The Dubious Pranks of Shaindy Goodman by Mari Lowe

Author:Mari Lowe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Levine Querido

CHAPTER 14

Gayil is sitting on the steps of her porch when I come outside, engrossed in a book that she squints at in the dim light of sunset. Her fingers run through her hair, twisting the black locks around them and between them, and she is biting a nail. I hadn’t realized that Gayil bites her nails. It’s a physical hint of imperfection, and I stare at her, fascinated, until she looks up and smiles. “There you are,” she says. “What took you so long?”

“Math,” I say truthfully. “I still don’t have the hang of fractions.”

Gayil makes a face. “Oh, me too.”

“Please. I know you aced the first math quiz this year.” Everyone knows, because only one girl in the class had gotten full credit and the two bonus questions, and Gayil had beamed so widely when she’d gone up to get her quiz that everyone had known who the mystery girl was. We’d all been happy too. It’s rare that it’s someone other than the three smartest kids in the class, and Gayil is a top five for sure but not quite on Tzivia’s level.

Gayil shakes her head. “Right, but now Mrs. Gelman thinks that I know my stuff. I can’t slack anymore. Too many expectations.”

“I think you worry too much about everyone else’s expectations,” I say. It’s playful, but I mean it. Gayil seems perpetually stressed by what everyone else thinks of her, even more than I do. Maybe because I’m resigned to my fate, and hers is something worth holding on to.

“We can’t all be as strong as you, Shaindy,” Gayil says, but she sets the book down and seizes my hand, leading me to her backyard. As we move along, the identical lamp sconces at the back of every house on the block snap on, illuminating our path to the trampoline. “Come on. Let’s figure out how we’re going to handle the interrogation tomorrow.” I kick off my Rollerblades and climb up behind her, and I sit opposite her in the middle of the trampoline. “How are you under pressure?”

“Terrible,” I say honestly.

Gayil fixes me with a piercing stare, so familiar that it takes me a minute to realize that it feels exactly like Morah Neuman. “Shaindel Goodman,” she says in a haughty, proper voice. “Did you have anything to do with the pranks in my classroom?”

I have to stifle a laugh. “No, Morah Itzhaki,” I say, pursing my lips. “I had no idea. But I think they’re really funny.” I remember suddenly that I was going to ask Gayil about the notebook. “Hey, Gayil? You know that Sheva had a second notebook? That one she used to write in at camp. Did we take it out when we were swapping notebooks?”

Gayil shrugs. “No idea. There were a lot of notebooks,” she says. Her voice gives nothing away, and I stiffen, suddenly sure that it had, in fact, been intentional. Sheva belongs on the list too.

I stare at Gayil. I don’t really know her, definitely not as well as I thought I did.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.