17 - Why I'm Afraid of Bees Read Free Page A

in
Ithaca” doing that I wasn’t?
    I decided to leave another electronic note, asking Ted to explain what he
meant. But, as I started typing, I noticed another message at the very bottom of
the computer screen.
    I read it. Then I read it again very carefully:
     
    TAKE A VACATION FROM YOURSELF.
    Change places with someone for a week!

 
 
5
     
     
    What could that mean?
    I pressed the Enter button so I could read what was next. I desperately
wanted more information about the message. This is what I saw:
     
    TAKE A VACATION FROM YOURSELF.
    Change places with someone for a week!
     
    PERSON-TO-PERSON VACATIONS
    113 Roach Street, Suite 2-B
    or call 1-800-555-SWAP
     
    How could it possibly work? I asked myself. How could two people change lives
without getting into all kinds of trouble?
    I had to admit it sounded totally crazy.
    Crazy, but interesting.
    I yawned and scratched the back of my head.
    “Ouch!” My hand grazed one of the painful bumps I’d gotten from Barry, Marv,
and Karl.
    It really hurt. But the stab of pain helped me make up my mind. I was definitely ready for some changes in my life.
    “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life getting beat up!” I told myself.
“Or crashing into lampposts, either! Or being the last person chosen for the
team!”
    I took out a piece of paper and copied the address from the screen. As I did,
I realized it was only a few blocks from my school. I knew just where it was. I
could stop by the Person-to-Person office the next day.
    I’m really going to check it out, I decided.
    Making up my mind like that improved my mood a lot. I was beginning to feel
almost cheerful when I went back downstairs. But not for long. When my family
sat down in the dining room for dinner, my father noticed my banged-up face.
    “Gary!” he exclaimed. “What in the world happened to you?”
    “Er,” I said. “I had a little accident on my bike.” I winced as I said the
word “bike”. I was thinking about the mangled wreck in the corner of the garage.
    “I don’t believe that for a minute,” Mom said. “I’m sure you’ve been fighting
with those big kids in the neighborhood again. Why in the world can’t you children learn to settle your disagreements peacefully?”
    Krissy started laughing so hard, she almost choked on her tuna casserole.
“Gary doesn’t have any disagreements with those guys, Mom!” she said. “They just
like to beat him up!”
    My mother shook her head angrily. “Well, I think that’s just outrageous!” she
said. “I have a good mind to call those boys’ parents up right now and give them
a piece of my mind!”
    I groaned loudly. “I’m telling you, Mom, I really had an accident with my
bike. If you don’t believe me, go check it out in the garage.”
    Then my father did believe me. He started lecturing me about bike
safety and why I should have been wearing my helmet and how I was going to have
to pay to have the bike fixed with my own money.
    After a while, I stopped paying much attention. As I pushed my casserole
around on my plate, all I could think about was my plan for changing my life
with Person-to-Person Vacations.
    The sooner the better, I thought. The sooner I get out of this life, the
better off I’ll be.
    We finished dinner, and I went upstairs to play on my computer again. I spent
the rest of the evening with my Planet Monstro game.
    I kept trying to stab the dragon between the eyes. But even though I followed
Ted from Ithaca’s advice, I couldn’t do it. The dragon ate me twenty-three times.
    Finally, I gave up and crawled into bed. I was so wiped out, I started
drifting off to sleep almost right away. I turned over and pulled the blanket up
under my chin. I curled up into a ball. The toes on my right foot touched
something.
    “Huh?” I said out loud. “What is that down there?”
    My heart pounded in my chest.
    Slowly, I moved my toes again.
    “Ohhhhhh.” My blood turned into ice.
    I jumped out of bed and