True (. . . Sort Of)

by Katherine Hannigan

  At first her mom was quiet, and Delly thought that was a good thing.

  Till Clarice blew, like a nuclear bomb. “Every day,” she hollered, “sneaking—you might have— that man could have—”

  She was putting things together, but not the way Delly wanted. “Not every day, Ma.” She corrected her.

  That put Clarice over the top. Her eyes got so big Delly thought they’d pop. She was just spitting sounds: “Puh . . . heh . . . ayhhh.”

  Suddenly it stopped. They watched her, hoping the worst was over.

  It wasn’t. “I thought we were done with trouble,” she hissed, “but this is the worst yet.

  “Galveston,” she shouted upstairs, “you are grounded for a year!”

  “You, too.” She pointed at RB.

  “And you.” She turned to Delly. “You are grounded for life.

  “Go!” she ordered, directing them to the stairs.

  So they did.

  They sat on Delly’s bed. “That’s a long time.” RB started crying, because he’d never been grounded before.

  Delly put her arm around him. “It’s okay,” she told him, and it was. “Ferris Boyd’s safe.”

  Chapter 74

  That night Delly went to Clarice, not because she was scared or couldn’t sleep. She went because she wanted her mom to know something, right then and forever. She stood by the side of the bed. “Ma,” she rasped.

  “Delly,” Clarice growled.

  She bent down so she could feel the warmth of Clarice’s cheek on her own. “Ma,” she said, “I’m sorry. No more secrets, I promise.”

  Clarice didn’t make a sound, so Delly turned to go.

  “Delly,” Clarice called, “stop.”

  So she did.

  Clarice pulled back the covers. “Get in.”

  Delly lay down beside her.

  In the darkness, Clarice said, “It’s so hard, thinking something terrible could have happened to you and RB, and I didn’t know anything.” Her voice cracked, and she stopped for a second. “But what’s harder is that you didn’t trust me. Did you think I wouldn’t help her?”

  There were so many answers for one question—that Ferris Boyd wouldn’t have wanted Clarice’s help, that grown-ups had been around the girl every day and none of them had fixed it. Delly told the truest one. “I didn’t know.”

  Clarice winced with that. “Delly,” she said, “I want you to know this: if somebody’s getting hurt, I will help.”

  Delly didn’t need to see Clarice’s eyes to know she was true. “Okay, Ma,” she answered.

  They lay there, then, gazing into the darkness.

  After a while Clarice asked, “Where is she now?”

  “She’s at Teeters’. They take foster kids.”

  “Hmm,” Clarice murmured.

  Delly could tell her mom was thinking something through, so she stayed quiet.

  After a long time, Clarice turned to her daughter. “Del, I don’t know the rules, so I can’t promise anything,” she told her. “But I’ll talk to Verena tomorrow, and we’ll see what we can do for your friend.”

  Then Delly didn’t smile or shout, Happy Hallelujah! It was all too small for how she was feeling. “Ma,” she whispered.

  She put one arm across her mother’s chest and pulled till they were tight together. And Delly was a tiny love shield, her warm softness all around Clarice so nothing bad could get to her.

  “Good night,” she breathed. Because it was.

  Dellyictionary

  a dictionary of words invented by Delaware (Delly) Pattison

  baDellylloon—Delly so blown up with happiness she feels like a giant balloon

  Badkidville—a town for bad children, where Delly is afraid she’ll end up

  bawlgram—nocuss word used to describe a person, place, or thing that is offensive or irritating; e.g., the bawlgram cat

  bawlgrammit—nocuss word, used to express anger, disgust, or frustration

  bawldoublegrammit—bawlgrammit times two

  bugbotherer—someone who bugs and bothers others; a nuisance

  chizzle—nocuss word generally used when expressing anger, disappointment, or disgust; the worst of the nocuss words

  chizzlehead—someone with a head made of chizzle; the nastiest name for another person

  chumbudions—the best of buddies; fiercely faithful friends

  Delaferbia—a hideawaysis discovered by Delaware Pattison and named for its earliest explorers: Delly, Ferris, and RB

  Dellybrate—to celebrate in a Delly sort of way, often involving doughnuts, a trip to the river, and trouble

  Dellydebris—the debris that remains after an explosion of Delly’s fury; e.g., tiny nuggets of what used to be Danny Novello

  Dellyifferent—different from Delly; Delly transformed into somebody better

  Dellylicious—superlatively scrumptious; reserved for describing food of the utmost deliciousness, like triple chocolate doughnuts

  Dellymergency—an emergency of the most dire and extreme sort, as determined by Delly

  Dellypresent—a gift that Delly desires and gives to herself (as opposed to a surpresent, for which she would have to wait)

  Dellypunishments—the varied assortment of punishments Delly has received over the years, ranging from brief detentions at school to being grounded for life

  Dellyventure—an adventure of the best sort, featuring Delly Pattison

  fantabulous—fantastically fabulous

  fortrastle—a hideawaysis that has the protective qualities of a fortress and the regal appearance of a castle

  getgorlying—getting going early

  gimongous—humongously gigantic

  glub (as in “What the glub?”)—nocuss word, used to express dismay, shock, or frustration

  Happy Hallelujah—exclamation of maximum happiness

  hideawaysis—a special, secret place away from the rest of the world

  holiDelly—a holiday declared and celebrated by Delly (and only Delly)

  horribadible—horrible, terrible bad

  hummin bin—similar to a human being, but better. Hummin bins are kind, creative, gentle, and good.

  idierk—an extremely obnoxious and ignorant person; e.g., Danny Novello

  jiminy fipes—nocuss phrase usually used as an expression of happiness but can also indicate mild frustration or surprise

  lugdraggerer—somebody who slows you down and has to tie his shoe fifty times a day; e.g., RB Pattison

  mistaster—a disastrous mistake

  mysturiosity—a mystery that inspires curiosity; e.g., the sublimation of Ferris Boyd and Mowr

  Nocussictionary—a dictionary of words that replace cusswords. Using these words cannot get you in trouble.

  perfecterrific—something that’s so terrific it seems perfect

  perfexcellent—perfectly, precisely, profoundly excellent (perhaps)

  reDellyformatory—a school that specializes in the betterment of bad children; a reformatory for Delly

  shikes—nocuss word used when expressing surprise, frustration, or anger

  Special Dellylivery—the delivery of Delly to her home by a person of authority, usually a police officer or school official, following the commission of a misdeed or crime

  spitzooka—the mouth, utilized in such a manner that it becomes a bazooka for spit

  surpresent—a present that’s a surprise; the best kind of present possible

  Troubletale—a story of poor decisions and mistaken deeds, in which the protagonist (Delly) always ends up in the deep end of a pool of trouble

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to Steve Geck and everyone at Greenwillow and HarperCollins Children’s Books for their time and care in turning my story into a book. Again.

  Torey Hayden has written some fine books about her experiences teaching children with selective mutism (www.torey-hayden.com).

  The Stuttering Foundation of America produces helpful videos for parents of children, teens, and adults who
stutter (www.stutteringhelp.org).

  Chief of Police Dusty Dunn advised me about laws and procedures concerning runaways and their parents.

  Debbie Orenstein, once again, made what could be painful a pleasure.

  There’s a river here, and an IGA where delicious doughnuts are made. There’s a lake with carp that splash when they’re surprised, and deer that come down to drink. There are woods. There are cats that show up hoping for a meal and a friend. There are the Karlsons, who don’t have a dog but are godparents to my feline horde. To the people, places, and creatures that surround me, thank you.

  When I was struggling with this story, I went to visit Jan and Glen Van Fossen, and I asked them, “Should I stick with this story that’s so hard for me, or move on to a new one?” Glen said, “Finish it, or you’ll always wonder what could have been.” Then Jan nodded, and the nod decided it.

  So gimongous thanks go to Glen. And this is for Jan, who lives on in all the people she loved and who loved her back.

  About the Author

  Katherine Hannigan’s first novel, Ida B . . . and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World, was a New York Times bestseller, a Book Sense bestseller, and a Parents’ Choice Gold Award winner. She lives in northeastern Iowa.

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used to advance the fictional narrative. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.

  True (. . . Sort Of). Copyright © 2011 by Katherine Hannigan Jacket images copyright © 2011 by Lakov Kalinin (leaves); © 2011 by Sabri Deniz Kizil (birds); © 2011 by Jens Lucking (wildflowers); and © 2008 by Benjamin G. Randle / Getty Images (birdhouse).

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Hannigan, Katherine.

  True (. . . sort of) / by Katherine Hannigan.

  p. cm.

  “Greenwillow Books.”

  Summary: For most of her eleven years, Delly has been in trouble without knowing why, until her little brother, RB, and a strange, silent new friend, Ferris, help her find a way to be good—and happy—again.

  ISBN 978-0-06-196873-0 (trade bdg.) — ISBN 978-0-06-196874-7 (lib. bdg.) [1. Behavior—Fiction. 2. Selective mutism—Fiction. 3. Friendship—Fiction. 4. Brothers and sisters—Fiction. 5. Family life—Fiction. 6. Schools—Fiction. 7. Self-control—Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.H19816Del 2011 [Fic]—dc22 2010017315

  EPub Edition © 2011 ISBN: 9780062077233

  11 12 13 14 15 CG/RRDB 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  First Edition

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  * For the definition of this word and any other Delly-created terms, see the Dellydictionary.