Jack & Louisa: Act 1 Read Online Free PDF Page A

to convince myself that something resembling normal was taking place.
    “To New York? Yeah, a couple times,” I replied, like going to the cultural capital of the world was no big deal. Like I hadn’t squealed with delight the first time I walked through Times Square, or practically fainted when I got a picture with Tony Award–winner Norbert Leo Butz in front of Schmackary’s Cookies. Exposing my inner geek was a delicate process. I needed to at least attempt to be cool.
    “I never saw
Mary Poppins
, though.” I pointed to his T-shirt.
    Jack looked down at his shirt as if he forgot he was wearing it. His cheeks flushed.
    “Oh,” he said, “I was just wearing this for the move.” He cleared his throat. “Have you seen any shows in New York?”
    “Oh totally,” I said, a little too enthusiastically. “We saw
Matilda
on one trip. And
Cinderella
and
The Lion King
on another.”
    Jack nodded approvingly. “Those are all awesome.”
    I guess you saw all the Broadway shows if you lived in New York City. I felt a surge of jealousy just thinking about waking up every day in Broadway’s backyard. Shaker Heights was a far cry from the Big Apple.
    “Why’d you move
here
?” As the words came out of my mouth, I realized there was a snarky tone in my question that I had not intended.
    Jack’s eyes darted away for just a second, and I was about to apologize for asking what must have been a personal question, but then he shrugged and said, “My dad got a job in Cleveland.” Jack looked back toward his house. “And now we’re living in this totally unique house that doesn’t look like any of the other houses.”
    Wow
,
sarcasm
. This kid was sassy.
And he hates my neighborhood
, I thought as I took in the identical houses lining the block.
    “Some of them have pools,” I said, trying to be funny, but I realized quickly I might have just made Jack feel bad for not having one. He seemed unfazed.
    “Pools are a lot of work,” Jack replied. I wondered if this was something he’d heard his dad say.
    “Hey—do you go to Shaker Heights Middle School?” he asked, changing the subject.
    “I’m about to—seventh grade. Homeroom with Mrs. Lamon.”
    “Yeah, me too—except I’ll be in Mr. Ross’s homeroom.”
    “Oh.” I didn’t know whether to be upset or relieved by this news because I couldn’t tell if I even liked this kid. He seemed so . . . disappointed with his surroundings. I decided to give him one last chance.
    “Y’know, my friend Jenny saw
Mary Poppins
.”
    “Oh yeah? When?” Jack shifted his weight, putting his hands in his pockets.
    “Uh, like last spring, I think?”
    Jack looked toward the sky as if he were figuring out a math problem. It was weird.
    “Last spring?”
    Why did it matter?
    “Yeah, I think April, maybe . . . ?”
    “Oh.” Jack’s curiosity vanished instantly. I decided to ignore his weird line of questioning.
    “Yeah, so
anyway
,” I continued, determined to find out once and for all whether my new neighbor was a fellow MTN, “Jenny liked it, but she didn’t
love
it.”
    Jack suddenly stared straight at me.
    “Why didn’t she love it?”
    Okay, now we’re getting somewhere
, I thought.
He has an opinion about
Mary Poppins
.
    “Well, I think she was expecting it to be more like the movie,” I said, feeling a rush of excitement as Jack’s nostrils flared.
    “It’s actually a lot more like the
book
,” he said, pointedly. “Does Jenny know
that
?”
    “Probably not,” I said, as my heart did cartwheels of joy, “but I do.” I smiled proudly, ready to seal the deal of our new friendship.
    Jack looked at me curiously. He didn’t say anything, just shuffled his feet a little. I had been expecting a different reaction.
    “So, uh, when did
you
see it?” I asked, hoping to get him back on track.
    “Uh, I didn’t see it, really,” he said softly. “I was in it.”
    An asteroid landing on my house could not have shocked me more.

–JACK–
    Her