Best Friend Next Door Read Online Free PDF

says. “Ryan was nice enough to see us on a Saturday so we wouldn’t miss work and you wouldn’t miss school.”
    “And think about this,” my dad says. “We’ll be one step closer to the adoption being official. All our paperwork is in order. The court date could even be this fall.”
    I swallow hard and stare out the window. I’m not trying to be sulky. It’s just that, in moments like these, words leak out of my brain. I bet Emme doesn’t have that issue. She always seems to have something to say.
    “Tell you what,” Margo says. “How about we swing by the house after the meeting and get our suits and go to the pool? The Y has family swim this afternoon.”
    “Can Emme come?” I ask. “That might be fun.”
    Margo nods and hands her phone to my dad. “Can you call Julia for me?” she asks. “The number is in my contacts.”
    For some reason that makes me nervous. Like if Margo and Julia are talking on the phone, then maybe my stepmom is going to tell her about being pregnant. That would be terrible because I haven’t told Emme yet. I haven’t told Sophie, either, or anyone at school.
    “Why do you have Emme’s mom’s number?” I ask.
    “From when they called about Radar,” Margo says.
    “Butterball,” I say.
    “Hi,” my dad is saying into the phone. “This is Drew, Hannah’s dad. We wanted to see if we could take Emme to the pool this afternoon. The one at the YMCA?”
    My dad turns to me. “Emme is shrieking in the background.”
    “What’s she saying?” I ask.
    “That’s wonderful,” my dad says to Emme’s mom. “How long was Emme on the swim team in Florida?”
    “No way!” I shout. “She swims like me?”
    “Yep,” my dad says, holding up a finger to me like hang on . “Emme is asking something. What’s that, Julia? She’s asking her mom to ask you if the pool is Blue Allure. Do you have any idea what that means?”
    “Tell her yes,” I say, smiling. “Tell her the pool is totally Blue Allure.”

T hat’s my spot,” Gina whispers to me as I’m sitting on the meeting rug with my notebook in my lap, waiting for the math lesson to start. “In case you haven’t figured that out.”
    I jump a little. I hadn’t even seen her coming. I have the worst fifth-grade class ever (especially Gina, Alexa, and Haley). Even Ms. Linhart. It’s an all-around disaster.
    “Yeah, Emme,” Alexa says, smirking at me. She has bright red hair and her two front teeth are so big they remind me of pieces of gum. “And I always sit next to Gina.”
    I shrug and then slide forward so I’m in the front row of the rug. Closer to Ms. Linhart. Lovely Ms. Linhart. She’s tan with butterscotch-brown hair and tons of makeup. Also, she doesn’t smile. Not once in the whole month since school started.
    Ms. Linhart starts talking about decimals. I try to pay attention but occasionally I glance out the window. It’s been raining for a week straight. Hannah says that’s not typical weather for fall in Greeley. When I talked to Olivia and Lucy, they told me how they’d just spent the day on a sailboat in the bay. If I were in Captiva right now, I’d be—
    “Emme,” Ms. Linhart says. She flicks her long hair over her shoulder. “Where are you? Are you with us?”
    I feel Gina staring hard at my back. She’s the worst, but no one in my class is very nice. They either ignore me or act like I’m weird because I’m not from Greeley. No one seems to care that I have two moms. It’s more like they have a problem with me . Like I can’t seem to do anything right. Hannah is lucky she got Mr. Bryce. Whenever I walk by her classroom, everyone’s laughing and chatting and listening to music.
    I raise my hand.
    “Yes.” Ms. Linhart blinks slowly at me. “Emme?”
    “Can I go to the bathroom?” I ask. I just need a minute to be alone and collect myself. Not to mention that I have to pee. That happens when I’m nervous. I have to go every ten minutes.
    “ Can you?” Ms. Linhart asks,