The Day of the Iguana Read Free Page A

the bathtub where she likes to hang out. She wasn’t under the dining room table sniffing for table scraps.
    â€œThis isn’t like Katherine,” Emily said. “She’s never late.”
    â€œThat’s because she never goes anywhere,” I pointed out.
    My dad was not happy when he had to leave the minivan on the street for over an hour while we searched the apartment for Katherine. I couldn’t believe that all four people in my family, plus Frankie and Ashley and Robert, were crawling around on our hands and knees looking for that scaly beast.
    â€œWhere could she be?” I said to my mom. “We’ve looked everywhere.”
    â€œYou’ve got to think like an iguana,” Emily said. “Put yourself in Katherine’s shoes.”
    â€œOkay,” I said. “I feel myself in four little tiny baby Nikes, size one, extra wide. Ouch, they’re hurting my claws!”
    Frankie and Ashley cracked up.
    â€œHey guys, I found her!” called Robert from the other side of the room.
    He was crouched over the potted palm tree next to our front door. Sure enough, there was Katherine, her nasty little face poking out from behind one of the palm leaves.
    â€œKatherine!” cried Emily. “Come to mama!” She reached into the tree to pick her up, and Katherine hissed at her like she was a rattlesnake with gas. Lots of gas.
    â€œWhat’s the matter, sweetie pie?” Emily said in her baby reptile voice.
    â€œI’m sure she’s stressed,” Robert said. “She’s had a very terrifying experience.”
    Emily looked at Robert and-grab your stomachs because this is disgusting—she got all gooey eyed.
    â€œWhat a nice thing to say, Robert,” she said, still in her baby reptile voice. “I didn’t know you cared so much about iguana moods.”
    â€œActually,” said Robert, “I’m fond of the whole reptile kingdom, including the bullfrog, the Gila monster, and the gecko, my favorite.”
    Could you just barf?
    Thank goodness my dad got down to business and cut this icky conversation short.
    â€œEmily, get a box for Katherine. Let’s hurry, everyone. We’re going to be late for the party.”
    We gathered Katherine and all our stuff and piled into the elevator. The minivan was parked outside, and luckily for us, we didn’t even get a parking ticket, since my father had double-parked. As soon as she saw the car, Emily yelled out, “Shotgun!”
    â€œNot in this lifetime,” I said. I turned to my mother, who was loading our stuff in the back. “Mom, tell her she’s not old enough. Plus, we have guests.”
    â€œAbsolutely, and I’m one of them,” said Robert. “So I call shot—”
    I didn’t even let him finish the word.
    â€œForget it, Robert. We had a deal, remember? You’re next to Lizard Girl. Way in the back.”
    It took some wrestling, but I got Emily to move into the backseat by the window on the driver’s side. Robert climbed in next to her. That still left one seat in the back, next to the two geekoids.
    â€œI can’t sit there,” Ashley said. “I get carsick.”
    â€œI do, too,” I said.
    â€œNo, you don’t,” my mom called out from the back.
    â€œWell, I would if I had to sit next to them,” I said.
    Frankie took a deep breath.
    â€œOkay,” he said, “I’m going in. If I don’t survive the trip, give my signed Yankees baseball to my brother.”
    That’s what you call true friendship. Frankie and I get along almost all the time because we’ll do anything for each other. The only thing we ever fight about is that Frankie is a Yankees fan and I love, I mean love, the Mets. We’ve been able to stay best friends in spite of that.
    Frankie climbed in the backseat next to Robert and wedged himself as close as he could to the window. One inch further and he would’ve