《flipped(英文版)》第52章

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“No？”
“I　mean…I　can　handle　this。　I"ve　got　to　handle　it。”
She　shook　her　head。　“Oh；　girl。　I"m　hurting　for　you　here。”
I　looked　back　at　the　stage。　The　auction　was　happening　so　fast！　They"d　be　at　Bryce　in　no　time。
As　the　bidding　continued；　the　battle　in　my　head　got
louder　and　fiercer。　What　was　I　going　to　do？
Then　suddenly　the　gym　fell　quiet。　You　could　have　heard　a　pin　drop。　And　standing　next　to　Mrs。
McClure　looking　pletely　mortified　was　Jon
Trulock。　Mrs。　McClure　was　scouring　the　crowd　with　her　eyes；　looking　very　unfortable；　too。
“What　happened？”　I　whispered　to　Darla。
“No　one"s　bidding；”　she　whispered　back。
“Do　I　hear　ten？”　called　Mrs。　McClure。　“e　on；　out　there！　This　lunch　is　delicious。
Strawberry　tarts；　roast　beef　and　Muenster　cheese　sandwiches
…”　“Oh；　no！”　I　whispered　to　Darla。　“I　can"t　believe　I　did　this　to　him！”
“You？　What　did　you　do？”
“I　voted　for　him！”
“Well；　you　couldn"t　have　been　the　only　one…。”
“But　why　isn"t　anyone　bidding　on　him？　He"s　…　he"s　so　nice。”
Darla　nodded。　“Exactly。”
That"s　when　I　realized　what　I　had　to　do。　My　hand　shot　into　the　air　and　I　called；　“Ten！”
“Ten？”　warbled　Mrs。　McClure。　“Did　I　hear　ten？”
I　put　my　hand　up　higher　and　said　to　Darla；　“Say　twelve。”
“What？”
“Say　twelve；　I"ll　outbid　you。”
“No　way！”
“Darla！　He　can"t　go　for　ten；　c"mon！”
“Twelve！”　Darla　called；　but　her　hand　didn"t　go　up　very　high。
“Fifteen！”　I　cried。
“Sixteen！”　called　Darla；　and　eyed　me　with　a　laugh。
I　whispered；　“Darla！　I"ve　only　got　fifteen。”
Her　eyes　got　enormous。
I　laughed　and　called；　“Eighteen！”　then　held　her　arm　down　and　said；　“But　that　really　is　all　I"ve
got。”
There　was　a　moment　of　silence　and　then；　“Eighteen　going　once！　Eighteen　going　twice　…
Sold！　for　eighteen　dollars。”
Darla　laughed　and　said；　“Whoa；　girl！　What　a　rush！”
I　nodded。　“Yes；　it　was！”
“Well；　no　dessert　for　you。　Looks　like　you　got　cleaned　out　by　something　a　little　more　…uh…
nutritious。”　She　nodded　toward　the　stage。　“You　gonna
go　up　to　the　table　like　you"re　supposed　to？　Or　you　gonna　stick　around　and　see　the　carnage？”
I　almost　didn"t　have　a　choice。　Before　Mrs。　McClure　could　say　two　words　about　Bryce　or　his
basket；　Shelly　called；　“Ten！”　Then　from　the　middle　of
the　gym　came　“Twenty！”　It　was　Miranda　Humes；　with　her　hand　way　in　the　air。　They　went
back　and　forth；　back　and　forth；　higher　and　higher；　until　Shelly
called；　“Sixty…two！”
“I　can"t　believe　it；”　I　whispered　to　Darla。　“Sixty…two　dollars！　C"mon；　Miranda；　e　on。”
“I　think　she"s　out。　Shelly"s　got　it。”
“Sixty…two　dollars　going　once！”　cried　Mrs。　McClure；　but　before　she　could　say；　Going　twice！　a
voice　from　the　back　of　the　gym　called；　“A　hundred！”
Everyone　gasped　and　turned　around　to　see　who　had　called　the　bid。　Darla　whispered；　“It"s
Jenny。”
“Atkinson？”　I　asked。
Darla　pointed。　“Right　over　there。”
She　was　easy　to　spot；　standing　tall　above　the　others　in　the　number…seven　basketball　jersey
she　almost　always　wore。　“Wow；”　I　whispered；　“I　had
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no　idea。”
“Maybe　she"ll　slam…dunk　him　for　you；”　Darla　said　with　a　grin。
“Who　cares？”　I　giggled。　“She　slam…dunked　Shelly！”
Mrs。　McClure　was　gushing　into　the　microphone　about　the　record…breaking　bid　when　a　big
motion　broke　out　over　by　Miranda。　I　spotted
Shelly"s　hair；　and　my　first　thought　was　that　there　was　going　to　be　a　fight。　But　instead；　Shelly
and　Miranda　turned　to　face　Mrs。　McClure　and　called；
“One…twenty…two　fifty！”
I　choked　down　a　cry。　“What？”
“They"re　teamin"　up；”　Darla　whispered。
“Oh；　no…no…no！”　I　looked　over　Jenny"s　way。　“e　on；　Jenny！”
Darla　shook　her　head　and　said；　“She"s　through；”　and　she　was。　Bryce　went　to　Shelly　and
Miranda　for　one　hundred　twenty…two　dollars　and　fifty
cents。
It　was　a　little　strange；　meeting　up　with　Jon　and　walking　over　to　the　multi…purpose　room　for
lunch。　But　he　was　just　so　nice；　and　I　think　grateful　that　I"d
bid；　that　by　the　time　we　got　situated　at　our　table；　I　wasn"t　feeling　so　awkward　or　silly。　It　was
just　lunch。
Things　would　have　been　easier　if　they　hadn"t　seated　me　in　direct　view　of　Bryce　and　his　little
harem；　but　I　did　my　best　to　ignore　them。　Jon　told　me
all　about　this　radio…controlled　airplane　that　he　and　his　dad　were　building　from　scratch；　and
how　he"d　been　working　on　it　for　nearly　three　months；　and
that　over　the　weekend　they　were　finally　going　to　get　to　try　it　out。　He　told　me　a　funny　story
about　soldering　the　wires　wrong　and　practically　starting　a
fire　in　their　basement；　and　I　asked　him　about　how　a　radio…controlled　airplane　works　because　I
didn"t　really　understand　it。
So　I"d　relaxed　a　lot　and　was　actually　having　a　good　time　eating　lunch　with　Jon。　And　I　was　so
relieved　that　I　hadn"t　bid　on　Bryce。　What　a　fool　I　would
have　made　of　myself！　Watching　Shelly　and　Miranda　fawning　all　over　him　didn"t　bother　me
nearly　as　much　as　I　thought　it　would。　Really；　they　looked
ridiculous。
Jon　asked　about　my　family；　so　I　was　telling　him　about　my　brothers　and　their　band　when　a
huge　motion　broke　out　over　at　Bryce"s　table。
Suddenly　Shelly　and　Miranda　were　rolling　on　the　floor　like　an　enormous　furball；　smearing
each　other　with　food。
Out　of　nowhere　Bryce　appeared　at　our　table。　He　grabbed　my　hand；　pulled　me　a　few　feet
away；　and　whispered；　“Do　you　like　him？”
I　was　stunned。
He　held　my　other　hand　and　asked　again；　“Do　you　like　him？”
“You　mean　Jon？”
“Yes！”
I　can"t　remember　what　I　said。　He　was　looking　into　my　eyes；　holding　my　hands　tight；　and　then
he　began　pulling　me　toward　him。　My　heart　was　racing
and　his　eyes　were　closing　and　his　face　was　ing　toward　mine…。　Right　there；　in　front　of　all
the　other　basket　boys　and　their　dates　and　the　adults；
he　was　going　to　kiss　me。
To　kiss　me。
I　panicked。　I"d　been　waiting　all　my　life　for　that　kiss；　and　n