Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
    From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
    From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
    Ebook179 pages2 hours

    From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

    By E. L. Konigsburg

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to audiobook
    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Now available in a deluxe keepsake edition!

    A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021)

    Run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with E. L. Konigsburg’s beloved classic and Newbery Medal­–winning novel From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

    When Claudia decided to run away, she planned very carefully. She would be gone just long enough to teach her parents a lesson in Claudia appreciation. And she would go in comfort-she would live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She saved her money, and she invited her brother Jamie to go, mostly because be was a miser and would have money.

    Claudia was a good organizer and Jamie bad some ideas, too; so the two took up residence at the museum right on schedule. But once the fun of settling in was over, Claudia had two unexpected problems: She felt just the same, and she wanted to feel different; and she found a statue at the Museum so beautiful she could not go home until she bad discovered its maker, a question that baffled the experts, too.

    The former owner of the statue was Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Without her—well, without her, Claudia might never have found a way to go home.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAtheneum Books for Young Readers
    Release dateDec 21, 2010
    ISBN9781442431263
    Author

    E. L. Konigsburg

    E.L. Konigsburg is the only author to have won the Newbery Medal and a Newbery Honor in the same year. In 1968, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler won the Newbery Medal and Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth was named a Newbery Honor Book. Almost thirty years later she won the Newbery Medal once again for The View from Saturday. Among her other acclaimed books are Silent to the Bone, The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place, and The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World.

    Read more from E. L. Konigsburg

    Related to From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

    Related ebooks

    Children's Classics For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Last Love

      Dec 8, 2023

      Last Love
      13 min read

    • Article

      Benjamin Nugent

      Jun 15, 2018

      Claire’s roommates threw her out on November third, for falling behind on rent and hogging the Xbox. During the next three weeks, she lived in other people’s houses. She missed the Xbox, but couch surfing was like a game. She had to not smell like co

      20 min read

    • Article

      Brain Teaser

      Jul 3, 2022

      Brain Teaser
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Art of Fiction No. 251

      Mar 15, 2022

      The Art of Fiction No. 251
      20 min read

    • Article

      The Quiet Boy

      Jan 28, 2019

      The Quiet Boy
      29 min read

    • Article

      ‘The End of the Day’: Featured Fiction from Bill Clegg

      Sep 30, 2020

      An excerpt from a novel Kirkus called "A moody, atmospheric domestic drama with a mystery novel somewhere in its family tree." The post ‘The End of the Day’: Featured Fiction from Bill Clegg appeared first on The Millions.

      12 min read

    • Article

      In America

      Aug 8, 2019

      In America
      11 min read

    • Article

      Dolly’s Star Turn

      Jul 12, 2023

      Dolly’s Star Turn
      7 min read

    • Article

      Dolly’s Star Turn

      Aug 9, 2023

      Dolly’s Star Turn
      7 min read

    • Article

      Dolly’s Star Turn

      Jul 12, 2023

      Dolly’s Star Turn
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Nanny

      Dec 15, 2019

      There isn’t much in the house,” Mary said. “I’m sorry.” Kayla looked around, shrugged. “I’m not even that hungry.” Mary set the table, bright Fiestaware on place mats alongside fringed cloth napkins. They ate microwave pizzas. “Gotta have something a

      21 min read

    • Article

      The Other Side Of THE FENCE

      Mar 1, 2023

      The Other Side Of THE FENCE
      6 min read

    • Article

      Hunting T-rex

      Apr 3, 2023

      The Hunt for T-Rex had led us, eventually, to the small Southern Californian town of Taft, where we’d systematically searched the streets and found the white 1959 Cadillac that we’d learnt about through popular Bakersfield and Los Angeles hot rodding

      11 min read

    • Article

      Nothing to Declare

      Jun 15, 2019

      All the senior partners were having a laugh about a movie they’d seen. Forty-Five Years. Something, something about the movie taking forty-five years to sit through. The woman McGuinness thought he recognized was in it with them at the far end of the

      24 min read

    • Article

      Sanctuary

      Jun 15, 2022

      MY MOTHER’S childhood could not have been more different from mine. The only daughter of prosperous New York City Jews, she was born in Paris and grew up in an art-filled apartment on the Upper East Side. I was raised in a rural part of Costa Rica, w

      10 min read

    • Article

      Ann Beattie

      Sep 15, 2017

      I’d started to visit Olivia more often because it was obvious she was lonely. The ALS lady who’d been moved to Hopkins had been Aunt Olivia’s closest friend, leaving aside Merton Hillstead, who actually went home. Even the friendly paperboy who somet

      23 min read

    • Article

      The Art of Fiction No. 252

      Mar 15, 2022

      The Art of Fiction No. 252
      31 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

    4/5

    2,807 ratings143 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      Well written, enjoyed it as a child more than as an adult
    • 4/5
      When I was in junior high school, I had an idea to write a book about a couple of kids running away from their home in suburban Connecticut, taking the train to New York City, and settling in for some adventures. I made a few attempts at starting the book but the idea never translated to the page. Which is a good thing, because if I had written that book it would have been accused of being totally derivative of From the Mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. The story is about a brother and sister from Connecticut who take a train to New York and (in an interesting twist I hadn't considered) move into the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's a good story that's a mix of adventure and mystery with a lesson for children coming of age. Jill Clayburgh does an excellent job narrating the story as well. Now that I've caught up on another book I never read as a child I must endeavor to make sure my kids read it too.
    • 4/5
      this book is about a person telling a story abou two kids who run away from home and go to live in a muesem in the city. later in the story they find a state of a angel who was supposably made by michaelangelo. they go on a quest to find out if it is really made by him. read this book now!!!!
    • 3/5
      An adventure in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City! I would have chosen a library if I were running away, but to each their own I suppose. In Konigsburg's From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiller, siblings Claudia and Jamie run away to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The bathe in the museum fountain, sleep in a royal bed, and glom on to school groups taking tours during the day. During their vacation from reality, the children stumble upon a secret involving a beautiful sculpted angel with curious markings on its base. Claudia and Jamie must solve the mystery of the statue with the help of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.The story is so realistic and timeless that I felt I was right there with Claudia and Jamie, standing on top of the toilets waiting for the museum to close. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiller is an engrossing and captivating read, full of page-turning good fun!
    • 4/5
      Claudia is planning to run away. She wants a different life, than that of the oldest child, with so many responsibilities. Her brother Jamie doesn't know it yet, but she has chosen him to be her companion. One reason she has chosen Jamie, is because he is good with money. Claudia usually spends her money on hot fudge sundaes, but Jamie has saved over twenty dollars.Claudia plans for them to take a train to New York City, and stay in the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts. Hiding out, being hungry most of the time, and walking in order to save money, the two children experience the adventure of a lifetime. They also get involved in the mystery of an angel statue, which was sold to the museum by Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Could the angel statue be a real Michelangelo? Only Mrs. Frankweiler knows for sure
    • 3/5
      Claudia and her brother Jamie runs away from home and decides to live in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. They find out the daily routine of the place and are soon wrapped up in a mystery about a new statue at the museun - whether it is really a genuine Michelangelo or not. The first Newbery award book that didn't capture my attention. It was the narration that irritated me and also the children without any concern for their parents just running away annoyed me.
    • 5/5
      It is not often that I will read a book twice but for nostalgic reasons I picked up From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I was meandering through the bookcases at work when I stumbled across this book and I remembered reading it in school when I was a kid and if I remembered correctly, I loved it. The second time around the book was just as wonderful. There is a certain kind of magic that happens when you read a good children's book and this one does not disappoint.
    • 4/5
      An adventure story appealing to children who find museums mysterious places full of magic and stories. Konigsburg writes a solid story about a sister who wants to be special and different, and a brother who simply loves a good adventure. Both decide to move into the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and live like royalty and like ghosts as they evade museum staff nightly. This is truly a fun and entertaining story for elementary-age children who dream big and are intrigued by a mystery led by curious and precocious siblings.
    • 3/5
      Claudia and her brother run away from home and stay in the Metropolitan Museum of Art where they learn about history, art, and how to be thrifty. A statue of an angel is on exhibit and there is a question as to whether Michelangelo was the sculptor. Claudia and her brother set out to uncover the mystery. Would be useful in showing iconic depiction of New York and its finest cultural institutions as well as independence, thriftiness and mystery-solving. Despite the meaningful themes, the siblings bickering and weak underlying purpose made it a slow read.
    • 3/5
      Premise was pretty good and the story was entertaining. However, the language and actions of the two main characters, Jamie and Claudia Kincaid, are quite dated. (Ex: The New York Times costs the $0.10). Though the idea of living in a museum captures the imagination, I feel that the author did not incorporate enough of the cool things the children could have done or explored in the Museum. I don't know that kids of this generation would understand a lot of the lingo and behaviour of these children of the 60s.
    • 5/5
      Claudia decides to run away, but she is not an impromptu kind of girl. She plans meticulously and chooses her brother Jamie to accompany her. She chooses him because he can keep a secret, but mostly because he has cash.If you haven't read this story yet, or haven't read it to your children or your grandchildren, then stop right now and go get a copy. I fell in love with this book when I was a preteen, and it has lost none of its charm since then.
    • 3/5
      A 1968 Newberry Medal award winning book, Konigsburg is in fact one of only a few who have won two Newberry Prizes for her work.Claudia Kincaid is twelve and bored with her suburban life. Convincing her younger brother Jamie to run away from home, they escape to live in the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York City.For one week, they go undetected by guards, discovering items in the various galleries and hitching themselves to tour groups so they can learn and get some free food in the process.While following a crowd to see a new acquisition of a small marble angel that could possibly be a genuine Michelangelo, ever the mensa student, Claudia probes to find more about the statue.Locating the previous owner of the art work, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Claudia and Jamie seek to know more than the esteemed collectors and curators of the museum.This is an easy/breezy creative book. While I cannot highly recommend it, because the Metropolitan is one of my favorite places and because it is such a fascinating place, I did enjoy seeing it through the eyes of the children as they made discoveries late at night when no one was watching.
    • 4/5
      What better place to hide out than a museum! This book ignited my imagination when I first read it at age 10, and more than 30 years later, a recent re-read showed it still held up.Perfect for pre-teens to pre-seniors!
    • 3/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. It was original, funny, and creative! The "mystery" element will definitely keep you on your toes! It definitely deserved the Newberry it received.

      The characters were very well done. They all had some depth and personality to them, and I could feel for them. They were each so unique, yet so realistic. I especially loved the relationship between Jamie and Claudia! :D

      I thought the plot was solid, and very well done. It was realistic, yet it had a bit of a mystery in it as well (which, I must say, was very well done!)
      I also liked how E.L. Konigsburg had such a unique narrator. At first, I was surprised she didn't chose a 1st person narration via either Jamie or Claudia, but at the end of the story I realized that, yes, indeed she did have a 1st person narration...just not from the person I was expecting! (I actually thought this was quite clever!)

      All in all, I highly recommend this story to anyone who is looking for a great realistic fiction story. I highly believe that From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler will be a classic, for both adults and children alike, for years and years to come.
    • 4/5
      Claudia and her brother Jamie run away from home to the Metropolitan Museum of Art downtown New York City. While there, they discover some information about a piece of art and set out to solve the mystery of its sculptor. I loved this book as a fourth grader (I think that was the year) but couldn't remember where Mrs. Frankweiler came into the book, so I read it again. I loved it just as much this time around. The thing that caught my eye the most though was the fact that so much of it was out-of-date for the kids who would be reading it today. So much has changed, not only with technology, but with security and how people are monitored that the story is so much more fantastical than it once may have been.
    • 5/5
      This story is about a young girl named Claudia who wants to run away. She runs away to the Metropolitan Museum and has the best adventures.Coming of age of girls4-6
    • 4/5
      Award winner and a classic. Captures your attention and the audio version is fun to listen to with great narration.
    • 5/5
      The narrator and point of view in this story was very good. The story is told from the perspective of an old woman who met the children while they were running away. She is an omniscient narrator and knows the entire story. This is a very interesting take on the book since it is written as a story to someone specific. This provides the book with a sub story that is very interesting. This book is a good example of a realistic fiction, because the events could take place, but most of all the characters are very relatable to the readers.
    • 4/5
      My son and I both enjoyed reading this; I was revisiting a childhood favorite. Even after all these years, I vividly remembered the scene where they got money out of the fountain. Running away and hiding out in a museum always sounded like the perfect adventure.
    • 5/5
      Did I really not read this as a child? I think it's one of the best children's books I've ever read. I loved the relationship between Claudia and Jamie, and the writing is great--not fancy, but straightforward and insightful.

      I guess this is where the Tenenbaums got the idea to run away and live in the African wing of the Public Archives.
    • 4/5
      Lovely children's book from the sixties about two children that run away from home to stay at the Met Museum.
    • 5/5
      Reading this again reminded me of how much I enjoyed this book as a child. The author does an amazing job of taking you on a very visual journey that Klaudia and Jamie Kincaid take running away to live in the museum. It's amazing to see how the author makes this book so believable. When I read this as a kid and even after reading it more recently I felt like it was actually possible to survive on their own in a museum. I love the Kincaid siblings as characters throughout the book. They have a great brother and sister bond and what makes them great characters is that they are able to find out more about this statue. I think the author's main message of this book was to make learning about art and history actually interesting.
    • 4/5
      I read this in one sitting and then realized that it was one of those books that I wish I had read when I was a kid. I would've wanted to run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I would have been captivated by the idea of two kids sleeping in the antique beds and bathing in the fountain.Beyond the setting and the adventure, there is a strong moral code evident in the children as well as a solid level of intellectualism, which stood out to me as markers of a genuine classic. I think the whole package, from plot to lessons, is very pleasant.As an adult, it's tough to set aside that "life just isn't that convenient" disbelief, but even with that on your shoulder, this is still a wonderfully fun and delightfully articulate children's book. As a kid, I would've wanted to be Claudia. As an adult, now, I want to be Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.It just seems like such fun. :)
    • 4/5
      Claudia and her brother are tired of their boring lives and run away to live in the MET. Fantastical and adventurous.
    • 5/5
      this is my favorite book from childhood and a rare deserving winner (imho) of the newbury medal. i love it and i think every young girl who thinks her life is a bore and she's taken for granted should tuck this book away for a rainy day. it's terrific!
    • 3/5
      The concept of running away and living in the Met is way cool, and how the manage that part is really neat. The rest of the story is very "I'm an adult writing about the coming of age of children." Granted, it is from the perspective of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (who is funny during her dialog at the end, but annoying during her commentary, etc.) Bleh to coming of age stories! Can't a couple of children have a really cool museum adventure without having to have all manner of deep meaning? On another interesting note, I first read this in fourth grade, and all I remembered was that they lived in the Met (until I just reread it, of course). Two other people I know who read it only remembered the same thing. Does anyone else who read it more than two years ago remember any other portions of the story?
    • 3/5
      An ok book about 2 kids who run away from home and go to a museum in New York
    • 4/5
      This was an enjoyable book to get in to. At first I wasn't sure how I was going to enjoy it, since in this day and age the things the children do in the Met are certainly not going to happen, but after a while you move past all that and enjoy the fantasy. Who doesn't want to know what it's like to live inside their favorite museum? Anyone reading today would certainly need to know the difference between a museum in the 60's and a modern one now, with all of the many technologies that prevent people from getting close to exhibits, but at the age range this book is aimed toward, I think common sense would prevail there.The characters are fun to be with, the adventure itself (beyond the technology and such) is realistic and the ending wraps everything together into one enjoyable package. Anniversary versions includes a scene where the children are writing a letter to Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, the "author" who won the Newbery. It is smart and entertaining, if only two pages of additional fun.
    • 4/5
      Great children's lit. Make your kids read this!
    • 3/5
      El Patron's clone matured inside a cow. The cow was killed when he was born. Matt's life was not easy and became worse when the family discovered where he was. Great suspense.

    Book preview

    From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - E. L. Konigsburg

    1

    CLAUDIA KNEW THAT SHE COULD NEVER PULL OFF the old-fashioned kind of running away. That is, running away in the heat of anger with a knapsack on her back. She didn’t like discomfort; even picnics were untidy and inconvenient: all those insects and the sun melting the icing on the cupcakes. Therefore, she decided that her leaving home would not be just running from somewhere but would be running to somewhere. To a large place, a comfortable place, an indoor place, and preferably a beautiful place. And that’s why she decided upon the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

    She planned very carefully; she saved her allowance and she chose her companion. She chose Jamie, the second youngest of her three younger brothers. He could be counted on to be quiet, and now and then he was good for a laugh. Besides, he was rich; unlike most boys his age, he had never even begun collecting baseball cards. He saved almost every penny he got.

    But Claudia waited to tell Jamie that she had decided upon him. She couldn’t count on him to be that quiet for that long. And she calculated needing that long to save her weekly allowances. It seemed senseless to run away without money. Living in the suburbs had taught her that everything costs.

    She had to save enough for train fare and a few expenses before she could tell Jamie or make final plans. In the meantime she almost forgot why she was running away. But not entirely. Claudia knew that it had to do with injustice. She was the oldest child and the only girl and was subject to a lot of injustice. Perhaps it was because she had to both empty the dishwasher and set the table on the same night while her brothers got out of everything. And, perhaps, there was another reason more clear to me than to Claudia. A reason that had to do with the sameness of each and every week. She was bored with simply being straight-A’s Claudia Kincaid. She was tired of arguing about whose turn it was to choose the Sunday night seven-thirty television show, of injustice, and of the monotony of everything.

    The fact that her allowance was so small that it took her more than three weeks of skipping hot fudge sundaes to save enough for train fare was another example of injustice. (Since you always drive to the city, Saxonberg, you probably don’t know the cost of train fare. I’ll tell you. Full fare one way costs one dollar and sixty cents. Claudia and Jamie could each travel for half of that since she was one month under twelve, and Jamie was well under twelve—being only nine.) Since she intended to return home after everyone had learned a lesson in Claudia appreciation, she had to save money for her return trip, too, which was like full fare one way. Claudia knew that hundreds of people who lived in her town worked in offices in New York City and could afford to pay full fare both ways every day. Like her father. After all, Greenwich was considered an actual suburb of New York, a commuting suburb.

    Even though Claudia knew that New York City was not far away, certainly not far enough to go considering the size and number of the injustices done to her, she knew that it was a good place to get lost. Her mother’s Mah-Jong club ladies called it the city. Most of them never ventured there; it was exhausting, and it made them nervous. When she was in the fourth grade, her class had gone on a trip to visit historical places in Manhattan. Johnathan Richter’s mother hadn’t let him go for fear he’d get separated from the group in all the jostling that goes on in New York. Mrs. Richter, who was something of a character, had said that she was certain that he would come home lost. And she considered the air very bad for him to breathe.

    Claudia loved the city because it was elegant; it was important; and busy. The best place in the world to hide. She studied maps and the Tourguide book of the American Automobile Association and reviewed every field trip her class had ever taken. She made a specialized geography course for herself. There were even some pamphlets about the museum around the house, which she quietly researched.

    Claudia also decided that she must get accustomed to giving up things. Learning to do without hot fudge sundaes was good practice for her. She made do with the Good Humor bars her mother always kept in their freezer. Normally, Claudia’s hot fudge expenses were forty cents per week. Before her decision to run away, deciding what to do with the ten cents left over from her allowance had been the biggest adventure she had had each week. Sometimes she didn’t even have ten cents, for she lost a nickel every time she broke one of the household rules like forgetting to make her bed in the morning. She was certain that her allowance was the smallest in her class. And most of the other sixth graders never lost part of their pay since they had full-time maids to do the chores instead of a cleaning lady only twice a week. Once after she had started saving, the drug store had a special. HOT FUDGE, 27¢, the sign in the window said. She bought one. It would postpone her running away only twenty-seven cents worth. Besides, once she made up her mind to go, she enjoyed the planning almost as much as she enjoyed spending money. Planning long and well was one of her special talents.

    Jamie, the chosen brother, didn’t even care for hot fudge sundaes although he could have bought one at least every other week. A year and a half before, Jamie had made a big purchase; he had spent his birthday money and part of his Christmas money on a transistor radio, made in Japan, purchased from Woolworth’s. Occasionally, he bought a battery for it. They would probably need the radio; that made another good reason for choosing Jamie.

    On Saturdays Claudia emptied the wastebaskets, a task she despised. There were so many of them. Everyone in her family had his own bedroom and waste-basket except her mother and father who shared both—with each other. Almost every Saturday Steve emptied his pencil sharpener into his. She knew he made his basket messy on purpose.

    One Saturday as she was carrying the basket from her parents’ room, she jiggled it a little so that the contents would sift down and not spill out as she walked. Their basket was always so full since there were two of them using it. She managed to shift a shallow layer of Kleenex, which her mother had used for blotting lipstick, and thus exposed the corner of a red ticket. Using the tips of her forefinger and thumb like a pair of forceps, she pulled at it and discovered a ten-ride pass for the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad. Used train passes normally do not appear in suburban wastebaskets; they appear in the pockets of train conductors. Nine rides on a pass are marked off in little squares along the bottom edge, and they are punched one at a time as they are used; for the tenth ride the conductor collects the pass. Their cleaning lady who had come on Friday must have thought that the pass was all used up since rides one through nine were already punched. The cleaning lady never went to New York, and Claudia’s dad never kept close track of his pocket change or his train passes.

    Both she and Jamie could travel on the leftover pass since two half fares equal one whole. Now they could board the train without having to purchase tickets. They would avoid the station master and any stupid questions he might ask. What a find! From a litter of lipstick kisses, Claudia had plucked a free ride. She regarded it as an invitation. They would leave on Wednesday.

    On Monday afternoon Claudia told Jamie at the school bus stop that she wanted him to sit with her because she had something important to tell him. Usually, the four Kincaid children neither waited for each other nor walked together, except for Kevin, who was somebody’s charge each week. School had begun on the Wednesday after Labor Day. Therefore, their fiscal week as Claudia chose to call it began always on Wednesday. Kevin was only six and in the first grade and was made much over by everyone, especially by Mrs. Kincaid, Claudia thought. Claudia also thought that he was terribly babied and impossibly spoiled. You would think that her parents would know something about raising children by the time Kevin, their fourth, came along. But her parents hadn’t learned. She couldn’t remember being anyone’s charge when she was in the first grade. Her mother had simply met her at the bus stop every day.

    Jamie wanted to sit with his buddy, Bruce. They played cards on the bus; each day meant a continuation of the day before. (The game was nothing very complicated, Saxonberg. Nothing terribly refined. They played war, that simple game where each player puts down a card, and the higher card takes both. If the cards are the same, there is a war which involves putting down more cards; winner then takes all the war cards.) Every night when Bruce got off at his stop, he’d take his stack of cards home with him. Jamie would do the same. They always took a vow not to shuffle. At the stop before Bruce’s house, they would stop playing, wrap a rubber band around each pile, hold the stack under each other’s chin and spit on each other’s deck saying, Thou shalt not shuffle. Then each tapped his deck and put it in his pocket.

    Claudia found the whole procedure disgusting, so she suffered no feelings of guilt when she pulled Jamie away from his precious game. Jamie was mad, though. He was in no mood to listen to Claudia. He sat slumped in his seat with his lips pooched out and his eyebrows pulled down on top of his eyes. He looked like a miniature, clean-shaven Neanderthal man. Claudia didn’t say anything. She waited for him to cool off.

    Jamie spoke first, Gosh, Claude, why don’t you pick on Steve?

    Claudia answered, I thought, Jamie, that you’d see that it’s obvious I don’t want Steve.

    Well, Jamie pleaded, want him! Want him!

    Claudia had planned her speech. I want you, Jamie, for the greatest adventure in our lives.

    Jamie muttered, Well, I wouldn’t mind if you’d pick on someone else.

    Claudia looked out the window and didn’t answer. Jamie said, As long as you’ve got me here, tell me.

    Claudia still said nothing and still looked out the window. Jamie became impatient. I said that as long as you’ve got me here, you may as well tell me.

    Claudia remained silent. Jamie erupted, What’s the matter with you, Claude? First you bust up my card game, then you don’t tell me. It’s undecent.

    Break up, not bust up. Indecent, not undecent, Claudia corrected.

    Oh, boloney! You know what I mean. Now tell me, he demanded.

    I’ve picked you to accompany me on the greatest adventure of our mutual lives, Claudia repeated.

    You said that. He clenched his teeth. Now tell me.

    "I’ve decided to run away from home, and I’ve chosen you to

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1