Chapter 17

“Emily Beth Boots, hel-lo.”

“Robertson Reo, how are you?”

“My health is impeccable. How’s yours?”

“I’m coming back to school tomorrow.”

“Hey, hey, hey. I await the moment with anticipation.”

“Thank you, Robertson.”

“Emily Beth, do you like me?”

“Yes.”

“I know you do! You’ve been converted.”

“Converted? I wouldn’t put it that way. You make it sound like a religious experience.”

“I won you over by the power of my personality. I made a stand and it paid off. You don’t know this, but I directed powerful beams of energy thought to you. That’s why you asked me to the movies. I’ll tell you the truth, Emily Beth, I didn’t believe it could work. I was a skeptic, myself. I got this idea of concentrating mental energy from an article I read in my dentist’s office. I said to myself What do you have to lose, Reo? Give it a try! I concentrated on you. Every time I saw you, every time I thought about you, I sent powerful beams of energy thoughts your way. Bingo! You asked me to the movies.”

“Robertson, take it easy. You don’t know the whole story.”

“My uncle says you were pretty sick there for a while.”

“Excuse me? Your uncle says. I don’t appreciate your uncle talking about my private affairs.”

“He didn’t say anything private, Emily Beth, he just commented.”

“I do not appreciate your uncle commenting about anything about me.”

“It wasn’t you especially. Your family. Wilma there and the other one—”

“Christopher.”

“Riight. And your mom, Ann—”

“My mother is Mrs. Boots to you, Mr. Reo.”

“Emily Beth, I think you’re mad at me.”

“I am not mad at you.”

“Excellent! I wouldn’t want you to be mad at me. Hey, hey, hey, guess what? Your mother, I mean Mrs. Boots, and my uncle were at the same movie we were at last week. The same time even.”

“Imagine that.”

“Oh, you knew it!”

“Yes, I did, Robertson.”

“It’s funny we didn’t see them.”

“Do you talk to your uncle a lot, Robertson?”

“What’s a lot? Give me an example.”

“A lot is talking about when he was at the movies and about me being sick. I think that’s a lot.”

“Emily Beth, my uncle Len’s a funny guy. He’s kind of an oddball. My aunt died a long time ago, and my mother says ever since, Uncle Len has been a different person. My mom calls him once a week to check up on him, and then she hands me the phone and I have to talk to him. He doesn’t say much, so I have to think of things to say, like ‘Hi, Uncle Len, I saw a movie the other night with my girlfriend—’”

“I’m not your girlfriend, Robertson.”

“Or maybe I’ll say, ‘So what did you do today, Uncle Len?’ You know, try to get him to talk a little, give me a rest from it.”

“What kind of a person was he before your aunt died?”

“More of a regular person. He used to be a fireman. He was even a hero. Mom has newspaper clippings pasted into our photo album when Uncle Len rescued two kids. He rescued other people, too. He inhaled so much smoke, he damaged his lungs and had to leave the force. That’s when he started his repair shop. Am I boring you?”

“No. That was interesting. I’m pretty surprised about your uncle being a hero. I’m impressed. He doesn’t look the type. Robertson, I have to go now. But I have two things to say to you first. One. I am not your girlfriend. I am a friend who is a girl. And, two. Do not talk to your uncle about me or my mother.”

“Why not?”

“Because I say so.”

“Got it! Anything my girlfriend wants, she can have.”

“Good-bye, Robertson!”