H2O Read Free Page B

up, because it just seemed like another thing for Ronnie to blabber on about.
    â€œThe rain,” they kept saying on the radio. “It’s in the rain.”
    â€œI told you so,” said Ronnie, stomping down the stairs into the kitchen.
    He had. He had said, “There’s something in the rain.” And we’d all gone, “Yeah right! Shut up, Ronnie!” because we knew just what kind of website he’d have read that on—probably the same one that claimed the Pope had been replaced by an alien (that’s why you never see his legs; they’re green and spindly)—and Ronnie had gone, “No! There is! There’s something in the rain. Look!” and tried to show us this eyewitness video thing on the Internet, but it had been taken down, which Ronnie said proved it was true.
    â€œShut up, Ronnie,” someone said.
    Lee stared at me. “Ru,” she said. “I really am scared.”
    She started crying. Other girls were too. I hugged her. I hugged my lovely best friend.
    It’s in the rain .
    Saskia swept downstairs wearing one of Barnaby’s shirts like a mini-dress. For a moment, she stared at the radio like we’d done. Sarah tried to hand her a glass of water, but Saskia shook her head.
    â€œI wanna go home,” she announced.
    She’s such a…not a drama queen, but a… She’s not even a spoiled brat. I suppose the best way to describe it is Saskia always finds a way to get what she wants. It’s not even because half the boys in school drool over her… OK, ALL the boys in school (because they like her or want to be like her), pretty much all the teachers (because she’s cunningly polite to them and makes a showy effort to understand whatever it is they’re talking about), and a seriously shocking number of the girls (because they also like her or want to be like her) drool over Saskia, and that should be enough to explain why Saskia always gets her way, but it’s not. It’s something weirder and darker. Seriously, she’s like a hypnotist or something, sending out invisible mind rays that zap her victims into doing whatever she wants. But not tonight, Sask! Seemed like no one else but me was even listening to her anyway because everyone was staring out the windows at the rain.
    It just looked like rain normally looks. You know, drippy.
    You could hear Barnaby on the phone in the hall, dialing, slamming the handset down, and redialing. He wasn’t calling on a god anymore; he was just plain swearing his head off.
    â€œI said I wanna go home,” Saskia re-announced.
    â€œWhatever,” someone said.
    She stormed into the hall to try to get the phone from Barnaby, and Zak bounded down the stairs, Molly drifting down after him, looking sick as a dog.
    â€œThe Internet’s down!” Zak said. “Like the WHOLE of the Web just crashed.”
    â€œTold you so,” murmured Ronnie.
    â€œIt’s probably just a local thing,” said Sarah.
    Ronnie shook his head in that way that he did to look like he knew stuff no one else did. Molly heaved again, and Sarah looked at her in panic.
    â€œIt’s the punch, Mom. She just had too much punch,” said Zak.
    People kind of nodded sheepishly, same way you would if someone else’s parents had caught us.
    â€œBarnaby,” Sarah called, rummaging in a cupboard, “do we have any coffee?”
    Coffee. Even then, even at that moment, I thought that was kind of random. Like that would solve everything. Barnaby wandered in from the hall. He looked…grim. That’d be the word. Grim .
    â€œI can’t get through,” he said. “To anyone ,” he added, looking straight at Sarah like she’d know who that anyone was.
    You could hear Saskia back out in the hall; she had the phone to herself then, and was dialing and redialing and swearing her head off too.
    â€œDO. WE. HAVE. ANY. COFFEE?” Sarah asked