The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney

stay off the phone. But I guess Rodrick must've figured out I was gonna call a girl, because he took all the handsets and hid them.
    That meant the only way to make a call was to use the speakerphone in the kitchen, but there was no chance of THAT happening.
    [Image: A boy is sitting behind the desk and another is standing in the front.]
    194
    I told Mom that Rodrick took all the phones, and she made him return them to where they belonged.
    Eventually, Rodrick went down to the basement. Later on I snuck into Mom and Dad's room to make my call. I turned off the lights so Rodrick wouldn't know I was in there, and I hid under a blanket. Then I waited for about twenty minutes to make sure he hadn't followed me.
    Before I had a chance to dial Holly's number, someone walked in the room and turned on the light. I thought for SURE it was Rodrick.
    But it wasn't. It was DAD.
    [Image: A man enters a room to find an empty bed.] The caption reads: "CLICK"
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    I decided to stay perfectly still and let Dad get whatever he needed and leave.
    But Dad didn't leave. He got into bed and started reading a BOOK.
    I should have just uncovered myself the second Dad walked in the room, because now I couldn't just get up and walk out or I'd give him a heart attack. So I decided to just sneak out of the room real slow.
    I moved about an inch a second. I figured it would take me about a half hour to make it all the way out of the room, but there would still be enough time to call Holly after that.
    [Image: A boy reads in bed.] The caption reads: "CIVIL WAR
    SCOOT SCOOT"
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    I was only about five feet from the bedroom door when the phone in my hand rang and scared the living daylights out of me.

    [Image: Something crawls out from under the bed to scare the boy.]
    The caption reads: "
    SCREAM!

    RING

    SCREAM!

    CIVIL WAR
    "

    I think Dad really DID almost have a heart attack. And once he recovered, he didn't look happy to see me.
    Dad made me get out of his room, and then he slammed the door.
    I'm sure this episode didn't help my standing with Dad, but I guess at this point it's probably too late, anyway.
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    Tuesday

    Two days have already passed since I shook hands with Holly, and I didn't want any more time to go by before I spoke with her again.
    Luckily, Dad and Rodrick weren't home tonight, so I knew I could make a phone call without being bothered. I practiced what I was going to say about a million times, and then I finally worked up the nerve to make the call.
    [Image: A boy sits on a bed.]
    I dialed Holly's number, and the phone started ringing. But right then Mom picked up the phone downstairs.
    Mom has this REALLY bad habit of just dialing without checking to see if anyone else is using the phone, and that's what she did tonight.
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    I tried to stop her, but it was no use.
    [Image: A lady looks at the phone in her hand.] The caption reads: "BEEP BOOP BEEP
    MOM!
    BOOP BEEP BEEP
    MOM!"
    The phone kept ringing at the Hills's house, and then someone picked up. It was Holly's mother.
    Mom was really confused, since she didn't dial the Hills's number in the first place. I just held my breath and waited for it all to be over.
    [Image: A lady and a boy talk on phone.] The caption reads: "HELLO? HELLO? WHO'S THIS?"
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    It took Mom and Mrs. Hills a minute to figure out who was on the other end of the line. But once they did, they just started chatting like nothing strange had happened at all.
    They got into this long conversation about the PTA and the fundraising committee and stuff like that. I couldn't really hang up, because then Mom would hear the click and know someone was on the other end.
    Eventually, the conversation between Mom and Mrs. Hills turned to me.
    [Image: A lady and a boy talk on phone.] The caption reads: "...CALLED HIS BROTHER A "PLOOPY." MM HMM..."
    At that point I just put the phone down and went to bed. I figure that a phone call between me and Holly isn't meant to be, so I'm officially giving