Addison Addley and the Things That Aren't There Read Online Free PDF Page B

definitely the most boring. One guy talked about helicopters and one girl babbled on about her baby sister.I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Luckily I’m good at tuning out annoying noise. I just pretend I’m in my video game battling the dragons in their supersonic jets.
    After what seemed to be about a week, she finished. “Sometimes etiquette just can’t be learned,” she said, glaring at me. “Sometimes people are just too rude to listen.”
    The class clapped politely. I yawned. My hands were sore from all that writing the night before.
    â€œSee—everyone liked my speech,” Tiffany said as she pushed past me on the way out of the school. “Please and thank you go a long way. You should learn what they mean.”
    â€œYou’re right,” I said. “Would you please excuse me while I go and throw up? Thank you.”
    It’s hard to be nice to Tiffany. My brain tells me to try, but sometimes my mouth just says what it wants to. It’s like my mouth is its own boss. I’m kind of proud of that. I mean, when it comes right down to it, sometimes a big mouth comes in more handy than a big brain. You couldn’t just use your brain to yell at your teammate to steal second when the catcher suddenly fumbles the ball. And what about if we were attackedby giant tarantulas? Your mouth would sure come in handy when you were screaming for help.
    That night I added two more lines to my speech. It now had four lines.
    Miss Steane, honorable judges, and fellow classmates,
Do you ever wonder if something is really there?
Like how a dog can hear a really high whistle?
We don’t think that whistle’s there, but it really is
.
    I was sweating. Writing was such hard work. I had two more lines though. I was really proud of myself now.
    I didn’t sleep much that night because I kept thinking about black holes and wormholes. Sam had said something about a wormhole being like a secret passageway out there in the universe. Things could sort of move through space and time all at once. Wouldn’t that make it quicker for ufos to get to us?
    I put my head under the pillow. Some things are just better left unthought.

Chapter Eleven
    On Tuesday morning the speeches continued. Most of them were pretty boring—famous authors and not-so-famous explorers—but at least they passed the time so that we didn’t have to do real work like math.
    Sam gave his speech on medieval times in the afternoon. It was pretty good except for the sentences he repeated three times. I guess he was pretty excited.
    He brought in some props, like this catapult that he made. You could launch real stones with it and throw them right across the room. I wished he’d launch one at the fire alarm so that we could get out of school early.
    Everybody clapped after Sam’s speech. I did too. My hands weren’t as sore as they had been the day before after Tiffany’s speech. It’s funny how they have a mind of their own too.
    Becky did her speech next. It was about ventriloquism. She even brought in a real dummy that she had borrowed from her uncle. The only problem was she got so nervous that she forgot to move the dummy’s mouth. A talking dummy who doesn’t talk kind of misses the point.
    I felt sorry for Becky. It looked like she was going to start crying. Tiffany rolled her eyes at her and turned the other way. I gave Becky the thumbs-up and clapped really hard. I don’t know why some people get so nervous about giving a speech. Then again, I guess having Tiffany rolling her eyes at you from the front row would give anyone the creeps.

    â€œAre you ready for tomorrow?” Sam asked as we headed home after school.
    â€œSure,” I lied. “The speech will be easy.”
    â€œWhat about the punch?” Sam was always worrying about me. I guess he needed someone to worry about besides himself. I didn’t mind helping him out with