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Authors: Lisi Harrison

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BOOK: Invasion of the Boy Snatchers
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Massie’s cheeks turned red but she didn’t look up.

“Do you?” Claire’s voice cracked. She pushed Massie’s arm as if she were trying to wake her out of a deep sleep. “
Do you?

“Claire, keep your voice down,” Judi insisted, leaning forward.

“Will everyone please calm down?” Jay whispered. “This is a good thing.” His smile seemed forced. “I got a great job offer in Chicago, and I’ve decided to take it.”

“What?” Kendra snapped. William gently rested his hand on her arm. She covered her mouth with a cream-colored cloth napkin and shook her head.

“Kids, I found a four-bedroom house with enough room in the backyard for a hot tub. And you can walk to school. How great will that be?”

“Are you serious?” Claire screeched. “Are you seriously serious?” She could feel her throat starting to lock. The tears were on their way. “I’m finally having fun here and now you want me to leave?”

Claire thought of Massie’s exclusive Friday-night sleep-overs that she was finally invited to. And the new friendships she had with Layne, Dylan, Kristen, and Alicia. Then her boyfriend Cam’s ah-dorably sweet face popped into her mind. Her hands felt itchy and clammy. This couldn’t possibly be happening.

Claire looked to Massie for support. She got nothing but her profile.

“Why are you so quiet?”

Massie managed to sneak a peek at Todd through the corner of her eye, without moving her head.

“No way,” Claire cried. “You already knew? He told you?”

“Son, you’re grounded,” Jay said.

Todd pushed his plate of crusty French bread into the middle of the table. “As of now—hic!—Todd Lyons is on a hunger strike. If we leave I—hic!—am
never
—hic!—eating again.”

“I’m not leaving.” Claire slammed her fist on the table, and her father’s glass of red wine fell on its side. A stream of bloodred liquid rushed toward Claire and doused the front of her camel-colored sweater.

“Oh my God, Massie, I’m so sorry,” Claire said to the stain on Massie’s sweater. The tears in her eyes made everything look blurry. “But you should have told me. This wouldn’t have happened if you told me.” She wiped her eyes.

“Sorry,” Massie muttered under her breath.

“Ready to order, Monsieur?” the enthusiastic young waiter asked, ignoring everyone’s tears.


Nothing
for me, thanks!” Todd shouted at the waiter. He kicked his chair away from the table and ran toward the bathroom.

“All I want is a stable childhood,” Claire said to no one in particular.

“Uh, maybe we should just leave and order a coupla pizzas at home,” Jay quietly suggested to William.

William nervously ran his hand across the top of his smooth bald head, then chuckled and glanced at the waiter. “That’s not a bad idea.” He reached into his pants pocket and peeled three crisp bills out of his wallet. “Sorry, Franco.” He stuffed the bills in the waiter’s jacket. “We’ve just received some tragic news.”

Franco clasped his hands behind his back. “Understood, Mr. Block.”

“I’ll go get Todd,” Judi sighed.

“I’ll go with you,” Kendra said.

Both families stood up from the table.

Claire’s eyes felt swollen and heavy. And her body ached like it did when she had a fever. She had to get out of there. Suddenly, Claire turned and stormed through the dining room, wiping her eyes with one of the clubs precious cream cloth napkins. She didn’t care if every rich snooty country club member was staring at her over the tops of their Chanel bifocals. At the moment, they seemed like insignificant extras in the horror movie that was her life.

Claire could hear the charms on Massie’s bracelet jingling behind her as she raced to catch up. But Claire refused to slow down. She bolted straight through the round foyer and past the red roses that had once looked so cheery. Now she wished she could knock them over and hurl the crystal vases at her father’s selfish head. A friendly old man held the glass doors open for Claire and she marched past him without even a single “thank-you.”

No one said a word while they stood outside under the heat lamps waiting for their cars. Finally, the valets pulled up with the Blocks’ Bentley and the Lyonses’ Ford Taurus.

“Dad, can Claire ride in our car?” Massie asked.

“No,” Jay answered for William. “She’s coming with us.”

“I’m walking,” Claire muffled though her tears. The thought of being anywhere near her father made her nauseated. She could hardly look at him.

“Me too,” Todd added.


Get in the car,
” Jay insisted.

“I hate you,” Claire said to the beige car door as she yanked it open.

Once they were all inside, Jay fixed his eyes on the road ahead. “Can we please talk about this?”

Claire and Todd were silent.

“Fine,” Jay said. He turned the key, started the car, and drove toward the club gates.

The rhythmic clicking of the turn signal was the only noise in the car. It sounded louder than usual and seemed to be laughing at them.

Click-click-click.

Click-click-click.

Click-click-click.

Chi-ca-go.

Chi-ca-go.

Chi-ca-go.

Claire started chewing on the fingernails she’d spent all of Christmas break trying to grow. What was she supposed to do next? All she could do was glare at the back of her father’s head and plan her escape. She’d uprooted her life once for him, and it had been hell. For three months straight Claire had gotten picked on by Massie and the rest of her so-called Pretty Committee. They’d put red paint on her white pants, thrown smoked salmon at her, and written mean text messages about her clothes, her bangs, and her only friend, Layne. Now that she finally fit in, she wasn’t about to leave and start all over again.

Bzzzz, bzzzz, bzzzz.
Claire felt something vibrating against her hip. She immediately unzipped the inside pocket of her ski jacket and pulled out her cell phone.

“What is that?” Judi asked.

Bzzzz, bzzzz, bzzzz.

Claire quickly sat on the phone. “Uh.” She looked at Todd, desperate for a quick cover-up. If her parents found out Massie had bought her a cell phone for Christmas, they would take it away. For some reason, they expected her to wait until her sixteenth birthday before she could enter modern civilization.

“Sorry, I farted,” Todd announced.

Judi rolled her eyes and turned around.

“Thanks,” Claire mouthed to her brother.

Todd winked. When the vibrating stopped, Claire picked up the phone and turned the ringer to silent. Then she shoved it under her coat and discreetly checked the screen. She had one text message.

MASSIE:
Don’t worry, my dad will figure something out.

CLAIRE:
?

MASSIE:
He is talking 2 my mom about it now. She is crying.

CLAIRE:
Me 2.

MASSIE:

CLAIRE:
HLP.

MASSIE:
Trying . . . C U at home.

Claire sighed. She stuffed her phone back inside her jacket and prayed for a miracle.

Jay flicked the turn signal again and followed the Blocks’ Bentley into their circular driveway. Claire leaned her head against the window and looked at the stone mansion. For some reason, it looked different than it had when the Lyonses had first arrived from Orlando over Labor Day weekend. It still resembled an old English manor, and it still had a huge green lawn behind it with a horse barn, swimming pool, and tennis courts. Even the stone guest-house was the same. But over time the hard edges seemed to have softened and warmed. And the estate no longer looked ominous or intimidating. It just looked like a home. Her home.

Jay turned off the engine. The air felt heavy and still.

“Can we talk about this calmly?” Jay asked. His leather jacket made a crunching sound as turned to face the backseat.

“No,” Judi, Todd, and Claire answered.

He shook his head. “Impossible,” Jay muttered under his breath as he pushed open the car door and stepped onto the Blocks’ gravel driveway. The tiny rocks seemed to groan as Jay carelessly trod across them in his Rockport walking shoes. Claire knew exactly how they felt.

William was there, waiting for him.

“Jay, how about we go in my study and talk about this.” He closed the car door for him.

Claire listened for her father’s response.
Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes. . . .

“William, I’m not going to change my mind. This is a great opportunity and—”

“Then let’s have a glass of port and you can tell me all about it.” William gently nudged Jay toward the front steps of the main house.

Jay sighed, and a huge cloud of steam puffed out of his mouth. Then he turned and followed William.

Claire crossed her fingers for luck and stepped out of the car.

Twenty minutes later everyone was sitting on the cold marble floor outside William’s study, dressed in their pajamas and eating pizza out of the box. Kendra sat above them on one of her toile dining room chairs, nibbling on crudités and hummus.

“I can’t believe you kids are eating on the floor. You’re like a pack of wild animals,” she whispered. “Judi, are you sure I can’t get you a chair?”

“Shhh,” everyone hissed. Their ears were pressed against the tall wood doors.

“Todd, honey, please eat something.” Judi pushed the half-empty box toward her son. “Starving yourself isn’t going to change your father’s mind.”

Todd folded his arms across his chest and looked away. Judi probably thought he was being stubborn, but Claire could tell by the patch of grease on the front of his gray Briarwood sweatshirt that he had a slice or two tucked away for later.

“I have to go to the bathroom.” Todd turned his oily body away from his mother as he tried to stand.

When he came back ten minutes later, his lips were shiny and he was wearing a different sweatshirt. But the mothers didn’t notice. They were too busy trying to figure out how they were going to survive without each other.

“I can’t start over again,” Claire sniffled. “I can’t do it.” A tear rolled down her cheek and dangled off her chin. She shook her head and watched it land on her Strawberry Shortcake pajama bottoms.

“Don’t give up yet. My dad promised he would fix this.”

“But what if he can’t?” Claire whispered.

“I always get what I want,” Massie assured her.

Massie wants me,
Claire thought. She felt the sudden urge to throw her arms around her friend and never let go. But she didn’t have to. Massie hugged her first.

Claire felt something sharp poking her in the back. She opened her eyes and lifted her head off the cold hard floor. The corner of the study door was pressing into her spine.

“Owww.” She pushed herself up and crossed her legs.

“Sorry,” Jay whispered as he stepped over her. “I had no idea I was walking into a stakeout.”

Claire started to smile. She stopped herself when she remembered she was mad at him.

Massie, Todd, and Judi were still asleep on the floor. Kendra’s head was leaning against the back of the chair. Her eyes were shut but her mouth was wide open.

William clapped his hands and everyone opened their eyes. “It’s two in the morning.”

Claire looked at his face for some indication of what had been said over the last five hours, but he just looked pale and tired. His blue eyes were bloodshot, and specks of stubble were sprouting up all over his face. She had never seen him look this messy. Jay looked just as disheveled, but Claire was used to seeing her father like that.

“So?” Massie jumped to her feet.

Claire rearranged her long bangs and smoothed the back of her hair. She wondered how Massie still managed to look pretty after sleeping on the floor.

“Why don’t we go into the kitchen?” William suggested. “I could use some dinner.”

“Just tell us now,” Massie begged. “Please.”

“The kitchen,” William insisted.

Everyone followed the fathers. Claire, Massie, and Todd hopped up on the three stools by the counter and the parents sat at the breakfast table. They immediately focused on the Ashanti video playing on the flat-screen TV that had been built into the Blocks’ refrigerator door until Kendra shut it off.

“Would you like me to fix you something to eat?” Kendra asked the dads.

They nodded, too exhausted to speak.

Kendra stood up and walked over to the microwave. She pushed it aside and spoke into the small white box behind it.

“Inez, could you please come to the kitchen?” Kendra had to ask three times before she got an answer.

“Certainly, Mrs. Block,” a groggy voice finally answered back.

Inez shuffled into the kitchen wearing fuzzy slippers and a bright floral-print robe. She washed her hands and started pulling out pots and pans.

“A simple sandwich will do.” William gave her an understanding smile.

“Of course.” Inez nodded

“Daaa-aaad,” Massie whined. “Tell us already.”

William rubbed his eyes. “I think Jay should be the one to tell you.”

Claire wished she could hit a button on a remote control and press Pause so she could live in this moment forever. The next few seconds held possibilities that were too scary to imagine.

BOOK: Invasion of the Boy Snatchers
11.63Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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