Chapter 23

Robbie rushed in just as we were finishing the speed round of the day. I think Mrs. Conners was picking on me 'cause my topics were women shouldn't be allowed to serve in the military and women are too emotional to be president, especially once a month. Robbie nodded to Mrs. Conners but didn't offer any explanation.

Robbie's got a wonderful face. It can be almost miraculously expressive when she sings or acts or as stoic as any Easter Island monolith when she's keeping her own counsel. Right now she was playing monolith. Except for her dancing eyes. That told me that something was up. The glance she gave me as she sat down said I wasn't going to like it.

Mr. Reed walked in while Mrs. Conners was assigning topics for our team debates on Thursday. We got the con side of government services of illegal aliens, which should be easy. When she'd finished, Mrs. Conners looked at Mr. Reed.

He smiled. "I was wondering if I could borrow Mr. Sims for a few minutes.

Mrs. Conners looked at me and smiled at the expression on my face. "I'm not sure he wants to be borrowed."

"If I spend much more time in the office during this period, I may not pass," I complained.

"Just give him half of Tami's participation," Reed suggested with a chuckle. "He doesn't have opinions until she gives them to him anyway."

I felt my cheeks burn as Mrs. Conners grinned and nodded toward the door. I ignored the laughter behind me as I left.

I'd managed to get rid of Parker. Maybe it was time to start working on Mr. Reed.

We walked down the hall and into the office without comment, and he flicked a finger toward the open door of the conference room. "In there." He hesitated and then added, "Tony, I expect you to be polite, but you don't have to stay any longer than you want to."

I sighed. "Wa-say again?"

"Not this time." He walked over to the mail area and started checking his slot.

I walked in, not knowing what to expect. A woman was sitting at the table with her back to me. "Hi, I'm Tony," I said. She turned in her chair, and I realized it was Allie's mom. Now I realized why Mr. Reed had said to be polite: he knew we had a history. I walked around the table and sat down opposite her.

"Tony," she acknowledged.

"Mrs. Schmidt," I said and waited. It was her dime.

"I talked to Roberta. She said you make these decisions." Robbie was letting me make decisions? That explained the gleam in her eye. I wondered if it was because Allie's mom called her Roberta or other reasons.

"What decisions?"

"As I'm sure you know," she said, preening, "I am the chairman of the county historical society."

I knew that, but wasn't going to make it easier for her. Allie still wouldn't talk to her after the way she'd felt betrayed during the cheating incident. "I didn't even know we had a historical society. You never hear about them. They must not do anything."

Allie's mom looked annoyed, which suited me just fine.

"We do plenty. Teenagers don't bother reading the newspaper and knowing what's going on around town."

For someone who wanted a favor, she had a funny way of going about it. "Actually, I read the paper at least three times a week. I never miss Tami Sharp's column. She's a teenager you know."

"That's beside the point."

Ever notice that when someone says something is beside the point, it's because they don't want to acknowledge the point you just made? "So, what's the point?"

"I know you're a friend of Alison's. As chairman, I thought I would give you the opportunity to let you and your friends perform at our benefit." Translation: we need somebody popular.

"Gee, that's swell," I said with a straight face. "But we're just kids. We wouldn't want to ruin anything."

"I'll be supervising you to make sure that nothing goes wrong."

Like that's going to happen. "What's the benefit for?" I asked to change the subject while I decided how to handle this.

"The Sugarman house."

"That monstrosity!"

Mrs. Schmidt looked pained. "The house is an historical as well as architectural landmark and should be preserved. Though I can't expect someone as young as you to recognize that."