Lucky T Read Online Free PDF Page A

how the shirt was lucky and her life would fall apart if she didn't have it in her possession within the next sixty seconds. She also wanted to say why she was so sentimental about it, that her dad had sent it to her and wearing it made her feel closer to him in a way that no one would really ever be able to understand. But Carrie knew that talking about her father always put her mother in a foul mood. While she seemed to be better these days, Carrie's mom was still dealing with her emotions surrounding the divorce. Carrie hated having to always walk on eggshel s around her mom, though, especially now, when she needed her to comprehend how desperate the situation was. Yet Carrie couldn't find it in her heart to offer any more of an explanation.
    "But Carrie, I don't understand why--"
    "Please, Mom," Carrie said, holding her breath. "I can't lose that T-shirt."
    Carrie slammed the door to her mom's Escape Hybrid and sprinted up the walk to Celia's house. The door frame was surrounded by wind chimes of all shapes, sizes, and materials that tinkled and bonged as Carrie blew by. She rang the bell , then bounced up and down on the ball s of her feet as she waited. She was one huge ball of nervous energy. Anyone coming in between her and her lucky T, beware!
    Please. Please . . . please . . . please, Carrie thought, clenching her hands into fists. Fingers on both hands were crossed now. Please just don't let it be too late.
    The door swung open and there Celia stood, her short gray hair sticking out straight from both sides of her head. Her floor-length dress looked as if it was made out of a hundred different scarves of all patterns and colors. A pair of beaded earrings hung so low they grazed her shoulders and strained her earlobes. Celia smiled broadly to find Carrie on her front step and her mother bringing up the rear.
    "What's all this?" she asked.
    "I need my T-shirt back," Carrie said, every muscle in her body coiled.
    "Sorry to barge in, Ceil," her mother added.
    Celia looked from Carrie to her mother and back again. "I'm sorry. What T-shirt?" She turned and walked back into the house, leaving the door agape.
    Carrie followed, trying hard not to let her panic and impatience get the best of her. She had known Celia her entire life and the snail's pace at which the woman did everything other than talk sometimes drove her up a wall. But even if she did have some freakish tendencies, like her Wicca cooking group, her multicultural anti-Thanksgiving feast, and her ability to fluently speak Tolkien's Elven language, Celia was to her mother as Piper was to Carrie. She was kind and had always been there for them, so it would have been incredibly uncouth to tear her head off.
    They followed Celia into her sunroom, where her daughter, Doreen, sat on the divan repeating foreign language words back to the CD player.
    Doreen's nose was buried in a travel guide for India. She was wearing a Beauty and the Beast on Broadway sweatshirt and black jeans. Her waist-length black hair hung in two heavy braids down her back. Carrie always thought that with a trendy haircut and some non-fleece wardrobe items, Doreen might actually be pretty, but no matter how hard Carrie had tried to convince her over the years, Doreen had zero interest in changing. In fact, the only thing that had changed was Doreen's attitude, which went from sweet to smart-ass as soon as Carrie and Piper became best buddies.
    At one time, many, many moons ago, Carrie, Piper, and Doreen had all been close friends, although Doreen was a year behind them in school. Carrie and Piper used to like putting on musicals in Doreen's basement, watching Nickelodeon, and reading princess books. But when Carrie and Piper had hit fifth grade, suddenly they didn't care about those things anymore. Carrie was acting in actual plays, participating in sports, and going to parties. Piper never left Carrie's side. Even though it wasn't intentional, Doreen was left behind, and the wedge between them