Why Did She Have to Die? Read Free

face. “I heard Nick Hepplewhite asked you.”
    “He’s just a kid.”
    “He’s a ninth grader.” Elly personally thought Nick was pretty cool. Six weeks before, so had Kathy. So what had changed her mind? “You get a better offer?”
    “Maybe.”
    “Kathy Rowan! You’d better tell me what’s going on or I’ll start screaming.”
    Kathy’s eyes danced and Elly knew at once she was dying to tell her. Kathy scrambled into a sitting position across from Elly, crossed her shapely legs, and leaned forward. “Promise you won’t tell? Cross your heart?” she whispered.
    “Promise.”
    “I mean it, Elly.”
    “Have I ever told a ‘cross-my-heart’ secret?”
    “Okay. Remember last Saturday when Becky and I went to the movie at the mall?”
    Elly nodded.
    “Well, guess who I met there?”
    “I give up.”
    “Russell Canton.”
    Elly screwed up her face. For a few moments the name didn’t register. Then it did.
Russell Canton—the star basketball center for Leon High School!
His picture had been all over the sports section for weeks. He was the star who led Leon to its first all-city championship in five years.
    “You’re kidding!” This was some news—even for a girl as popular and pretty as Kathy. “So what happened?”
    “We sat together at the movie. He bought me popcorn.”
    “I can’t stand it!” Elly flopped backward onto the bed. “And you never said a word!”
    “Well, he’s a senior and you know how Daddy feels about dating.”
    “Yeah. You’ll probably be in college before he lets you hold hands.” Elly paused long enough to ponder the idea, and then began firing questions at Kathy. “So what’s Russell like?”
    “Russ,” Kathy corrected. “Oh, Elly! He’s the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen. I thought I was going to faint I was so nervous sitting next to him at the movie. I never even
saw
the film. He took my phone number in the lobby afterward. He’s so tall! I had to tilt my head like this . . . ,” she demonstrated, “just to see his face when I stood in front of him. He asked to drive me home. He has his own car. But, of course, I had to say no.”
    “Has he called yet?”
    A frown creased the sides of Kathy’s mouth. “Not yet. But he’s been busy with the basketball playoffs. He will. I just know it.”
    “So are you going to ask him to our dippy little junior high school dance?”
    “I might. And it’s not going to be so dippy,” Kathy defended in a miffed voice.
    Elly wasn’t so sure. But the news that Kathy had attracted the attention of a guy like Russ Canton was impressive. Again Elly looked at Kathy’s excited face. Her cheekbones were high, her eyes wide-set and deep blue, her brows perfectly arched. Kathy’s mouth was bow-shaped, the corners in a perky tilt. Dimples showed when she smiled.
Pretty
, Elly thought.
Pretty and popular and perfect. No wonder Russ Canton fell for her.
    Elly sighed and scooted off the bed. “Well, keep me posted. Tell me when he calls.”
    Kathy flashed her a dazzling smile. “I couldn’t keep it a secret if I tried. I’m glad I told you.” The bedside lamp cast a golden glow on Kathy’s features.
    Elly paused at the door long enough to watch her sister gather her homework papers into neat piles. She wondered how two sisters could be so different. Would any boy ever care about her when someone was beautiful as Kathy was always around?

THREE
    “H e called!” Kathy’s quickly whispered words almost made Elly drop her glass of orange juice.
    “When?”
    “Last night, about ten. Dad was mad about a boy calling me that late, but I did get to talk to Russ for fifteen minutes.”
    Elly vaguely remembered hearing the phone ring the night before. It had awakened her from a foggy sleep she’d drifted into while trying to concentrate on her English assignment. “So what did he say?”
    “He said he might drive by the school someday this week to see me.”
    Elly stared wide-eyed at Kathy, picturing the sensation it