Free Sally's Bones by MacKenzie Cadenhead Page B

rusted station wagon. The two old friends seemed to be chatting up a storm. Seymour smiled at Vivienne as she waved to Viola and her friends.
    â€œReady?” Chati asked both girls when she returned.
    â€œYou know, I think I’m going to skip the slumber party tonight,” Viola announced.
    â€œOh, no, Viola, you can’t!” Chati exclaimed, distraught.
    â€œI am super tired, and I just realized I have a ton to do tomorrow. It’s really better if I get a good night’s sleep so I can conquer it all in the morning.” She glared at Sally. “You girls have a great time at Sally’s without me.”
    â€œIf you’re sure,” Chati wavered.
    â€œPositive,” Viola confirmed. She hugged each of the girls good-bye, finishing with Sally. Holding her in a tight embrace, Viola whispered, “I told you if you crossed me it’d be your funeral. Now your time is up.”
    Releasing her prey, Viola sauntered over to her mother, who was in the middle of a spirited conversation with Mr. Simplesmith.
    â€œWell, wasn’t that clever of you, Seymour,” Sally heard Vivienne say with a giggle as she and the rest of the girls arrived at the parked cars. “Not that I’m surprised. You always were the best at finding unlikely solutions to absurd problems. We’ll have to get together soon so I can hear more about it!” As she returned to the driver’s seat of her car, she offered Sally a quick wave. “And hello–good-bye to you too, Sally! Kiss kiss!”
    Sally blushed as Mrs. Vanderperfect blew kisses at the air and smiled at her with more warmth than she thought Viola would ever be capable of. But the color drained from Sally’s cheeks when she saw Vivienne’s reaction to all the girls turning away from her beautiful SUV and piling into Seymour’s old wagon. Though Viola remained perfectly poised in the passenger’s seat as she explained the sleepover shuffle to her mother, Sally felt a pang of regret thanks to the look of disappointment on Mrs. Vanderperfect’s face. But it was the brave, friendly smile Viola’s mother gave Sally as they drove away that truly broke her heart.

Chapter 11
    On the first day of school after her slumber party, Sally entered the building braced for Viola’s attack. Her entire weekend had been spent imagining horrifying scenarios, each worse than the next. Sally knew that she had never asked for this. All she ever wanted was a friend. But with each new waking nightmare came the same crystal-clear revelation: though she might not deserve Viola’s cruelty, she wasn’t going take it lying down. Sally would field anything Viola threw at her, and she would not go down without a knock-down, drag-out, kicking-and-screaming fight.
    Unfortunately, Viola’s wartime tactic was something Sally was entirely unprepared for. The armor she built was useless. The strategies she laid out, irrelevant. Viola’s attack was brilliant, and had she not been so utterly unraveled by it, Sally might even have been impressed. To Sally’s shock, terror, and awe, Viola Vanderperfect did the one thing she would never have imagined: absolutely nothing.
    On Monday, Viola completely avoided her nemesis, finding clever ways to pass unnoticed in the halls. On Tuesday, she made a point of ignoring Sally, refusing to make eye contact when their paths did cross. But by the end of the week, the teenaged terrorist had actually acknowledged Sally on one occasion. And after ten days of shared lunch periods, Viola seemed resigned to her enemy’s presence in her social circle, even addressing Sally directly in conversation twice.
    By the time one month had passed, Sally was a complete wreck. If Viola had come at her directly, Sally could have handled it. She would have fought back, with truth and justice on her side. But the anticipation was killing her. Not knowing when Viola was going to strike or what she was