CHAPTER FOUR
MY SECOND MISTAKE

It wasn't long afterways that I made my second big mistake, that turned out to be a good thing later on.

That morning the soft dread rose in my stomach even before I was really awake. It was a weekday, and that meant more school.

I dressed slowly and made my way out into the kitchen. Dixie and Kipling were sitting at the table, gobbling cereal. I noticed that my Dad had already left for work, but Mom was still home, just getting ready to go.

"Well, about time, sleepyhead," she smiled at me. "I was just about to go get you. Sit down and have some cereal," she told me.

I looked at the bowl that had been set out for me. I thought it over for a moment, but my painful, worried stomach decided for me. "No, thanks," I murmured, "I'm not hungry this morning."

My mother looked concerned. "Again?" she said. She took my face in her hands. "Izly, you've got to eat. You're not sick, are you?" She looked into my eyes, first one and then the other, as if she could look throught them and see a virus or germs in my head.

I thought for a moment -- if I said yes, maybe Mom would let me stay home from school. But I decided that wouldn't solve anything. I would just be running away from my problem, not dealing with it. "No," I said, finally. "I'm okay. I'm just not hungry."

"Well," my mother sighed, "as long as you're sure. Here. Take your lunch. You'll probably be hungry later." She held out a paper sack.

"Okay," I nodded, and I took the bag. "I guess I'll get going," I decided.

"Why don't you wait for Skip and walk to school with him?" she suggested. Dixie snorted.

I shot Mom a look of disbelief. "Aw, c'mon, Mom," I said.

My Mom rolled her eyes. "Of course," she smirked. "What was I thinking?" She gave me a kiss on the forehead. "Good-bye, honey," she said to me. "Have a good day. Behave yourself."

"Yeah, I will."

I was glad to get away without Kipling in tow. And, I figured, so was Skip. I paced down the hall toward the elevator in a manner just like the way a condemned prisoner would walk his last mile. The only difference is, I thought, I have to do this every day.

I pressed the down button to summon the elevator, and thought about taking the stairs instead -- as I always did. And, just as I also always did, I decided the idea as too much trouble. I suspected my death would come at the hands of the elevator, but it was gamble. If only, I thought, I lived on the second floor. Or even the third. Living on a lower floor might have saved my life. Instead, I was trapped by my own laziness into risking my neck in the elevator. It was just a matter of time till something awful happened in it.

The door opened. As usual, I first checked to make sure the elevator car was actually there. I even stretched out a toe to test the solidness of the elevator floor. When I was satisfied the elevator was really there, I hurried on before the doors closed on me. But I was so pre-occupied with the floor that I didn't even notice the other person already on the elevator, and I plowed right into him as I stepped on and moved to press the ground floor button.

It was a boy, and he was large and stocky, and right away he threw me back against the opposite wall. My blood froze. It was Bruno Basso.

Bruno Basso lived in my building!!

Bruno scowled at me through murderously narrow eyes. He closed the space between us and pushed his face into mine. "Who do you think you're shoving?" Bruno demanded, poking me hard in the shoulder.

"No one," I gulped, praying the elevator would stop and some adult get on. It didn't. "I didn't see you."

"Yeah, well, you'll be seeing a lot more of me," Bruno promised me. "You don't shove ME, pipsqueak."

"I didn't shove you," I quavered. "I just bumped into you. I'm sorry."

The elevator stopped moving, and the doors opened. But Bruno stood there, pinning me against the wall of the elevator. Desperate to get out, I noted lamely, "The doors are open..."

Bruno's eyes were locked tight with mine; I had to look away. Bruno waved his finger before my nose. "You're lucky I have to get to school, or I'd teach you some manners." He stepped back from me and backed out the door. "I'll be looking for you," he pointed, and as if on command, the doors closed between him and me. The elevator sat at the ground floor, with me standing there trembling and too frightened to open the doors. I licked the roof of my dry mouth and tried to swallow, but it hurt. After a moment I risked pressing the button to open the doors. My heart pounded, but when the doors parted, Bruno was gone, nowhere to be seen.

I peered out the doors, checking the lobby for any signs of Bruno, but the big jerk had truly left, and was on his way to school. I walked to school very slowly that day, afraid of accidentally catching up to Bruno. Luckily, I didn't, and the rest of the day passed without much trouble.

It was on the way home again that I first saw it: the big billboard in the vacant lot on Gray Street, with dozens of school kids gathered around it, chattering excitedly. I hestitated, but my curiosity got the better of me, and I crossed the street to have a look for myself at whatever it was that had them all so worked up.

A boy turned to me, grabbing me. "Have you heard?" he shouted. "Do you know when it's happening?"

"When WHAT'S happening?" I asked, bewildered.

"That!" the boy shouted, pointing up at the billboard. I glanced around the bodies of the other children and peered up at it, reading, 'Coming this summer! Mother Mudpie's Ice Cream! FREE SAMPLES AT THE PEMRICK SUMMER FAIR!! Come one, come all!!'

"Oh," I said, flatly, and the boy who'd grabbed me eyed me strangely. I didn't feel like being made fun of again, and so I kept it to myself that I didn't like ice cream. I just turned and threaded my way out of the knot of kids and back across the street. I made my way home, grumbling about how unfair it was that all this free stuff was being handed out, and I had no use for any of it.