فصل سی و یکم

Chapter 31

“Whatcha doin’, Bradley?” asked Ronnie.

“He’s reading,” Bartholomew replied nastily. “He says he doesn’t want to be disturbed. He thinks he’s too good for us now that he does his homework.” “Oh, be quiet and let him read if that’s what he wants to do,” said Ronnie.

“Thanks, Ronnie,” said Bradley. “I knew you’d understand.” “I knew you’d understand,” mimicked Bartholomew.

Ronnie understood. She knew about Carla.

Bradley returned to his book.

Uncle Boris and Aunt Ruth are married. I bet you thought you already knew that, except you’re not as smart as you think you are. They were my uncle and aunt even before they got married. Uncle Boris is my mother’s brother and Aunt Ruth is my father’s sister. They didn’t even know each other until my parents got arrested for stealing the elephant. Then they both came here to take care of me. Hah! They fell in love and got married a week later. It was sickening! You’re lucky you weren’t here.

I’ve been cheated out of an aunt and an uncle. If they had each married somebody else, then I’d have two aunts and two uncles. Now I only have one aunt and one uncle. I wonder what happened to the aunt and uncle I don’t have. I wonder if they married each other, too.

Bradley looked up. He tried to make sense out of that last paragraph. It made him think. A lot of parts in the book made him think. That was one of the things he liked about it. It made him think about his father, too. About why the man who shot him wasn’t in jail.

There was a knock on the door. His mother entered holding a piece of paper. “Oh, you’re reading,” she said. “That’s good.” “It’s a good book,” he replied.

“I just got this letter from the Concerned Parents Organization,” she said. “There’s going to be some sort of meeting about Miss Davis, your counselor.” Bradley’s heart fluttered.

“It says if I have any complaints I should come to the meeting.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t think I have any complaints. She seems to be helping you. Do you have any complaints?” “Oh, no! He doesn’t have any complaints.” Claudia laughed, coming in behind her mother. “He’s in love with her. I heard him say it to his animals.” “What?” Bradley exclaimed in a very high voice.

Claudia snickered. “Look, Mom, he’s blushing! That proves he loves her.” Bradley wished he could crawl under his bed and hide.

“It doesn’t prove anything,” said Mrs. Chalkers. “Quit teasing your brother.” “Where’d you get the book, Bradley?” Claudia asked, like she already knew the answer.

His heart was beating very fast. “Carla gave it to me.” “Carla gave it to him,” Claudia repeated.

“Well, I don’t care where he got the book,” said Mrs. Chalkers. “I’m just happy to see he’s reading it.” “The only reason he’s reading is because he’s in love with his teacher,” said Claudia.

“She’s not my teacher, she’s my counselor,” said Bradley.

Claudia roared with laughter. His mother laughed, too, but she quickly covered her mouth.

“I didn’t say I was in love with her!” Bradley insisted. “We were just talking about my counselor, not my teacher, that’s all!” “Are you going to let him marry her, Mom?” asked Claudia.

Mrs. Chalkers smiled. “Well, I don’t know. She seems like a very lovely girl.” Bradley felt like he was going to die. His sister was hysterical.

“So you don’t have any complaints about Miss Davis?” his mother asked seriously, getting back to the letter.

“She’s okay,” he said without emotion.

Claudia snickered.

“Well, then, I won’t go to the meeting,” said his mother. “C’mon, let’s leave your brother alone.” “The Concerned Parents Organization never likes anything,” said Claudia. “They’re always causing trouble at my school, too. They want to turn kids into robots.” Bradley watched his sister and mother walk out of his room and shut the door behind them.

He lay down on his bed. His face was on fire. “So, I love her? What’s wrong with that?” “Nothing,” said Ronnie. “They just don’t understand about love.” The door opened again. Claudia stuck her face inside and said, “If the Concerned Parents Organization ever found out Carla kissed you, she’d be fired for sure!”