Free Ellray Jakes the Dragon Slayer by Sally Warner Page A

water—because my mom makes really great cocoa. She doesn’t use instant powder or anything, that’s how good she is. She just
makes
it. I don’t know how.
    Dad jumps to his feet to help with the tray. “You’d like to join us, wouldn’t you?” he asks my mom, in spite of the fact that there are only four cups of cocoa on the tray, not five.
    “Oh, I think I’ll just go keep Alfie company for a while,” Mom says. “And then it’ll be time for her bath.”
    And she hurries out of the room. Not that I blame her.
    “Alfie is EllRay’s little sister,” Stanley informs his smiley-scary father. “She’s only four years old. EllRay says that sometimes, it’s
hard
being a big brother. He has to teach her stuff.”
    That’s all from my personal narrative, of course, because I never told Stanley anything about my life. Why would I?
    But—who knew he was paying that much attention?
    Stanley’s dad gives him a look. “Thanks for the info,” he says, not sounding like he means it. “Now, come get your cocoa, Stanley—if you can manage not to spill it all over the place.”
    I think that Mr. Washington—“Plaid Dad,” I’ve started calling him in my head—has already shifted over to our side, he seems so irked with Stanley. I guess he has figured out the truth, or at least some of it.
    It’s like Plaid Dad came into our house with aninvisible army behind him, he was so much in the right, but now the army is standing behind my dad.
    And I think big liar Stanley really
is
about to splash cocoa all over the place, because his hands are shaking.
    I actually feel sorry for him
.
    “I
did
break Stanley’s glasses when we were playing,” I announce in a too-loud voice that surprises even me, and probably my dad, too. “It was an accident,” I say, “but I’m sorry anyway. And I’ll pay him back for a brand-new pair of glasses—out of my own money,” I add, those last words almost choking me.
    Because it’s not like I get some huge allowance or anything.
    Stanley just gapes at me.
    For all he knows, I confessed to this whole thing just to save his sorry bootie from the wrath of Plaid Dad.
    Maybe I’ll be Stanley’s hero, now! That would be weird. Fun, but weird.
    “Actually,” my dad says to Plaid Dad, “I’ll write you a check for the glasses when you know what the new pair will cost. And then EllRay will pay
me
back, bit by bit. And again, he’s very sorry.”
    Stanley takes a noisy slurp of cocoa, then puts down his cup on a small table with a bang. He is staring at me with admiring eyes that are saying
thank-you-thank-you-thank-you
. “Dude,” he says in a quiet, respectful voice.
    He must think I’m handing over my allowance just to get him out of trouble!
    “Well, thanks for that,” Plaid Dad says, like he’s sorry to have to surrender the words. “I’m guessing that Stanley may have exaggerated the rest of his story. You know, about being bullied for weeks by EllRay, over there,” he adds probably hating to give up those words, too.
    “I guess. Maybe,” Stanley mumbles from across the room.
    “It’s easy to get carried away when you’re trying to explain something,” Dad says, trying to give Stanley a way out. “But my son is no bully.”
    “Obviously,” Plaid Dad says with a chuckle, looking me up and down.
    Wait.
Obviously?
    Dad clears his throat and sets his cup on the table in a careful way that tells me he’s about tolose it. This is something that hardly ever happens.
    He does not want anyone insulting me, or even my size
.
    He
is
proud of me, especially now that he knows the truth!
    “I think we’ve just about covered everything,” Dad says, standing up. Probably only I can hear how tight his voice has gotten, which is another bad sign with him.
    And, as if my dad has made them do it, Stanley and his father stand up too, despite their almost-full cups of cocoa. “We’ll be leaving, I guess,” Plaid Dad says, looking around for his jacket.
    “It’s in the hall