Free The Zippy Fix by Graham Salisbury Page B

and she needed help. Stella was it.
    Somewhere down the street I heard the deep, low thumping of a car stereo.
    Boooom … boooom … boooom
.
    It was the slow, spooky kind you can hear a mile away.
    “The dance is at the high school,” Mom went on.
    Boooom… boooom… boooom
.
    Growing louder. Coming closer.
    “It’s Friday night,” Mom continued. “That’s why Darci and I went shopping.”
    “What?”
    “Are you listening to me, Calvin?”
    The booming radio got louder and louder … then went silent.
    Mom’s eyes shifted.
    Outside, an engine rumbled low.
    Darci ran to the window.
    A car door thumped shut.

4
Watermelon
    “S tella’s home!” Darci yelped. I ran up behind her and caught a glimpse of the car just as it pulled away. It rumbled like an army tank and was so low to the ground it could scrape gum off the street. A fat black stripe ran down the middle, front to back, and the car was pink!
    Pink?
    Boooom … boooom … boooom
.
    Mom stretched to look over my shoulder, but the car was gone. “Did you see who brought her home?”
    “Some guy in a pink car.”
    “Oooo,” Darci said.
    Stella passed by the window outside, heading to the front door, her books hugged close to her chest. As usual she wore shorts, a tight shirt, and rubber slippers. It was impossible to imagine her in a dress.
    The screen door squeaked open.
    Mom smiled. “Welcome home, Stella.”
    Stella glanced around the room. “What’s wrong? Why are you all here? Did we get robbed?”
    “No, no, everything’s fine.” Mom hurried over and took Stella’s books from her. “Follow me. We have something for you.”
    Darci couldn’t stand it. “Mom got you a dress! Mom got you a dress!” she said, bouncing on her toes.
    Stella’s face lit up. “A dress?”
    “Look.” Mom set the books down and picked up the green dress.
    Stella’s hand flew to her mouth, covering it, as if the dress was the most wonderful sight she’d ever seen.
    Weird.
    “Oh, Angela,” Stella whispered.
    Stella crept over, took the dress from Mom, and held it close. It fell to just above her knees. “You shouldn’t have.”
    “Go try it on,” Mom said.
    Stella hurried into her bedroom. Which used to be mine. Which I had to give up when Stella moved in. Which sent me to a room made of half the garage. Which, actually, I liked better. Because who can live in a house with three girls?
    Mom beamed, as pleased as I’d ever seen her.
    Jeese, I thought. Maybe I should try that. Oh, Mom! This new T-shirt. You shouldn’t have!
    Naah.
    Stella came back wearing the new dress and a huge grin. She twirled around. “Like it?”
    Mom’s eyes glossed. “Oh, Stella, you look so beautiful.”
    I gawked. I’d never seen Stella all dressed up. Her blond hair looked blonder. Her eyes twinkled like sequins. She even gave me a small smile. She was a totally different person.
    Darci must have thought so, too, because all she could say was “Wow, wow, wow.”

    Mom put her arm over my shoulder and pulled me close. “What do you think, Cal? Doesn’t she look fabulous?”
    She looked pretty good, all right. The silkysmooth dress was the deep green color of a ripe watermelon. It somehow made Stella look like a nice person. “You look like … like … like a watermelon.”
    Darci spurted a laugh.
    Mom covered her mouth, nearly laughing, too.
    Stella’s smile fell off her face. Her lips puckered and a squint shrank her eyes to olive pits.
    What? Did I say something wrong?
    Stella strode over and bent close, hands on her hips, her face inches from mine. “I look like a
what
?”
    “Uh … a watermelon? You know, green?” What was the big deal?
    “Well, you look like a tree stump.”
    I frowned. So I wasn’t nine feet tall. So what?
    Mom grabbed Stella by the shoulders and spun her around. “Let’s go to my room and see if we can find just the right necklace to go with that dress. Oh my goodness, your mother would be
so proud to
see you now.”
    “No, she