out. Darci’s bedroom is on the first floor,” I said. Joann raised one eyebrow in doubt. “What? You think it’s more likely that Al-Qaeda crawled in her window than that she crawled out?”
    “Whatever.” Joann picked up the magazine and flipped through it, slapping the pages over more loudly than necessary.
    I sat with my legs crossed, my leg bouncing up and down, watching her. She didn’t look at me, so I spun back around to the computer and jabbed the on button, then jammed it off again and turned back.
    “Why are you so excited about the whole thing?” I asked her.
    “What?”
    “You and everyone else are all in a lather. It’s all anyone is talking about.”
    “Uh, hello, it’s a huge deal.”
    “No, it’s not. Everyone has made it into a big deal. There are things they could be worried about that matter. No one cares what happens twenty minutes outside of this town. People care more about corn prices than they do about the war, or the environment, or debt reduction in the Third World. It’s pathetic. There’s plenty of drama in the world without having to make up our own.”
    “Oh, spare me your Bono imitation.” Joann stood and tossed the Vogue down on the sofa. She jammed her feet into her shoes. “You are so busy proving that you’re above us all that you don’t even care what happens right in front of you. Better polish up your saddle for your high horse before you gallop out of town.”
    “High horse? What, because I want to do better than Wheaton?”
    “No, because you imply that anyone who wants to stay here is a loser. That we’ve settled. How do you think that makes me feel?” Joann’s eyes filled with tears.
    “Joann,” I said.
    “You know what? Don’t start. Don’t even start. Whatever you say now doesn’t matter. You’ve made your point over and over. This town sucks. Anyone who lives here is stuck in a time warp, and anyone who likes it here must be a backward hick. So you know what? Fill out your applications, run your races, win yourself a fancy scholarship, and then you can move away and make friends with more interesting people.”
    Joann stomped out of the room and slammed the front door on her way out. I sat there not moving for a minute, and then I attacked the Vogue magazine. I tore pages out, yanking them by the handful, shredding them and hurling them to the floor. I was crying, deep, choking wails, with snot smeared under my nose. Only when there was nothing more than colored confetti all over the floor did I stop. I picked up a piece and saw Keira Knightley staring back at me, and then I