I didn’t realize how tired I was until I walked through my front door, and then something in my mind clicked, and staying vertical suddenly became very difficult. Who would have thought sitting around all day, doing nothing, was so exhausting?
“How was your day?” My mom accosted me in the front hallway. If she noticed the zombielike glaze that had settled over my eyes, she said nothing.
How was my day? I considered my response. I’d spent the morning getting debriefed by our contact at the CIA, followed immediately by flaming the gossip fires by kissing Jackin the hallway, had watched my brother have a “moment” with a cheerleader, had discovered that Jack actually knew how to create a password I couldn’t crack, had girl-talked with Brooke while staking out Jack’s father’s law firm, had discovered that the Big Guys knew more than they were telling, and to top it all off, I’d nearly been hit by a car.
“Fine,” I grumbled.
“That’s nice, dear,” my mother said. “Now, you wouldn’t happen to know why your brother’s email stopped working, would you?”
Noah was such a tattletale.
“Not a clue,” I deadpanned, and then, before my mother could say another word, I climbed the steps and headed for my room, stopping only long enough to hear Noah on the phone.
“We’ve got to gobigger.We’ve got to be inventive. My friends, it’s time to think outside the box. It’s time for …” Noah pitched his voice lower, like a TV announcer. “Homecoming: the next generation. This is an all-new frontier of advertising, gentlemen. So ask yourselves this question: are you ready?”
As soon as I developed the strength, I was going to short-circuit my brother’s telephone line. For now, however, all I wanted was to fall asleep, because the sooner I slept, the sooner morning would come.
CHAPTER 20
Code Word: Flat
“Vote for Toby! She loves puppies.”
Puppies? Again? I glance around the room, looking for Noah.Instead, I see a room full of puppies, all of whom are staring straight at me. Something about their beady little puppy eyes has me looking down at my body, but thankfully, I’m fully clothed.
Unfortunately, I’m wearing a puffy pink monstrosity. It’s so big and fluffy and pink that I can’t even move. I hate dresses, and this one is trying to kill me.
“Nice dress.” And then Jack’s there, only instead of wearing a tuxedo, he’s wearing boxer shorts. Well. This is certainly an interesting(and not entirely unwelcome)turn of events.
“Toby?” Jack says.
I look down at my dress, hating it, and then a moment later, it disappears, and I would give anything to have it back again. I cover myself with the poms I’m suddenly holding in each hand, but Jack doesn’t seem to notice at all.
“Toby?”
“Go away!”
“Toby?”
The puppies are closing in, and when they open their mouths, I see razor-sharp teeth. This is so not good. Rabid puppies, disappearing fluffy dresses, and Jack just keeps saying my name over and over again.
“Toby? Toby? Toby?”
And then we’re at the dance, and he’s holding my arm, escorting me up to the stage, and I’m wearing the pink dress again, but I know with every fiber of my being that the second I step onto that stage and accept that crown, it’s going to disappear.
“Clap your hands, everybody!”
Where is that cheering coming from?
“Toby?”
“Everybody, clap your hands!”
“Toby?”
I’m cheering along with them. I can’t help it. I’m walking toward the stage and cheering, and Jack is calling my name, and the puppies are gnashing their puppy teeth, and I know this just isn’t going to end well.
“Toby?”
