The Black Sheep Read Online Free PDF Page A

inside, where all resemblance to normal ends. An upended rowboat forms the hall closet and there’s a mural of whales covering two walls of the living room.
    â€œMax is an artist as well as a plumber,” Mona says, leading me into a room that must have been a dining room once, but is now a very messy office. “Welcome to Save Our Sea Otter Central Command.”
    Our grand tour skips the room I most want to see: my bedroom. I finally ask about it, but Mona is too distracted by kitschy artifacts to answer. “This is the otter cushion Maya bought me with her babysitting money,” she says.
    She yanks me aside as a large dog barrels toward us in pursuit of a small silver creature.
    â€œA rat!” I yell, leaping onto the closest chair.
    Bob zooms in on my terrified expression. “Chili thought so too,” he says. “He nearly fainted.”
    â€œIt’s not a rat, dear, it’s Maya’s ferret,” Mona says, helping me down.
    The ferret arches and hisses, his tail sticking straight up like a bottle brush. The dog backs up until his wagging tail swipes a glass otter off the coffee table. It shatters on the floor.
    â€œNot another one,” Mona sighs, pushing the shards away with her foot as the ferret scrambles onto a bookshelf. “He’s a troublemaker, but Maya adores Manhattan.”
    It takes me a second to clue in. “That’s the ferret’s name?”
    Mona nods. “Maya’s been dreaming of visiting New York for years.”
    â€œThere are a lot of M-names around here,” I say.
    Delighted that I noticed, Mona says, “It’s our thing. You know—how every family has its thing?”
    Mine doesn’t have a thing. Unless you count the rules.
    Manhattan deliberately brushes against my shoulder from the shelf. With Meadow now standing beside me grinning, I try not to squeal. My mother claims to have allergies, so I’ve never had a regular pet, let alone an exotic one.
    â€œWow, Manhattan usually isn’t that nice,” Meadow says. “He has Maya’s personality.”
    Mona clucks disapprovingly and leads us through the kitchen and out the patio doors. As I emerge, more than two dozen people yell, “Surprise!” Stretched between two trees is a banner reading, WELCOME, KENDRA, OUR BLACK SHEEP !
    Although I’m embarrassed at having so many eyes upon me, I can’t help but smile. I’ve never had a surprise party before.
    And a party it is. The barbecue is smoking, the stereo is cranked, and there are two picnic tables covered in salads and a huge array of the snack foods I never get to eat at home. Soon I am feeling so much better about this whole adventure that I barely grumble when Tess jumps out from behind a shrub to powder my blemish. Bob and Chili are too busy clear-cutting the table to bother capturing the moment.
    Judy comes toward me with a girl about my age. “This is Carrie Watson,” she says. “Maya’s best friend. She lives next door.”
    It occurs to me that someone may be introducing Lucy to Maya in New York right now. I don’t know whether to be happy, because Lucy can tell me all about her, or jealous. They’d better not hit it off.
    Carrie offers me a soda and waits until Judy is out of earshot before saying, “Maya and I aren’t best friends anymore. She hasn’t wanted to hang out for a while.”
    â€œWhy not?” I ask. Carrie seems nice to me. She’s dark and pretty in a sporty way, and her denim capris and lululemon hoodie reassure me that Monterey isn’t some remote outpost beyond the reach of fashion.
    Meadow pulls her head out of the Cheetos bowl long enough to answer. “Because Maya’s a bitch.”
    Mona appears out of nowhere. “Now, Meadow. Maya’s been frustrated lately, that’s all. She’ll come back from New York her old self.”
    â€œDon’t count on it,” Meadow says.
    â€œI’m