“Burger,” I said again. “Can I just talk to Franki, please?”
“Like a hamburger?” He paused for a minute. “I like hamburgers.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “I am her friend calling from far away. Could you please just put her on the phone?”
He got quiet for a minute, and I thought he’d gone to get her. Then, “Franki’s gone.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Where did she go?”
He giggled again. “Out. With friends. But not Charlie Hamburger.”
I hung up and stuffed the piece of paper into my pocket.
A couple of days later, I tried again.
“Hello! Austin’s house!”
I think the number ended up in the wash, because after that, I couldn’t find it again.
And now here it is—lunchtime on the last day of sixth grade, and I’m sprinting through the courtyard. I’ve promised Emma I’d help her hang the banner announcing the after-school beach party, and I told Coach I’d help him gather the guys for an end-of-year meeting. He wants to give us his don’t-turn-into-a-bunch-of-cream-puffs-over-summer lecture.
I’m halfway across the yard when I see her. She walks toward me, her bright-green high-tops the first thing I recognize.
The only thing, really. Because even though it’s Franki, it’s not my Franki. Not really. Not anymore.
“Charlie!” She breaks into a run.
“Frank?”
She throws her arms around my neck and squeezes so hard, I think my head’s going to pop off.
“You’re taller,” she says, and I grin. We look at each other, eye to eye.
She’s changed, too. Her hair is shorter, just grazing her shoulders. Her clothes no longer hang off her, and my face flushes when I notice bumps where she never had any before. Her face has fewer freckles, and tiny gold hoops dangle from her ears.
My dad would say she’s turned into a looker.
I don’t want to stare, but I can’t stop. Her eyes hold on to mine, twinkling like she’s about to tell me one of her dirty jokes.
“What are you doing here?” I ask. Wow, do I sound like a dope.
But she just grins. “School got out last week, and I flew to Boston to spend the summer with Lila and Rose. We decided to take the train up this morning to visit some old friends. Lila said I could come by and surprise you.”
“Oh.” I scuff my worn-out sneakers on the pavement and study the hole in the right toe.
“I can’t believe sixth grade’s over,” she says. “It feels like it just started.”
I nod. “It’s been a pretty crazy year.”
“It’s been a pretty crazy year,” she repeats.
Her face turns serious. “Can we meet after school? We could go to your house first so I can say hi to your family. Then we could go to the beach. The tide’s low, and there aren’t any tourists yet.” She talks faster. “We’ll take your pails and maybe some veggie burgers left over from today’s lunch rush?” She slugs me in the arm. “Come on, Chuck. It’ll be like old times.”
I think about Franki and me, and how long we’ve been friends. I think about the Dinosaur Crunch ice cream cones and the games of Zombie Smasher. But mostly I think about what Stella told me, all the way back last summer, about how things were going to be different for Franki and me once we started middle school. I think about all this as I look at her now, with her short hair and hoop earrings, and I know she needs me to remind her that no matter how much things change, some things will always stay the same.
She grabs my hand, and my stomach flips over, like before.
“I’ll meet you right here,” I say.
And then, without thinking, I lean over and press my lips against her cheek, right below her eye. Her skin is warm and still smells like syrup.
And then I take off.
Emma’s waiting for me, and I can’t afford to be tardy just because Franki Saylor wants to stand around and hold my hand all day.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gretchen Kelley is the mother of four children—two teens and two tweens. Her years as a mom and a substitute teacher have allowed her to do one of her favorite things: spend lots of time hanging out with kids. After living in Louisville, Kentucky, Gretchen and her family moved to Abu Dhabi, where they now live during the school year. In the summers, they spend time in Rockport, Massachusetts, which was the inspiration for Charlie Burger’s hometown. When she’s not writing, Gretchen can be found screaming at soccer matches, planning her family’s next trip to a cool location, or running on the beach, thinking up some new story ideas. This is her first book. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
About the Author
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 by Gretchen Kelley
Henry Holt and Company, LLC
Publishers since 1866
Henry Holt® is a registered trademark of Henry Holt and Company, LLC.
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
mackids.com
All rights reserved.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Kelley, Gretchen.
Superheroes don’t eat veggie burgers / Gretchen Kelley.
pages cm
Summary: “A sixth-grade boy’s stories about superhero Dude Explodius start changing reality”—Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-1-62779-089-5 (hardback)
[1. Ability—Fiction. 2. Superheroes—Fiction. 3. Diaries—Fiction. 4. Middle schools—Fiction. 5. Schools—Fiction.] I. Title. II. Title: Superheroes do not eat veggie burgers.
PZ7.1.K42Su 2016 [Fic]—dc23 2015003265
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First hardcover edition 2016
eBook edition January 2016
eISBN 9781627790901