Superheroes Don't Eat Veggie Burgers by Gretchen Kelley Page B

out?”
    She leans forward and licks my face.
    â€œEww!” I scream, wiping the saliva off my cheek. “You’re disgusting, do you know that?”
    I stand up and look at my parents. “I have no idea what’s wrong with her. Good luck trying to figure it out.” I march out of the room and down the stairs, grabbing a Pop-Tart from my mom’s hidden stash before I bolt out the door.
    *   *   *
    Later, when I get home from school, my dad’s in the kitchen, the pinched look gone.
    â€œIt took a while, but we finally figured it out,” he says, smiling. “After you left, Lucy started howling again. That’s when I noticed she’d lost a tooth. We looked and looked but couldn’t find it anywhere.” He lets out a chuckle. “Poor thing must have swallowed it in her sleep.”
    He steals a glance at me, but I keep my eyes on the bowl of fruit on the table. “Anyway,” he continues, “I told her not to worry, that the tooth fairy would still show up. And you know what? That calmed her right down.” He waves his spatula in the air like a victory salute. “See? Another Burger family crisis averted.”
    I just nod and grab a banana out of the bowl. My dad’s grin grows.
    â€œWise choice, son.”
    â€œThanks, Dad,” I say. I pick up my backpack and head to my room.

 
    CHAPTER
    16
    I see Franki before she sees me.
    She’s standing on our corner, hopping from one foot to the other. Though the air is starting to feel more like winter than fall, she isn’t wearing a jacket.
    I walk up behind her, not sure what to say. For more than a week, she hasn’t met me here. She’s even been avoiding the sixth-grade hallway.
    â€œHey,” I say finally, tapping her on the shoulder.
    She turns toward me, her lopsided grin wide and familiar. “Hey yourself.” For some reason, my insides feel like I just drank hot chocolate.
    â€œEverything okay?” I ask.
    â€œSure,” she says, looking at me funny. “Why wouldn’t it be?” She starts walking, and I do, too.
    â€œI just … Well, I haven’t seen you around much lately,” I say. I practically have to skip to keep up with her.
    â€œI’ve been busy.” She sounds irritated, like this is not a topic she wants to discuss. “Did you finish the math homework?”
    I nod, zipping up my jacket. “Did you?”
    â€œNot all of it. Our power went out, and I couldn’t find the flashlight.”
    I steal a quick look at her. The lights in my house were on all night.
    She swipes a piece of hair out of her mouth with the back of her hand. “Lila didn’t pay the electric bill again last month,” she says matter-of-factly. “They only send three warnings.”
    The hot chocolate feeling turns ice-cold. “What are you going to do?” I ask.
    Franki looks at me like she can’t believe she’s friends with such a moron. “What do you think we’re going to do, Chuck? Lila will ask Mr. Richard for an advance, like always.” Mr. Richard owns Wowee Hair Salon, where Franki’s mom works. It’s no secret that he’s had a crush on her ever since she started working there. Once, he even asked her to marry him, but Franki says Lila would never marry a man who actually likes her. She married Carl instead.
    â€œI don’t guess Carl could…?” I trail off, knowing before I even finish the sentence that this is the wrong thing to say.
    â€œCould what, Chuck? Get a job? Help out? Or maybe just do something other than open beer bottles with his teeth and make fart jokes?” She throws her head back. “Do you want to know what Carl did last night when the power went off?”
    I nod, not sure if I want to know or not. The prickly feeling plays at the base of my neck.
    â€œHe was sitting on the couch, finishing his fourth beer and watching Wheel of