The Secret Cookie Club Read Online Free PDF

always wears her long hair pulled back and a pair of beaded clip-on earrings that match her outfit.Today they were magenta to match the roses on her cardigan.
    I had practiced what I was going to say in bed the night before. “Hi, Mrs. Keeran. Would it be okay if you changed it so I am Kelly’s partner for the Walden project instead of Shoshanna’s? I am sure Shoshanna wouldn’t mind.”
    Shoshanna is Shoshi’s real name. No one calls her that, but I did because I was making a formal request.
    â€œRi-i-i-ight,” Mrs. Keeran said. “And why is it you’d like me to do that?”
    I wasn’t prepared for that question. For a moment, I stared at a Massachusetts wildlife photograph on the bulletin board behind Mrs. Keeran’s desk. It showed a black bear about to tackle a beehive. I had seen the picture every day since school started but never thought about it till now. Would the honey be worth all those stings?
    â€œGrace?” Mrs. Keeran said.
    â€œBecause I hate Shoshi,” I answered, and then I feltmy face flush. Why had I said that? It was the fault of the picture—it distracted me!
    â€œHate is a strong word,” said Mrs. Keeran.
    â€œNot hate,” I said quickly. “I mean, Shoshi and I . . . we are not compatible.”
    Mrs. Keeran nodded. “I’ve noticed some tension between the two of you. But may I tell you something in confidence? Before you skipped a grade, Shoshanna was usually the best student in the class. I think it’s been hard on her having you here.”
    I looked at my toes. Hard on Shoshi? What about hard on me when she whispers behind my back?
    â€œSo I thought perhaps,” Mrs. Keeran went on, “if you worked together and got to know each other, you’d learn to like each other. You’re both hardworking and serious about your studies. You both take ballet. And if you can’t learn to like each other”—Mrs. Keeran must’ve noticed me frowning—“at least you could learn to practice tolerance.”
    â€œ Please can you switch us, Mrs. Keeran?” I knew I sounded babyish, but I was desperate.
    Mrs. Keeran set her jaw. “Let’s give my way a try, shall we?” she said. “If you and Shoshi really can’t get along at all during the planning, we’ll see what we can do about changing partners before the field trip.”

CHAPTER 10

    Grace
    As of lunchtime that day, what I knew about Shoshi Rubinstein were pretty much the same things anybody else in my class would know:
    (1) She wears a bra! (2) She has one older brother and one older sister. (3) She almost never wears the same outfit twice. (4) She lives in my neighborhood in a green house with white trim. (5) She has a collie dog that barks. (6) She is bad at dance but herparents make her go. (7) She hates me for no reason.
    By the time the bell rang after school, I had learned four more things: (8) She is bossy. (9) She likes using pink gel pens for notes. (10) She thinks she has artistic talent. (11) When she’s mad, she yells.
    I found those four things out at the first Walden meeting, which happened in the library because it’s easier to work together at long tables than little desks. Mrs. Keeran had handed out a homework assignment due next week, and we were supposed to divide up responsibilities for it, then start work. It was the only class time she was giving us, so if we didn’t finish, we would have to find time to meet on our own.
    You can imagine the knot in my stomach when I looked up to see Shoshi stomping toward me at the table where I had sat down. The table was by the window, I guess in case I needed to jump out of it for any reason. When Shoshi sat down, she dropped her pink zebra-striped backpack on the table, and it landed with a thump .
    Probably I am making Shoshi sound like Godzilla,which is not 100 percent fair. Some people (not me) might even think she was pretty. She