The doorbell rang and Lucy ran to answer it. She skipped back into the room, followed by Pol. “Pol’s here,” Lucy announced unnecessarily.
Pol greeted everyone and placed a shopping bag on the table. “Mom sent over a lasagna and a salad. She figures you haven’t finished unpacking all the kitchen stuff yet. Shall I put them in the refrigerator?”
“Yes, dear,” Aunt Mary said. “Please thank your mother for us. She’s been very kind to us.”
Lucinda grinned. “I think we were very lucky to have found a house half a block from the Coltrane family. Don’t you agree, Simon?”
“Mmmm. Ready to go?” I asked Pol.
She flashed me an understanding smile. “Sure.”
“I’ll get my jacket.”
As I opened the hall closet, I heard Pol asking how we liked our new home.
“It will be lovely, once the workmen fix the leak in the upstairs bathroom and the heating system,” Aunt Mary said.
“I see you’ve still got plenty of boxes to unpack,” Pol said as I rejoined everyone in the kitchen.
“We’ll get it done,” Lucinda said. “All in good time.”
I took Pol’s hand and led her outside. As soon as the door slammed shut, I took her in my arms for a long kiss. Then we clasped hands and started walking.
“What’s wrong?” Pol asked.
I shrugged. “Nothing.”
“Maybe you have a problem living so close to me.”
I squeezed her hand. “That’s the part I like.”
“Then what is it?”
I stopped walking. “I’m glad Lucy and I have a home and Lucinda’s our guardian. But it’s so weird, living with both my aunts.”
Pol scrunched up her face. I could tell she was totally confused. “I thought you liked your aunts.”
“I love them dearly, but now that Raymond’s not around, Aunt Mary can be downright bossy. She makes up lists of chores for me to do and worries that I’m spending too much time on my computer.
“And Lucinda! Not a day passes when she doesn’t ask if I did my homework. She wants to know the grade of every test and quiz I take because, after all, I have to get into a good college. I tell her she doesn’t have to worry. I’m in honors classes and I have a high average. ‘In that case I won’t bug you,’ she says, but the questions start up again the next day.”
I caught my breath and continued. “I thought it was great when Lucinda suggested we all live together. But I never expected my two aunts would get so chummy. That they’d gang up against me like… like…”
“Like concerned parents,” Pol said.
“They’re not my parents!” I snapped.
We walked in silence. I didn’t need extra-powerful senses to know I’d hurt Pol’s feelings.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
“Lucinda and Mary are your family. They love you, Simon.”
We turned the corner and headed for the library. I had to tell Pol what was on my mind, even though it was kooky, bizarre, and totally nuts.
“Look, I’m glad Raymond’s gone. He was evil through and through, and he deserved to die, but—”
I felt Pol’s concern as she walked beside me.
I drew a deep breath. “But I had all this freedom. I did what I wanted, went where I felt like going. But now they keep tabs on me: Where are you going? What time will you be home? Call if you’re out after eleven o’clock. Jeez!”
“Wow!” she said in mock astonishment. “They treat you like an ordinary, soon-to-be sixteen-year-old kid.”
“Right! After all I’ve been through, how can I be an ordinary kid?”
Pol giggled as she wrapped her arms around my waist. “I know you’re not ordinary. So do they. They’re trying to make your life and Lucy’s as normal as possible.”
“But they have all these dumb rules,” I insisted. “And they’re so… intrusive.”
“I can imagine.”
“I mean, I saved people’s lives!”
“My father’s and brother’s included, for which I’m eternally grateful. But now your uncle’s gone and life goes on. Kind of like it’s supposed to.”
Kind of like it’s supposed to. The library came into view.
“Thanks,” I said.
Pol fixed her sparkling blue-green eyes on mine. “For what?”
“For understanding. For making me understand.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Want to go inside, take out a few books?”
“Sure. Why not?”
As the mechanical glass doors opened, she asked, “How about going to the movies tonight? Andy asked Gilda Morrison out and I know he’d like us to double with them.”
I felt wounded. “He asked Gilda out and never told me!”
Pol’s eyebrows shot up. “How could he? You haven’t been available lately.”
Pol was right. I’d been moody and withdrawn, except with her. All the bad stuff with Raymond had delayed my mourning for my parents and my old life, and …
And now I had a new life. I was still adjusting to the awful things my uncle had done. But I had Lucy, I had Pol. I had my aunts and Andy and other new friends at school. I had my future and so much to be thankful for.
I leaned over and kissed Pol lightly on the lips. “Text Andy. Tell him we’ll double with him tonight.”
Pol grinned. “I just did.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes novels for kids and mysteries for adults. Some of her books for young readers are AND DON’T BRING JEREMY, which was a nominee for six state awards, NO BOYS ALLOWED, and RUFUS AND MAGIC RUN AMOK, an International Reading Association-Children’s Book Council “Children’s Choice.” RUFUS AND THE WITCH’S SLAVE, will be out in the fall. Marilyn likes traveling, foreign films, reading, knitting, Sudoku, dining out, and talking to her granddaughter Olivia on Face Time. She lives on Long Island.
Her website is: http://www.marilynlevinson.com
MORE GREAT YOUNG ADULT READS FROM BOOKTROPE
The Unintentional Time Traveler by Everett Maroon (Young Adult Fiction) Jack Inman’s seizures aren’t good for anything. Except time travel. Once he’s caught in a strange place and time, falling in love is the last thing on his mind. But it may be the key to getting home.
The Reaper's Daughter by KM Randall (Young Adult Paranormal) When Blake finds out her mother is the Grim Reaper she embarks on an adventure that leads to self-discovery, romance, friendship, and family.
Josie Jameson and the Fourth Tombstone by Jennifer L. Hotes (Young Adult Thriller) Fourteen-year old Jose, haunted by the death of her mother, leads her best friends to an ancient cemetery to rub graves on Halloween night. Convinced she will come away with proof of her mother’s spirit at last, her journey and that of her friends takes a very different turn.
Fall of Knight by Steven Cross (Young Adult Thriller) Social abuse, bullying and mental illness are just some of the problems Dean Knight deals with on an everyday basis. And then there’s the monster.
Discover more books and learn about our
new approach to publishing at booktrope.com.
Devil's Pawn Page 20