A & L Do Summer Read Online Free PDF Page B

holding the bowl of water in both hands, I lurch back into the hall. “Make way for Aspen Parks, caterer to the stars. I don’t like to brag, but my clients include Miss Piggy, Porky, Wilbur, and Piglet, just to name a few!”
    â€œShh! Not so loud. I just got them calmed down.” Laurel leans against the wall, rubbing one of the pigs on the snout and scratching another behind the ears. The third one is snuffling her leg. “Come here and touch them. They feel all warm and bristly.”
    The skin between my shoulder blades bunches up. “Uh, maybe later. I’ve got water and popcorn. Let’s see if they’ll follow us to the elevator.”
    â€œDo you hear that?” Laurel coos. “Popcorn and water! Yummy!”
    I hold the popcorn sack at arm’s length. “Here, pigs. Popcorn. Good stuff.”
    Their heads swivel toward me, their ears perk up, and their blocky heads bob up and down. The next thing I know, six beady eyes are trained on me, and the grunting, snuffling trio of pigs is closing in fast. I hand the popcorn off to Laurel and hold the water down where they can see it.
    â€œShow time, Laurel,” I say from the corner of my mouth.
    We shuffle backward toward the elevator with the pigs hot on our toes. To keep them interested, Laurel scatters popcorn kernels along the way. The pigs vacuum up the corn without breaking stride and keep on coming. I reach back and push the elevator button without taking my eyes off them. Who knows what a hungry pig might find appetizing?
    When the doors slide apart, I set the bowl of greasy water on the floor and back out in a hurry. “Toss the popcorn inside,” I tell Laurel. “Then we close the doors and let them out on the first floor.”
    â€œWe can’t leave them alone in the elevator!” Laurel says. “They’ll be scared.”
    I rub my aching temples. “Fine. Keep your new friends company. I’ll meet you downstairs.”
    Laurel steps to the back of the elevator and shakes the popcorn bag. “Come on, girls. Go for a ride with Aunt Laurel.” The pigs troop in with her, and she pushes the button.
    That girl is in serious need of a pet.
    I sprint down the stairs to the first floor, but Laurel and the pigs are already waiting for me in the hall outside Principal Hammond’s office. The pigs are rooting for old maids in the torn grocery bag, and Laurel is patting one of them on the back. “Rose and Daisy liked the elevator, but Sunflower here seemed nervous. Weren’t you, baby girl?”
    Laurel rests her hand on Sunflower’s head. “I wuz scared, Auntie Laurel.” Laurel’s lips barely move and the gravely, baby-talk voice sounds nothing like her. “But you made me feel all better. I wuv you.”
    My neck hairs prickle. Laurel’s teacher impersonations are amazing, but her pig-channeling routine is spooky. I’m half expecting “Auntie Laurel” to sling a leg over Sunflower’s back and ride off into the sunrise. Seeing this side of her leaves me feeling unsettled, like last year when a bunch of us went to Hooters after a basketball game and saw the school librarian waiting tables.
    â€œThis is great. Now we just set them free, and we can go home.” Laurel is scratching Daisy’s cheek. Or maybe that’s Rose. “Being a good citizen is exhausting.”
    â€œWe can’t just turn them loose on the street, you know.”
    Laurel gives me a blank look. Then she rubs her eyes with her pig-scratching hand, and the glazed look clears. “God, of course not! They might get lost or hit by a car. What are we going to do?”
    I let out a defeated sigh. “The one thing I wanted to avoid at all costs. I’ll have to call Manny.” I pat my shorts looking for my cell phone and discover two problems. First, my gym shorts don’t have pockets. Second, my phone is at home on my bed. “Let me use your