Here, there, and everywhere-an opinionated riddle.
People were so fragile, so easily broken, so hard to put back together. Mr.
Now don’t go too fast, John, Mama said. And be careful of the curve at the bottom of the hill. Sometimes Mr. Pettengill’s cattle get out and block the road.Yes, ma’am. John cranked up the engine. The...
The rules are very strict...
Be careful, Aunt Blythe said. The floor’s riddled with dry rot.Forgetting her own warning, she plunged ahead, opening trunks and boxes, poking and pawing through things, reminiscing.
You look back on some little decision you made and realize all the things that happened because of it, and you think to yourself if only I'd known, but, of course, you couldn't have known.
Here, there, everywhere
WHEN YOU'RE READING YOU SHOULD PRETEND YOU'RE REALLY THERE BECAUSE IT WILL MAKE THE BOOK MOR INTERESTING!
I wanted to leap up and defend her, perhaps throw my arms around her and protect her, but I just sat there like a nincompoop.
After a while, Hannah said, I heard Papa and Mama talking last night. Mama told Papa she thinks John Larkin is fond of me.To my annoyance, a little smile danced across her face. I’m fond of John too,...
As if I cared about something as useless as long division,
We reached the bushes beside the porch without being seen. Crouched in the dirt, we were so close I could have reached up and grabbed Hannah’s ankle. To keep from giggling, Theo pressed his hands over...
Alone in the bathroom, I stared into the mirror over the sink. Who was I looking at? Andrew or Drew? The boy on the lawn had been wearing my jeans, my T-shirt, my running shoes. I was wearing his clot...
You didn’t marry? Aunt Blythe asked Andrew.He glanced at me. When I was a boy no older than Drew, I had a close brush with death. It always seemed to me a miracle that I lived.Once more Hannah made an...
Why, I never! Waving a letter covered with spidery handwriting, she said, What a surprise! After all these years, Hannah wants to pay me a visit. She’d love to see the house she grew up in.At the soun...
While Papa talked about his day in court, I relived my fight with Edward. What a lousy, stinking, ungrateful coward he was. Hateful. Underhanded. Sly and dishonest. A tattle-tale. What branch of the f...
What happened at the trestle?Edward fell, I said. He almost drowned.Andrew grinned. It’s a pity he didn’t.
Sissy tilted her chair back so far I was sure she’d fall on her head any second. Not that I cared. Maybe she’d leave if she hurt herself.
Long before I was ready to say good-bye, Hannah rose to her feet and beckoned to Andrew. We’ve had enough excitement for one day. It’s time to leave.After making sure Aunt Blythe wasn’t looking, Andre...
I trudged home by myself, worrying about the trestle. What was I supposed to do there? If Andrew had dreamed it up, it was sure to be terrible. Maybe I’d have to lie down between the rails and let the...