The Popularity Spell by Toni Gallagher Page A

look up at Terri. “Do you want to say anything?” she asks.
    “Just that I loved her, I guess.” I can barely get the words out because I’m trying not to cry, but the tears are falling no matter what my brain is telling my eyes.
    “It’s okay.” Terri holds out her hand and helps me stand up. I could have done it myself, but it’s still a nice gesture. “I’ll say something if that’s okay,” she says. I nod, and she looks down at the hole in the ground. “Marty, I’m a little scared of creepy-crawly animals, but I know that you were a great one because Cleo loved you. I’m sorry I screamed when I first met you….”
    “That was Millie,” I tell her.
    “I’m sorry I screamed when I first met your friend, but when I held you—or your friend—today, I realized there is nothing to be afraid of.”
    At that moment, I feel a hotness in my feet that moves up through my whole body like a lightning bolt in a thunderstorm. “What are you talking about?” I ask. My face feels like it just caught on fire. “You
held
Marty? When?”
    Terri suddenly has a worried look on her face. “Today,” she says. “When you were walking your dog.”
    “His name’s Toby!” I say angrily. I know that’s not important right now, but it matters to me. “What did you do to her? What did you do to Marty?”
    “Cleo, I didn’t do anything. Your dad brought me into your room….”
    “Into my
room
?” What was Terri doing in my room? Why is she with my dad? Why is she forcing herself into our lives when we’re fine by ourselves?
    “Well, in the doorway. He didn’t want me to be so scared of the millipedes, so he put one of them on my hand. It only crawled on my hand for a second; nothing happened. It was—”
    “
She
was! Marty was a
she
!” I’m yelling now and I’m crying too, but now I don’t care because these tears are mean, angry ones, not sad ones that I don’t understand. I run into the house and through the kitchen. Dad obviously hasn’t heard anything; he’s still singing and slicing and cooking. “She killed my millipede!” I stomp through and keep going. “Your
girlfriend
killed Marty! I hope you’re happy!”
    I run to my room, slam the door shut, and throw myself onto my bed, crying loud and hard and wiping my wet face on my bed. After a few minutes I tire myself out and just lie there breathing.
    Finally I sit up. I’m sick to my stomach and scared to check on Millie. But I know I have to. My feet feel like there are ten-pound weights on them, but I pull them across the floor anyway. I look into Millie and Marty’s—now only Millie’s—terrarium.
    Everything is fine.
    I pull up my chair and watch him for a while. He slides through the dirt and bark and nibbles a little bit on a brown piece of banana. He looks lonely.
    I have to listen hard to hear what’s happening down the hall in the kitchen. The music is off and I can hear Dad’s and Terri’s voices, but I can’t tell what they’re saying. Then I decide I don’t care and I lie back in bed, looking at the ceiling.
    I must fall asleep for a little while, because the next thing I hear is a light knock at my door.
    I sit right up. “What?” I ask angrily.
    “Can I come in?” Dad asks.
    “Are you alone?”
    “Yes, Terri went home.”
    “Good.”
    “So can I come in?” he asks again.
    “Yeah, I guess.” I’d like to make him wait, but he’s going to get in sooner or later.
    Dad opens the door but doesn’t come in too far. “Listen. I’m really sorry about what happened to Marty.”
    “It’s not your fault. It’s hers.”
    Dad takes a step closer to me. “Cleo, I know how mad you are right now, but that is not true. Terri didn’t do anything. Marty crawled on her hand for a couple of seconds. No different from how you and I have played with her. It’s no one’s fault. Do you understand that?”
    I start to cry. “But why? Why did Terri have to touch her? Why did Marty have to die?”
    Dad comes closer and