Read Online Franny Parker by Hannah Roberts McKinnon - Free Book Online Page B

and odd-looking frogs to the fair each year. In fact, the Walker boys themselves were a little large and odd-looking.
    â€œLet’s go!” Izzy said.
    â€œWe are not abandoning our Christian baking booth!” Grandma replied.
    â€œJust watch us,” Izzy said, hanging up a Closed sign. “Even God had a rest on the seventh day, Rae. And for all we know, he spent it at the frog hop. Now let’s go.”
    Grandma Rae sputtered as Izzy yanked the awning over the concession stand and the baking booth disappeared behind it.
    Pearl and I led the way for the ladies, down the grassy aisles of game booths, giant prizes, and stuffed animals. Kids tossed rings, fired plastic guns, and threw balls. I scanned the crowd for Lucas. Once, I thought I heard someone call out my name, but the crowd pulled us forward. Past the booths, the field opened up into the rides, a glowing circus against the lateday sun. Little kids sailed by on the merry-go-round, thepainted horses surging up and down on their candy-colored poles. I spotted Sidda and her girlfriends in the bumper car line, giggling and pointing at boys in cars. In the distance, the Ferris wheel rolled into the sky, the top seats tipping gently against the clouds.
    â€œWill you look at that. I always feel young when I see the Ferris wheel,” Izzy said, draping her arm around me.
    The frog hop was set up at the north end of the field. It was a small grassy pen with individually roped-off lanes, but the crowd surrounding it was large. Mama and Lindy waved us over to Ben’s lane, where Ben and Daddy were positioning the turtles.
    â€œHave you seen the competition?” Mama asked.
    He was the ugliest frog any of us had ever laid eyes on. Longer and bumpier than all the rest, the Walker frog towered over his opponents, his bulging eyes half-closed like he’d just finished a big meal. Jeb Walker’s own bulging eyes also rested half-closed, but I don’t think he could help that. The lane beside the Walker frog was empty.
    â€œI think it ate the competition,” Dotty whispered.
    Silence settled over the pen, and the announcer stepped forward. “On your marks, get set, go!”
    A horn blew and the crowd went wild. Frogs flew forward and back, zigzagging across lanes, and sometimes into the crowd. Lindy and Mama cheered loudly. Pearl covered her eyes.
    â€œGo, George! Go, Martha!” Ben hollered. As if in response, the turtles pulled their heads into their shells and disappeared.
    Before we knew it the horn blew again, and Jeb Walker scooped up his winner at the finish line, waving him around for everyone to see.
    â€œPoor Ben,” Izzy said with a sigh.
    â€œDon’t worry, that was just the first heat,” Mama assured her. “There are three more throughout the night.” But the rest of us didn’t share her hope.
    â€œWe’ll check in later,” I promised Mama. “Tell Ben good luck.”
    â€œBack to the booth,” Grandma ordered, rounding up the ladies.
    â€œDid Lucas give you a free try at the ring toss?” Lindy asked me.
    Suddenly I remembered hearing my name in the crowd.
    â€œHe’s here?” I asked her.
    â€œAt Harland’s ring toss stand. It’s their annual booth.”
    I fingered the invitation in my pocket. I hadn’t seen Lucas since I’d told him about the car. I’d been carrying it around for the last three days, hoping to see him, glad for the excuse to talk to him. I couldn’t stand the thought of him still being mad.
    â€œLet’s go,” I told Pearl.
    Teenagers gathered around the ring toss, mostly girls, I noticed. And there, smack-dab in the middle, was Sidda. I pushed my way to the front.
    â€œWin anything?” I asked her.
    She frowned. “These games are for
kids
.” As she said it, Lucas tossed me a ring.
    â€œHey, Franny! Try your luck.”
    I studied his face. He certainly didn’t look mad.
    â€œLucas, are