My Last Best Friend Read Online Free PDF

walks in carrying a plate of cookies. Her hair falls in two braids over
her shoulders, just like Jenna's. She smells like oatmeal.
    "Hi, Mom!" Jenna calls from the bed.
    Jenna's mom smiles at all the bouncing girls. Then she notices me.
    "Oh, hello, Ida," she says.
    "Hello," I say back.
    She holds the plate out to me. "Treat yourself to a homemade cookie, Ida. I'm sure you're used to store-bought."
    I take one of the cookies off the plate and nibble it, even though I don't have much of an appetite. "Yum," I say.
    Jenna's mom lifts her chin. "I'll give the recipe to your mother," she says. She takes a step toward Jenna's bed. "Girls? I have oatmeal cookies right out of the oven!"
    "Thank you!" all the girls chime.
    "Jenna, why don't you introduce me to your new friend?" her mom asks.
    Jenna pulls Stacey out from the tangle of girls and says, "Pauline Drews, meet Stacey Merriweather. Stacey Merriweather, meet Pauline Drews."
    Stacey giggles and waves to Jenna's mom. The other girls pull her back in.
    Jenna's mom looks pleased. "Jenna, bring the girls down to the kitchen in a few minutes. I'm getting a craft project ready for you."
    The girls keep bouncing.
    Jenna's mom glances at me. "Here, Ida," she says, handing me the plate of cookies. "Give these to the girls when they're done playing."
    I take the cookies, and Jenna's mom breezes out the door.
    A minute later, Stacey bounces off the bed and over to me. "Can I have a cookie, Ida?" she asks, all bright and breathless.
    "Help yourself," I reply. But just then Jenna shouts, "Wait, Stacey! You don't want those."
    "Why not?" she asks.
    "Because I have something better, don't I, girls?" She gives Brooke, Meeka, and Jolene a sly look. They bob their heads up and down, giggling.
    Jenna jumps off her bed and reaches underneath. She pulls out a box that's filled with packages of store-bought cookies and candy bars. She dumps them on her bed. Brooke, Meeka, Jolene, and Randi dig in.
    Stacey looks at me. "Do you want some chocolate, Ida?" she asks.
    "Um ... no thanks," I say, holding up my oatmeal cookie. "I'm good."
    Stacey gives me half a smile and then joins the chocolate feast.
    I set the plate of cookies on Jenna's dresser and walk over to her bed. I pick up one of the packages of cookies and look at the ingredients label. Then I look at Jenna. "I thought your family didn't believe in preservatives," I say.
    Jenna snatches the package out of my hand. "Lighten up, I-
duh.
It's a party." Jenna takes a big bite out of a caramel candy bar. "And
don't
tattle to my mother about this," she says, shaking the candy bar at me. "If you tell her I'll..."
    "You'll what?" I ask.
    Jenna thinks for a moment. Then she narrows her eyes and licks caramel off her lips. "I'll tell everyone you peed your pants at my sleepover."
    I glare at Jenna. "That's a lie," I say.
    Jenna shrugs. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't." She scans the other girls' faces. "Ida peed her pants at my sleepover,
right?
" she says.
    Brooke, Jolene, Meeka, and Randi look at me. Then they look at Jenna. And nod.
    I look at Stacey.
    She glances away. And nods, too.
    "See?" Jenna says. "It
is
true."
    I storm out of Jenna's room and crumple against the wall in the hallway. I wish I had my sketchbook so I could draw a picture of my house, dive into it, and lock the door.
    "That wasn't very nice, Jenna," I hear Stacey say.
    "I was just joking," Jenna replies. "Still," Stacey says. "You should tell Ida you're sorry."
    I hear Jenna make a big sigh and slide off her bed. A moment later she's standing over me. "Please accept my apologies," she says loudly, so the other girls can hear her. She tosses a candy bar onto my lap. Then she leans over and whispers, "Don't be such a baby, I
-duh.
"

Chapter 8
    It isn't long before all the cookies and candy have disappeared and Jenna is leading the way to the kitchen.
    Jenna's mom has covered the kitchen table with newspaper. A pile of rocks is at the center of the table along with paints and brushes.