Getting A Life
Young Adult Fiction
by Jocelyn Shipley

excerpt

I don't really know what to do about the party. I don't want to see Zach. But I feel I should go for Ms. Francella's sake. She's always been so nice to me.

In the end though I decided to go for a different reason. When I get to Dawn's, Skye says right away,"Carly, I am hungry." No wonder. There isn't anything to eat in the fridge or in the cupboards. Not even a slice of bread.

"Did you guys have lunch?"

Skye points to an empty cereal box on the counter.

"You mean you didn't go to school again?"

"Dawn took us, but we forgot our lunchboxes so we came home," Amber says. "To get something to eat. But we only had cereal."

"Can we go to the store?" Skye asks.

Sometimes Rhonda leaves money for groceries, but the sugar bowl is empty today. I'm so mad I don't know what to say or do.

"Can you get something from your house?" Amber asks. I've done this lots of times, sneaking over stuff like bread and cheese and fruit. Muriel knows, I'm sure. How could she not have noticed? But I figure it's okay because she hasn't said anything. Still, I am already babysitting for free. It's not up to me to feed the girls too.

"I want pizza," Sky says. "Yummy, yummy pizza. In a big box."

Why didn't I think of that sooner? "Hey, I know what," I tell them. "How about we go to a pizza party?" The girls can eat at the party, I can thank Ms. Francella, and then we'll leave.