by Lisa Doan
“I will not stand by and allow my client to be victimized,” Suvi continued, “just because your client is willing to die. Revenge, as they say, is a dish best served cold.”
I had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but I folded my arms and waited to see what they’d say to it.
Hiram removed his glasses and said to Suvi, “Let me clarify, your position is that if Terry remains firm in his willingness to die, then Chadwick will commit to dying also.”
“Exactly,” Suvi said.
“I’m not willing to die,” I whispered to Suvi.
“It’s just a negotiating tactic,” Suvi muttered.
Rory stared at Terry. “This whole thing is stupid,” he said. “Chadwick took your crayon, then you did all this stuff to get back at him, then he got back at you, then he gave you back your crayon. The. End. Go home and write your novel.”
Terry leaned over and whispered something to Hiram. Hiram nodded and said, “My client would need assurances that he would not be subjected to any further pranks from your client or,” he said, staring directly at Suvi, “be at any risk of losing an eye, before he agrees to go home and write his novel.”
“My client,” Suvi said, “would need assurances that Terry had ceased forever and forthwith any attempts at further pranks against him.”
Mr. Samson softly groaned. “Let’s wrap this up, shall we?”
“Unfortunately, Mr. Samson,” Suvi said, “we cannot conclude this negotiation until we’ve determined how we enforce the terms. That is to say, how will we ensure that both parties comply with the agreement?”
Rory stood up. “I’ll be Switzerland. If anything happens to either one of them, they can come to me and I’ll get to the bottom of it. I know I’m Chadwick’s friend and you’ll think I’m biased, but I’m not. I’ve been telling him to give this up for years. It’s even in my notebook, along with fake fingers, slingshots, walkie-talkies, Chex Mix, the school song, Jeeps, and Susie Townsend. I’m against them all.”
“I would be amenable to that,” Hiram said. “The parties could air any further disputes in a neutral Switzerland. I could make myself available to represent my client on an as-needed basis.”
“Wait a minute,” Terry said. “He can’t be Switzerland and still be Chadwick’s friend.”
“Just because Rory is my friend doesn’t mean he’ll always be on my side,” I said, desperate for a truce. “After all, he’s not very reliable.”
Rory shrugged, as if being unreliable was just part of his personality.
Suvi leaned forward and stared at Terry.
“All right!” Terry cried. “Just stop looking at my eyes!”
Suvi smiled. “So it’s agreed that any further disputes will go directly to Rory’s Switzerland. I’ve compiled the terms, now we just need all parties to sign it.”
“Done!” Mr. Samson said. “Now I can go home to my crappy apartment and dwell on why I can’t find anybody to marry me.”
We all stood and moved to Mr. Samson’s desk to sign the agreement. Peace was finally settling over the savannah.
Jana leaned over to Suvi and said, “What’s going on? Is Chadwick your boyfriend?”
“Not yet,” Suvi said.
I staggered but caught the edge of the desk before I fell to the ground. When had Suvi decided that? Could she just decide? Probably. Challenging one of Suvi’s decisions would be like stealing an antelope out of a lion’s jaws—not very likely. What did I think of it? It was hard to know. Whatever my true feelings were, they were buried somewhere under an avalanche of terror.
I took in a long, slow breath to steady my nerves. As I signed the truce between Terry and me, I started to think that pranks might end up being the least of my problems.
* * *
Terry and I went forward under the terms of an uneasy truce. It helped that I was now apparently part of a power couple. The synergy of Suvi had already improved my social standing. Whether that was because she was popular, or because everybody was afraid of her, I couldn’t really tell. But the result was that I got some of my swagger back. Not like the summer’s pool swagger; it was more of a medium-sized swagger. I decided it would be a mistake to get overconfident. After all, it was Suvi “going to the morgue and cutting out your eye” Singh who had brought Terry to the negotiating table, and not me. I would be like Hank from Mission Almost Impossible—struggling but holding on anyway.
We finally found out what had really happened to Merriweather. Terry told Jana who told Marilee who reported it on the bleachers. Terry had been caught trying to smoke in the boys’ bathroom. Merriweather had caught on not just from the smell of smoke but also from the coughing coming from a stall. Terry, seeing that he was cornered, lashed out like any crocodile would. He dunked his own head in the toilet and said he was going to tell everyone Merriweather did it. That had been the last straw for our emotionally fragile principal. He had peeled out of the parking lot in his Ford Fiesta one last time. According to Marilee, he was now in Pensacola, Florida, renting snorkel equipment to tourists. Staring at tropical fish helps him relax.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lisa Doan holds a master’s degree in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, sits on the board of the Brandywine Valley Writers Group, and is an IPPY gold winner for juvenile fiction. Lisa’s jobs have included Master Scuba Diving Instructor, wall street headhunter, owner/chef of a restaurant, Set Medic for a reality T.V. show, Deputy Prothonotary of a county court, and author of middle grade novels. She can assure you that writing middle grade novels is the most fun. (You’d think it’d be scuba instructor, but no!) Lisa is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Ireland, has traveled throughout Africa, Asia and Central America, and lived on a Caribbean island. She has backpacked alone from Morocco to Kenya and her top tip on crossing the Sahara Desert is: TURN BACK - YOU HAVE MADE A LARGE MISTAKE. She lives in West Chester, PA. You can sign up for email updates here.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Natalie Andrewson is an illustrator and cartoonist from North Carolina, currently living in Brooklyn, New York. She self publishes comics and likes to show work at comic festivals around the world. Her work consists of mostly tough girls, adventures and anything magical.Natalie's books include Chadwick’s Epic Revenge, Nooks & Crannies, and Once Upon a Winter. You can sign up for email updates here.
Thank you for buying this
Roaring Brook Press ebook.
To receive special offers, bonus content,
and info on new releases and other great reads,
sign up for our newsletters.
Or visit us online at
us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup
For email updates on Lisa Doan, click here.
For email updates on Natalie Andrewson, click here.
CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
About the Author and Illustrator
Copyright
Text copyright © 2018 by Lisa Doan
Illustrations copyright © by Natalie Andrewson
Published by Roaring Brook Press
Roaring Brook Press is a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
mackids.com
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017957290
Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945 ext. 5442 or by e-mail at
[email protected].
eISBN 9781250154101
First hardcover edition, 2018
eBook edition, June 2018