Read Online Zoe in Wonderland by Brenda Woods - Free Book Online

“That’s enough, Zena!” he scolded. “Bullying and name-calling will not be tolerated.”
    But it was too late to save my feelings, and the same way Jade used to make me so mad that I’d cry, I knew tears were going to be coming.
    No way was Zena ever going to see me cry.
    I grabbed the book Ben had given me, shoved it in my backpack, and ran to the door. But before I ran out, I turned to Zena and blurted, “BQ! BQ! BQ!” Tears began rolling down my cheeks as I bolted down the hall toward the exit doors.
    â€œZoe!” Mr. Summer yelled.
    But I didn’t stop. I didn’t even look back. I kept running, and for some reason, I didn’t trip over my feet.
    â€œZoe, come back!” Mr. Summer hollered from behind me, and I could hear him trotting toward me. But Mr. Summer is a little chubby and I knew there was no way he could catch me.
    I burst outside through the doors and sprinted.Soon, I was around the corner. I kept running for almost three blocks, until I was almost out of breath. Now what? I thought. There was a bus stop two blocks away. I had fifteen dollars in my wallet and my bus pass.
    And so I got on the bus to Old Pasadena and went to the movies and read subtitles and ate popcorn and drank soda and pretended Quincy was right there beside me. And when the movie was over, I walked up and down Colorado Boulevard, looking in the shops until it was way past time for school to be out, but when I stopped to get an ice cream cone, I discovered I didn’t have enough money left. So I headed to the bus stop and boarded the bus that took me back to the Wonderland.
    Mrs. Warner was outside in her yard, sitting on the ground with her legs sprawled out in front of her. “I fell. Can you help me up?”
    â€œAre you okay?” I asked as I quickly opened her chain-link gate and hurried toward her.
    â€œI’m fine . . . just lost my balance.”
    I reached for her hands and pulled her to her feet. Luckily, Mrs. Warner didn’t weigh much and it was easy. “Are you sure you didn’t hurt yourself? Maybe you should go to the doctor.”
    â€œAnd have her threaten to put me in the old-people orphanage again? No, little ma’am. I don’t think so,”she answered as I helped her hobble over to a chair and sit down.
    â€œWhere’s your family?” I asked.
    She shook her head. “Gone . . . gone . . . all gone.”
    â€œOh,” I replied, and reached for my backpack.
    Mrs. Warner stared at it hard. “What’d you do, play hooky from school?” she asked.
    How’d she know? “Huh?”
    â€œYour mom and daddy came over earlier, asking if I’d seen you. You in some kind of trouble?”
    â€œProbably.”

19
    Back at the Wonderland
    Four Things That Have Landed Zoe G. Reindeer in Trouble
Throwing a shoe at Harper, which missed him completely but went through the living room window instead, shattering it. That was last year.
Telling my third-grade teacher and class that our entire family had taken a three-month summer vacation all over Europe and Africa, when actually we’d only spent a week at Pismo Beach. That was a couple of years ago.
Trying to make doughnuts with Quincy from scratch and winding up with greasy dough plastered on our kitchen walls, cabinets, and ceiling. That was just this past summer.
Becoming a truant. That was today.
    As quietly as I could, I crept into the Wonderland. A police car was parked in the driveway. Was that for me being a truant? They couldn’t put me in jail, could they? If Quincy were here, he’d have the answer.
    But I was on my own and I was getting scared and I didn’t know what to do. And so, I decided to hide.
    I snuck into the greenhouse, slid under one of the tables, used my backpack for a pillow, and put my head down to rest.

    â€œWake up, Miss!” A bright light was shining in my face. A flashlight. It was