Free Taffy Sinclair 009 - The Truth About Taffy Sinclair by Betsy Haynes Page A

were cooling in a tub of ice nearby.
    Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time, but suddenly as I stood there alone, my old fear came back to me. Someone here at this very party had my diary, and whoever it was, was planning to read it out loud. I shivered even though it was a warm night and looked around. Over to one side of the yard Mona was talking to Matt Zeboski. Were they holding hands? It was too shadowy to tell for sure. I giggled and looked away. Jana and her friends were talking to Keith Masterson and Joel Murphy, and Randy and Scott Daly were holding twigs over the barbecue pit until they caught fire and then pretending that they were smoking them. Those fakes, I thought and smiled.
    Clarence Marshall had already started roasting wieners. In fact, he had threaded three onto his stick, and they were so heavy that the stick snapped and they fell sizzling into the fire.
    " Rats! " he shouted, and looked around for another stick. Just then he spotted me. " Hey, Taffy, " he shouted. " Don ' t forget that you owe me a kiss. "
    " That jerk, " I muttered. " He ' d better leave me alone. " Lisa Snow and Kim Baxter were starting a game of badminton under the light from the porch, and I hurried in their direction.
    " Can I play? " I asked.
    " Sure. Here, catch. "
    Lisa tossed me a racket, and we batted the birdie around until Kim announced that she was too hungry to play anymore.
    " Me, too, " I admitted, and the three of us headed for the fire.
    I was beginning to relax. It was almost eight o ' clock and nothing had happened. Maybe the person who had my diary had had a change of heart. Maybe whoever that person was had seen me arrive in the big white limousine and had decided that it was impossible to hurt me. I hoped so. That would mean that my plan had worked.
    Just then Randy Kirwan stepped up beside me. " It ' s a great party, isn ' t it? "
    I nodded, and then I started to laugh.
    " What ' s so funny? " he asked.
    " I was just remembering that at school earlier this week some of the girls were wondering if we ' d have to work crossword puzzles or play computer games when we came to Curtis ' s house. "
    " Curtis is okay, " said Randy. " He ' s just misunderstood. "
    I was aching to turn to Randy and say, So a m I , but I didn ' t.
    Lisa and Kim and I roasted hot dogs and ate them and were standing around talking when Curtis called from the center of the yard, " Come on, everybody. It ' s dark enough to play hide-and-seek tag. Okay, who wants to be It? "
    " Me! " shouted Richie Corrierro.
    He covered his eyes and started counting while everybody scrambled to hide. I squeezed behind the back wall of the house and a bush and held my breath.
    " Ready or not, here I come, " called Richie.
    Richie went streaking around the yard catching Alexis and Eric Silverman while Randy and Mark and Jana ran home free.
    Richie was moving steadily toward the part of the yard where I was hiding. He had already caught Melanie and Christie, and I had a feeling I would be next. I eased my way out from behind the bush and ducked around the side of the house. It was totally dark. He would never find me here.
    Almost everyone else had either been caught or had made it home free, and I edged toward the corner of the house to peek. Just then someone tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up into Clarence Marshall ' s grinning face.
    " What ' s the matter? Did I scare you? "
    I narrowed my eyes and scowled at him. " Of course not. I ' m not scared of you. "
    " Then give me that kiss you owe me. "
    " I don ' t owe you any kiss, " I insisted. " Now leave me alone. "
    " Sure. Whatever you say. " He started to back away, but when he did, he stepped into the light and I got a flash of something blue that he was waving in his hand. My diary! " But if you want this back, you ' d better give me a kiss. "
    I stood there staring at him for an instant before pandemonium broke loose. Kids came from every direction, and Clarence went down like a quarterback being