Free Holly's Heart Collection One by Beverly Lewis Page B

never seen you so rude.”
    “For as long as I live, I never want to see Andrea Martinez again,” I announced as we pulled into the parking lot of the church. “Never!”

    Later, when we arrived at home after the short service, a strange sense of delight swept over me as I slammed the car door and stomped into the house. Like an arrow, I darted straight to my room. There, I pulled the Loyalty Papers from the special folder. I looked at them—fondly for a moment—then I began to rip each page in two. I scattered the pieces all over the floor. Finally I slam-dunked Bearie-O into the trash can, head first.
    This was it. My friendship with Andrea Martinez was over!

BEST FRIEND, WORST ENEMY
    Chapter 11
    Tuesday afternoon—choir auditions! To sing with a traveling group had always been one of my dreams. But as I sat waiting in the hallway leading to the choir room at church, I wasn’t so sure my dream was going to come true. The place was crammed with guys and girls. They lined the hallway, leaning against the plaque-covered wall. They sat cross-legged on the floor, each reviewing last-minute dynamics and phrasing.
    Mom and I were together. She sat calmly waiting for my audition while she read a novel. Me? I pulled and twisted my long hair.
    “We’ve practiced over twenty times,” I told Alissa Morgan, the girl ahead of me, when she asked.
    “That’s probably a good idea by the looks of things.” She stood on her tiptoes, searching for someone.
    “Are all these kids in the church youth group?” I asked.
    “Yep.” She spotted her friend and called, “Hey, Danny, over here.”
    A tan-faced boy with reddish hair bounded over to us.
    “How’s it going in there?” Alissa’s head bobbed toward the auditioning room.
    “Fierce competition,” Danny Myers said. “How are you doing?
    Nervous?” He touched her shoulder.
    “I’ll be glad when this day’s over,” she admitted.
    “Hey, relax, you’ll make it.” Then, spying me, he said, “I remember you. Holly Meredith, right?”
    I nodded.
    “Your mom makes the best cookies ever. Snickersomething.”
    I smiled. “That’s close. They’re snickerdoodles, and they’re my favorite, too.”
    He nodded. “She brought some to our Christmas bake sale. That’s when I first met you and your sister. You two look so much alike.”
    “The tall and the short of it,” I replied.
    “How tall are you, anyway?” Alissa asked.
    “Almost five eight.” I beamed down at her.
    Danny grinned. “One more inch, and you’ll catch me.” He had a comfortable way about him.
    “Wanna get some water before you try out?” he asked Alissa.
    “Good idea. My throat’s so dry,” she said. Danny walked with her down the hall to the water fountain.
    I sighed. Some day, a boy will treat me like that.

    Thirty minutes dragged by. A heaviness hung in the air. One girl came out of the choir room in tears. Next came a boy, smiling. He jumped up and down all the way to the end of the hallway, exclaiming, “Yes…so cool!”
    “ He’s confident,” Mom said, looking up from her book.
    An older girl poked her head out the choir room. “Holly Meredith, you’re next.”
    With as much courage as possible, I entered the choir room. I did fine on the sightsinging and my prepared piece…but the arpeggios. Gulp!
    On the way home, Mom chattered with excitement. “You sang like an angel, Holly-Heart.”
    Maybe she thought so, but I knew better.
    When I wrote the heading in my journal for the day it was:
    Tuesday—An Alto’s Nightmare. But I survived it. It was the only mention I made of my pitiful audition. The rest of the diary entry was taken up with how sweetly Danny Myers treated Alissa Morgan.
    I couldn’t remember seeing them together before. But it wasn’t any surprise, because I hadn’t started attending youth group yet.
    To be honest, it felt weird going this long without talking to Andie. I pulled Bearie-O out of the trash and told him all about my audition. He was a good