Free The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower by Lisa Graff Page B

explained.
    â€œGood thing his name wasn’t Mortimer,” Gabe replied.
    Bernetta thought about that. “Or Wally.
That
would’ve been awful.”
    â€œI don’t know,” Gabe said. “I think you’d make a really nice Wallamina.”
    Bernetta laughed again. “All right, all right,” she said. “What was your second question?”
    â€œWant to bet me double or nothing I can’t guess another movie quote?”
    Bernetta thought about it. “That’s your question?” He nodded. “All right, fine.” She tried to come up with one he probably hadn’t seen. “
The Muppets Take Manhattan
,” she said at last. She and Elsa used to watch that movie all the time when they were little. It had been their favorite for years. It was probably too goofy for some sophisticated film addict like Gabe.
    â€œâ€˜Ocean Breeze soap,’” he said. “‘It’s just like taking an ocean cruise, only there’s no boat and you don’t actually go anywhere.’ Too easy. That’s ten bucks you owe me now, Wallamina.”
    Bernetta stuck her elbows on the table and pressed her hands under her chin. “All right,” she said. “Teach me this shortchange thing before I owe you my entire tuition.”

    After running through the moves of the shortchange with Gabe for about twenty minutes, Bernetta was pretty sure she had it down. Together they left the food court and scoped out a location for Bernetta to pull her first con.
    They finally decided to try the candy store. The teenage girl behind the counter was on the phone, and she didn’t seem to be paying much attention to anything but her conversation.
    â€œWish me luck,” Bernetta whispered as Gabe nudged her into the store.
    â€œYou’ll be fine,” Gabe replied, “Don’t even worry. Just do like I told you.”
    Bernetta entered the store on wobbly legs, but she did her best to hide it.
    â€œLook, Tiffany,” the girl behind the counter was saying into the phone, “it’s not like that, all right? Me and Jeremy are just friends.”
    Bernetta selected a pack of gum from the rack under the counter and placed it in front of the girl. Her name tag said HEATHER .
    â€œTiff, hold on a sec. I got to ring someone up.” Heather gripped the phone between her chin and her shoulder. “You want a bag for that?” she asked Bernetta.
    â€œNo, thanks.”
    â€œEighty-nine cents.” She rang up the order, and the drawer clanged open. “Tiff, that’s not what I’m saying. Cheryl told Beth that Jeremy said that
you
 . . . hold on.”
    Bernetta handed Heather a ten-dollar bill, and she took it, then snapped the bills out of the drawer to make change. A five, four ones, and eleven cents.
    â€œHere you go,” she told Bernetta, handing her the change.
    But Bernetta had already pulled another one-dollar bill out of her pocket. “Sorry, I—”
    Her ear still wedged into the phone, Heather’s head shot up to look at Bernetta.
    â€œSorry,” Bernetta repeated. She added her dollar to the bills already on the counter and plopped her hand on top of the pile. “Can I trade these bills for a ten?”
    Heather glanced at the pile and nodded. “Tiffany,
no.
That’s not what I said at all. Well, then Beth’s a liar.” She handed Bernetta a ten-dollar bill.
    â€œThanks.” Bernetta took the ten and moved to put it in her pocket but then paused, as though something had just occurred to her.
Here’s where the trick comes in
, Bernetta thought. She had to keep calm and act normal. It was just like fanning out a deck of cards before an audience member when the whole time the guy had no idea the deck contained nothing but aces.
    Bernetta wondered if Gabe could see her from outside the store. She wondered if his heart was dancing the cha-cha like hers