Saving Phoebe Murrow: A Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

she worked from home, selling a product that didn’t impress Isabel in the slightest. “Well, yeah, I just thought—” she let the sentence trail off. She didn’t have the courage to ask exactly what constituted business attire? Why couldn’t Isabel be a little more helpful? After all, Jessie was one of her daughter’s best friends. Had rescued her more than once from that awful Skyla. Shouldn’t that count for something?
    â€œOh, gee, Sandy, a call’s coming in. I’ve gotta run. Business. Would you excuse me?”
    â€œSure. See you tonight.” Sandy hung up. She twisted a lock of her tinted blond hair around her index finger. Guess I set myself up for that one , she thought. She was glad, though, that she’d heard a telephone ringing in the background. At least Isabel hadn’t lied.
    Sandy had made a few acquaintances last year, but now their daughters were attending another school. Back to square one. She’d tried Emma’s mother, Lorraine, but she was just plain strange. Practically an outcast. Isabel seemed her best bet, and yet the coldness of Isabel’s voice still echoed in her mind. For the life of her, Sandy couldn’t understand why she was so drawn to that woman. Maybe it was her sophistication, the ease with which she traveled through various social circles that Sandy envied. Wanted. Isabel could help her break in. If only she would. She owed her, didn’t she?
    In the next instant she wondered if changing her name to Sandra would make a difference.

    That third Friday of school went well enough. Maybe too well. Phoebe had found most of her classes to her liking, especially English, where she not only fell in love with Ms. Dickinson, who had laughingly claimed to be a distant relation to Emily Dickinson, but also discovered she shared the class with Noah, her middle school crush. At the end of the first week, he’d come up to her after class and in a playful way asked her to trade. “Your notes in English for my help in Algebra?”
    Somehow she’d managed to keep her cool. “Sure, Noah. That’d be great.” And graced him with a sweet smile.
    They’d spoken a little more each day, before and sometimes after class. Today, as he ran his hand through the thick weave of his short rust-colored hair, his neck turned a splotchy pink, and she wondered what was up. Then he asked her to join him, Dylan and several other guys in Adams Morgan after school, an invitation that excited her.
    â€œCan Jessie and Emma come?”
    â€œDefinitely. Meet you at Five Guys on Columbia Road, okay?”
    The thought of this made her tingly and nervous. No way would her mom allow her to go to a neighborhood as sketchy as Adams Morgan, she knew this without even asking. But she had to go, didn’t she? She couldn’t say, Oh, my mom won’t let me. Then other thoughts trooped through her head, questions her mother would invariably ask: Exactly what is it you’re planning to do there? Who are you going with? Why Adams Morgan? In other words, the third degree.
    Well, why not? she told herself.
    At lunch, she searched the room for Jessie; she’d know the answers to these questions. Then she heard a shout. “Over here, Feebs.” It was Skyla. She took one more look around for Jessie, then, not spotting her, took her tray over to the table where Skyla and a few of her friends sat. Skyla scooted over and patted a place beside her.
    Phoebe had sat with Skyla more than once since the previous Friday. It surprised her how easily she slipped into conversation with her former archenemy, much as they had before all the drama began at the end of sixth grade. The one topic she avoided, though, was mention of Noah and Adams Morgan, until Skyla asked, “So, who do you want to go to the fall dance with?”
    â€œFall dance?”
    â€œYeah, it’s in a few weeks, you know, a mixer. Kevin told me.”
    Wary of