Immortal Max Read Online Free PDF Page A

know, someone Chinese.”
    â€œI never heard of Hu Fao,” Bailey says.
    â€œFu . . . Hao.”
Yee’s face pinches up, like she’s in pain. “She was a high priestess and military general in the Shang dynasty. If I were going to enter, that’s who I would go as.”
    â€œAnd I’m African American,” Anise says. “So if I were entering, I would dress as Cleopatra.”
    â€œCleopatra wasn’t African. She was Egyptian.”
    â€œI believe Egypt’s in Africa, Sammy,” Bailey whispers across the aisle to me.
    â€œOh . . . yeah.”
    Anise claps her hands. “No, wait—I’d wear my
Igbo Mmwo
costume.”
    â€œYour
what
?” Yee’s eyebrows turn into little black worms wiggling across her forehead.
    â€œ
Ig-bo Mm-wo
. It means ‘maiden spirit.’ They’re
humongous
costumes. Bright colors and weird designs all over them. The mask hides your face so no one can tell who you are. My oldest sister had one but she didn’t want it anymore so she gave it to me.” Anise pauses. “But I don’t wear it because it’s a keepsake. Besides, I’m almost twelve—
way
too old.” “I don’t have a little sister,” Bailey says. “Or an older one, either. I’m an only child.”
    Lucky her.
    â€œI do,” Justin says, butting in again. “My little sister Patty’s been taking dance since she was three. She’s really good at Polish dances ’cause that’s what we are.” He glances at Yee and Anise, looking smug. “Wysocki’s a Polish American name. I bet Mom enters her right away. She’s dying for her to become a New York model.”
    â€œWhat’s my culture, Sammy?” Rosie looks at me, eyes expectant.
    â€œYou don’t have one.” Our house is the next stop, so I slip into my backpack.
    Rosie’s eyes dissolve. Two Alka-Seltzer tablets in water.
    â€œBut if I don’t have a culture,” she says, “I can’t be in the contest.”
    â€œCome on.” Bailey leads Rosie to the bus door. “Your mom can call and get more information.”
    Yee tugs my sleeve and leans close. “We need to check on some things, then we’ll call you.”
    â€œYeah . . .” Anise glances at Justin. “When the
Jerk
’s not around.”
    Why are they whispering?
    Bailey hears them, of course. “Call me, too.” She’s also whispering. “You can get me a gate pass, and I’ll bike out so we can practice together. I’ve been
dying
to see what CountryWood’s like.”
    Yee and Anise morph into stone statues.
    â€œOkay?” Bailey’s smile is plastic now.
    Yee and Anise nod. Barely.
    Though Bailey doesn’t stop smiling, I know she reads the same thing in those nods that I do. She’s not going to get a call from either of them.
    I follow her and Rosie off the bus, take a last look at the Burbies lining the windows, and exhale slowly, relieved to be rid of them. As the bus starts up, Justin’s face appears at the rear window. An
L
pressed to his forehead. His mouth, grinning ear to ear.
    My face flames. My hands clench into fists.
    As the bus rolls away, the tailpipe stutters
a-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh
.
    Aww, man.
    Like always, Max is waiting on the side of the road, imitating a pile of dead brush. Everything sticks to him like Velcro. Sticks.Leaves. Bird feathers. Stringy hair covers his eyes, a shaggy curtain he peeks through. His nose glistens like a shiny black ball, perpetually wet. The first thing he does is stick his nose in my hand, giving it a big slurpy lick.
    â€œNot now, Max.” I push him away and wipe drool on my pant leg.
    He walks over to Rosie, but she pushes him away, too. “Go ’way, Max. I’ve got to find Mama.” She runs toward the plant shed, the pageant slip a paper butterfly fluttering in her hand.
    Max