Free Call Me Amy by Marcia Strykowski

rack still teetered half on the table and half off. I glanced at Miss Cogshell and she didn’t look pleased. At the same time, we both said, “Pup?”—mine a troubled whisper.
    â€œI’m sure he didn’t mean it.” I tried not to panic. “I’ll clean up.” I tossed my book onto the counter, dropped to my knees and began gathering up cookie pieces while she and Clyde stomped down the hallway towards the bathroom.
    â€œWhere is that rascal?” she said a minute later.
    I heard a little sniff. I spun around and peered beneath the tablecloth. Pup was under the kitchen table, way back against the wall. His nose lay flat on the floor and he closed his big eyes when he saw me. I could hear Miss Cogshell returning.
    â€œI can’t find him,” she said.
    â€œAre you very angry with him?” I asked.
    â€œOh, he doesn’t know better. I just want to make sure he’s not sick from too many sweets.”
    â€œI’ll get him.” I crawled under the table to drag him out.
    â€œStop acting innocent, Pup,” I tried to say with sternness while he playfully nipped my elbow. Miss Cogshell counted cookies and decided he’d probably only tasted one or two. We swept all the crumbs out the back door and made an attempt at scolding Pup, just so he’d remember to keep his nose out of the goodies next time.
    Soon I was walking home, tripping over tree roots while absorbed in my book. By bedtime I had finished reading
The Body in the Library
.
    A T SCHOOL, THE next day, I passed by a poster and remembered how Pamela had mentioned the Twist Twirl. I had never bothered to read event notices before, but figured I’d do so now. Apparently the Twist Twirl was a school dance to be held in a few weeks.For this one event the girls got to ask the boys to go with them. Kind of like a Sadie Hawkins Day.
    I knew right off who Pamela would want to go with, and then, I don’t know what came over me, but I started having this fantasy of
me
walking in with Craig, and Pamela falling off her platform shoes, flat on her face. It wasn’t that I just wanted to shock everyone—I really wanted to be at the dance with Craig. We got along so well. He was always laughing and joking with me, so he must like me. As the day wore on, the more excited I got. I would beat Pamela to the punch.
    I had never cared before how long Nancy spent blabbing on the phone. However, the one time I wanted to make a call she must have been on for two hours, catching up with all the kids she had just spent the whole day with. After supper I got my chance. Dad was working on bills in his office and Mom took Nancy out to get her hair trimmed. I must have stood by the telephone for ten minutes before I got up the nerve to dial the number I had spent all day memorizing. It rang four times, each time making my heart pound louder. On the fifth ring Craig’s mother answered.
    â€œWhat do you want?” she drawled into the mouth-piece. Her words were slurred and she sounded half-asleep. I panicked and hung up the phone with shaking hands.
    â€œI’ll ask him tomorrow,” I decided.

    F RIDAY MORNING , C RAIG stood by himself fiddling around with his locker combination. I watched for a minute from down the hall, and practiced the words I would use to ask him to the dance. As I started over to him, I heard stomping and giggling coming from around the corner.
    Great. Pamela and Claire. It was like I was a magnet, always pulling those two closer to wherever I happened to be. Pamela practically fell into Craig as though the corridor was just too narrow for her to get past him. He grinned, the same grin as always. Then Claire made some comment and Craig burst out laughing. I knew they didn’t even know I was there, but they might as well have been laughing at me.
    I stuck my head back into my locker and pretended to search for something. In my mind I could hear Nancy saying, “Oh, Amy,