Read It and Weep! Read Free Page B

“sorry” under her breath.
    â€œI’ll try to bleach them later. But I’m working a double shift. I’m only home for an hour or so this afternoon, and then I have to go back to the hospital. Your brothers are not going to be happy about this,” said her mother wearily.
    â€œNot going to be happy about what?” asked Jon. He and Thomas had suddenly gone quiet.
    â€œNothing,” said Charlotte quickly.
    â€œWhat did she do, Mom?” demanded Thomas suspiciously.
    â€œNothing!” said Charlotte again. “I just messed up on the laundry a little, but Mom can fix it. Right, Mom?”
    Her mother glared at her. “Help them make sure they’re all packed up for the bus,” she said. “I’ll make sure the dryer’s off before I leave for the hospital.”
    â€œWhat happened to the laundry?” asked Thomas suspiciously. “Did something shrink or something?”
    â€œNo. Everything’s fine. Now go get packed up,” said Charlotte, hustling them toward the front hallway.

    Later that morning, in homeroom, Charlotte slid into her desk next to her new friend, Lauren Kowalski. Lauren had been new the year before, in sixth grade. She wasn’t a military kid, though. Her dad was a science professor at the university. Lauren’s mom had died a long time ago. Charlotte had met Lauren on the first day of school, in math class.
    â€œEveryone sit tight,” called Mrs. Benedict. “I have to run to the copier for a few minutes. Work on your homework. You must have something you didn’t finish.”
    â€œActually, I finished mine,” Charlotte said to Lauren in a low voice.
    â€œYeah, I finished all mine, too,” said Lauren.
    â€œSo,” Charlotte began, thinking of something to talk about to pass the time, “I had the weirdest dream last night.” She told Lauren about her nightmare.
    â€œSounds freaky. All those shadows and fog and stuff. Are you scared of the dark?” asked Lauren, perceptive as usual.
    Charlotte was caught off guard. “Me? No! I—well, yeah I guess a little. How did you know?”
    â€œDreams are your hopes and fears, or that’s what my aunt Marina tells me,” said Lauren. “If it was that scary, it sounds like your subconscious mind went straight to the place it prefers to avoid.”
    Charlotte shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She’d never told anyone about her fear of the dark. And she didn’t really know Lauren all that well. School had only started a few weeks ago. But she really liked her so far. Lauren seemed so confident. And smart. No-nonsense. Lauren was tall and angular. She dressed in offbeat, retro attire that wasn’t especially trendy but always looked cool. Charlotte had noticed that Lauren did well in school, hung out with the smart kids, and wasn’t afraid to say what was on her mind. She also didn’t seem to care about where she stood on the popularity scale. It was kind of refreshing. “So, um, are you afraid of anything?” Charlotte asked her.
    â€œSpiders,” said Lauren immediately. “Hate ’em. I know it’s irrational. My dad’s an arachnologist, and—”
    â€œWhat’s that?”
    â€œA scientist who studies spiders and stuff,” she said. “And he’s always telling me how great spiders are, and how they’re really beneficial in the food web and all that, but I just can’t stand all those legs and the creepy-crawly way they walk, and the way they survive, sucking the guts out of living insects.” She shuddered, and her short, shiny hair bounced around her shoulders. “When I was little, I was at this camp called Playland Camp, and we were hanging around in this meadow on a field trip to a farm. I climbed a tree and collided with a huge web of newly hatched baby spiders. They crawled all over me. I was so freaked out I actually fell out of the tree. I