Amber Brown Is Feeling Blue Read Free

arrive late in Walla Walla …. but, remember,there is a time difference between Newark and Washington State, so it won’t seem so late.”
    “And when we get there, we’ll bake the pie together.” Mom smiles at me.
    I smile back.
    The doorbell rings.
    There are four skeletons, one Easter bunny, two Munchkins, a Dorothy, and Toto at our door.

    I give them candy, pop a Tootsie Roll into my mouth, and go back into the dining room.
    The doorbell rings again.
    This time my mother goes to the door.
    Max says, “So, Amber, it’ll be fun …. don’t you think so? A trip across the country …. a new place to visit … and I really want you to meet my sister and Jade. After all, we’re all going to be family soon. We’re practically family now.”
    I think about it.
    I bet that any sister of Max’s is fun, and I’ll be going someplace I’ve never been before.
    My mother walks back into the room. “I just left a large bowl of candy outside the door, with a note saying, ‘Please do not disturb us. We’re having dinner….. So just take one piece of candy each.’”
    I, Amber Brown, giggle.
    Sometimes my mom is so funny.
    She actually believes that kids will take just one piece of candy each.
    Max and Mom look at me, waiting for my answer.
    I’ve never been away from home for Thanksgiving. It’s always been at our house.
    I think about it.
    I’ve never been to Walla Walla, Washington.
    It might be fun.
    “Oh, OK.” I grin. “I wanna wanna go to Walla Walla.”
    Mom and Max smile and start making plans.
    I eat another piece of pizza and sit for a minute to see if my stomach is going to explode. Then I go out to the porch and check and see if there is anything left in the candy bowl.
    There is.
    Only it’s not the candy we left out. That’s all gone.
    People have made trades.
    In the bowl are five apples, three boxes of raisins, one half-eaten Bit-O-Honey, and two granola bars.
    Trick or treat.

Chapter
Four

    I, Amber Brown, have overslept.
    I, Amber Brown, have a mother who has overslept.
    Maybe too much candy corn can cause a person not to wake up on time in the morning. But my mom didn’t eat candy corn, and she still didn’t come into my room and wake me up until 9:00 A.M.
    Maybe her excuse is that she stayed up late, talking with Max. I know that he didn’t leave until after midnight … and the reason I know that is because I was awake in bed, looking at “Countdown to Dad,” readinga book under the covers, and eating candy corn.
    I, Amber Brown, don’t think that I want to see another piece of candy corn until next Halloween.
    “Amber, get up. We’ve got to rush.” My mother sticks her head back into my room.Actually, she sticks her head and part of her body back into the room. I never understand why people say that someone sticks a head into a room …. and why the neck …. and shoulders …. are never mentioned. It seems so weird to think of just a head coming into the room.

    I think that the combination of Halloween, candy corn, reading, and not going to sleep until after midnight is getting to me …. that, and my very active imagination.
    “Amber, move it,” my mother says in a voice that really says “Move it …. and I mean NOW.”
    I “move it” immediately, jumping out of bed, taking off my pajamas, and quickly putting on clothes.
    I rush down the steps.
    Mom puts a peanut butter sandwich in my mouth and hands me a glass of orangejuice. “I’ll give you the money for lunch. Let’s go. I’ve got a major meeting in forty-five minutes.”
    Quickly I eat, grab my knapsack, put some candy corn into it (just in case I change my mind about not having any until next Halloween), and rush out to the car.
    Mom gets into the car and says, “Seat belt on.
    While we ride to school, my mom keeps talking about how late we both are and how excited she is that we’re all going to Walla Walla.
    I think about how late we both are, how much fun it will be to fly to Walla Walla on Thanksgiving, and