Anastasia Again!

Read Anastasia Again! for Free Online

Book: Read Anastasia Again! for Free Online
Authors: Lois Lowry
Tags: Ages 9 & Up
fall into the first category. And Robert Giannini seemed to fall into the second.

5

    "Boy, Anastasia, I don't know," said Jenny. "I said I'd help you pack. And I
will
help you pack." She put a stack of Anastasia's paperback books into a carton, halfheartedly. "But boy, Anastasia. I really hate it that you're moving. You've been my best friend ever since we started kindergarten."
    "Yeah," said Anastasia glumly. "Except for that one summer, when Lindsay Cavanaugh moved in down the street."
    "Yeah, Lindsay Cavanaugh, that jerk."
    "She was your best friend that whole summer. I wanted to kill myself."
    "Yeah. You know why it was, though. Her father was a
filmmaker, remember? He was going to use Lindsay and me in a movie."
    "Big deal."
    "Yeah, big deal. We had to get up at 5:00 A.M., and he took us out to Crane's Beach, and we had to run on the beach with no clothes on while he took movies. When my father found out he did that, he almost broke old Lindsay Cavanaugh's father's neck."
    "Yeah, I remember." Anastasia giggled. "It wasn't porno or anything, though. You were only seven years old, for pete's sake."
    "Actually, it was probably a pretty good movie. The sun was coming up and everything, and we were the only people on the beach. Except birds. Nobody ever got to see it, though, because my father made him destroy the film."
    "I sure hated you that summer. You were so conceited."
    "Well, I thought I was a big movie star. Except for that summer, we've always been best friends. Are you taking this, or throwing it away?" She held up a battered arithmetic book.
    "Good grief. Where did you find that?"
    "It was under your bed."
    "I thought I lost it. My mother had to pay the school for it. I guess you'd better throw it out."
    The arithmetic book sailed into the big trash can that was in the middle of Anastasia's room.
    "Can I have this picture of you? I don't want to forget what you look like." Jenny had a Polaroid snapshot of Anastasia in her hand.
    "Sure, but it's ugly. And you're not going to forget what I look like anyway, Jenny. Aren't you going to come visit me? Robert Giannini said that he was going..." Anastasia stopped talking abruptly, and blushed.
    "Who?
Robert Giannini?
What's Robert Giannini going to do?"
    "Nothing."
    "What do you mean, nothing? Robert Giannini's going to
visit
you, isn't he, Anastasia? He's going to
visit
you! I can't believe it, that jerk!"
    "Do you think I should keep this orangutan poster, or throw it away? I've had it about five years. I'm kind of bored with it."
    "Throw it away. And quit changing the subject. Are you going to let that jerk Giannini visit you? Did you
invite
him?"
    "No, I didn't invite him. He invited himself. But he isn't so bad, Jenny. He really isn't. He's
kind
of a jerk, but not full-fledged."
    Jenny threw herself onto Anastasia's bed, held her stomach, and groaned. "You
like
him, don't you? You actually
like
Robert Giannini! I can't believe it."
    "I don't like him. I just don't
hate
him anymore."
    "Traitor. Traitor traitor traitor. Why didn't you tell me?"
    "I forgot."
    "You didn't forget. You were embarrassed."
    "Yeah, I was embarrassed."
    Jenny lay on the bed with her eyes closed. "Well, guess what."
    "What?"
    There was a long silence. Then Jenny took a deep breath. "I don't hate Michael Gottlieb anymore, either."
    "
That jerk?
"
    "He's not really a jerk. Really, he isn't, Anastasia. The other day he came over, and we went down to the store and got Popsicles. He was sort of nice, all of a sudden."
    "Why didn't you tell me?"
    "I forgot."
    "Liar."
    Jenny looked at Anastasia and grinned. Anastasia began to laugh. Jenny began to laugh. Anastasia could hardly talk because she was laughing so hard; but finally she sputtered, "Michael Gottlieb! He always wears that stupid baseball cap!" Jenny doubled up, laughing, and gasped, "Robert Giannini! That briefcase! That gross briefcase!"
    For the rest of the day, they couldn't look at each other without making the kind of semisneezing

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