Read The Train for Free Online

question, but they all knew what she had been about to say.
        Who would do such a terrible thing?
        Kerry opened her eyes. "Maybe one of thoseweirdos she came with did it. That Eugene character was Frog's best friend. Maybe he freaked out and decided Frog wants Lolly with him. I've heard of weirder things."
        Mack and Lewis clucked in disgust.
        But Hannah remained silent. Once, when she had visited her grandmother's grave in the cemetery, she had come upon Eugene, sitting with his back against a tree. Thinking he was there for the same reason she was, she had said politely, "It's kind of nice that we can bring flowers here. I think it sort of helps, don't you?"
        And he had looked at her with pale, cool eyes and said; "I just come because I like it here."
        Hannah found herself wondering how Lolly had ended up with three such strange boys as her only friends. Unlike Frog, Lolly wasn't really unattractive. She was a big girl, but it seemed to Hannah that she at least made an effort to look her best, wearing neat, clean clothes, trying to jazz them up a little with a colorful scarf around her neck or a pretty pin on a blouse collar. Hannah remembered seeing her once in the hall in a plain, short-sleeved white blouse, a small bunch of artificial violets pinned to the collar, repeating the color of the purple corduroy skirt Lolly was wearing. She had looked almost pretty.
        So it wasn't appearance that had set Lolly apart. And it wasn't attitude, the way it was with Frog. Lolly Slocum was pleasant enough in classes and in the halls, nodding or smiling at people she passed.
        "Why don't any of us like Lolly?" Hannah askedquietly as Mack and Lewis, Jean Marie and Kerry continued to sit in shocked silence. Their faces were still gray with shock and disbelief.
        Kerry stared at her. "What?"
        "Why isn't Lolly more popular? Most of the people in the Cafe didn't even know who she was. I mean, she seems nice enough. So why doesn't anyone like her?"
        "Because she dated Frog," was Kerry's immediate answer. "And Frog was a creep."
        "No, I mean, before that. Before she dated Frog. Why didn't we like her then?"
        Her friends exchanged confused glances. Kerry shrugged. "How should I know? I don't remember. I think… I think she was just… not fun. Too… quiet or something. What's the difference, anyway? Even if we had liked her, when she started going out with Frog we would have changed our minds, right?"
        "Maybe if we'd liked her," Hannah said slowly, "she wouldn't have gone out with someone like Frog. Maybe she wouldn't have had to."
        Lewis groaned. "More guilt? Look, some sick nut turned off the lights and wrapped a noose around that girl's neck. But it didn't happen because of the way we treated Frog or his girlfriend Polly."
        "Lolly," Hannah said, agitated. "Her name is Lolly."
        "Actually," Jean Marie said, "it's Louise. Her real name is Louise. She was in Choir, and Mr. Foley called her Louise."
        "I didn't know she was in Choir." Hannah frowned. "Did you ever talk to her, Jean Marie?"
        A pink flush of shame colored Jean Marie's cheeks. She shook her head. "No, not really. But," she added quickly, "she was only there a couple of times. Then I guess she quit, because all of a sudden, she didn't show up. Foley was really mad. She had a nice voice. Alto. We're short on altos. I heard she'd joined the Drama Club instead."
        A sudden rap on the door ended the conversation about Lolly. Startled, they all stared at each other and no one moved.
        
        

Chapter 7
        
        "It's me!" Ms. Quick's voice called from beyond the door. "Let me in!"
        Hannah jumped up and opened the door.
        The teacher stood in the hallway. "Lolly is going to be all right," she said, relief in every syllable. "The doctor said she could continue the trip, but we're having trouble calming