Did I get it all off Kris asked rubbing her chin which was red and sticky Not all Lindy told her glancing up There's some in your hair Oh great Kris muttered She grabbed at her hair but couldn't find gum any bubble Gotcha again Lindy said laughing You're too easy Kris uttered an angry growl Why are you always so mean to me Me Mean Lindy looked up in wide eyed innocence I'm an angel Ask anyone Exasperated Kris turned back to her mother who was stuffing socks into a dresser drawer Mom when am I going to get my own room On the Twelfth of Never Mrs. Powell replied grinning Kris groaned That's what you always say Her mother shrugged You know we don't have a spare inch Kris She turned to the bedroom window Bright sunlight streamed through the filmy curtains It's a beautiful day What are you two doing inside Mom we're not little girls Lindy said rolling her eyes We're twelve We're too old to go out and play
Did I get it all Kris asked again still scraping pink patches of bubble gum off her chin Leave it It improves your complexion Lindy told her I wish you girls would be nicer to each other Mrs. Powell said with a sigh They suddenly heard shrill barking coming from downstairs What's Barky excited about now Mrs. Powell fretted The little black terrier was always barking about something Why not take Barky for a walk Don't feel like it Lindy muttered nose in her book What about those beautiful new bikes you got for your birthday Mrs. Powell said hands on hips Those bikes you just couldn't live without You know the ones that have been sitting in the garage since you got them Okay okay You don't have to be sarcastic Mom Lindy said closing her book She stood up stretched and tossed the book onto her bed You want to Kris asked Lindy Want to what Go for a bike ride We could ride to the playground see if anyone's hanging out at school
You just want to see if Robby is there Lindy said making a face So Kris said blushing Go on Get some fresh air Mrs. Powell urged I'll see you later I'm off to the supermarket Kris peered into the dresser mirror She had gotten most of the gum off She brushed her short hair back with both hands Come on Let's go out she said Last one out is a rotten egg She darted to the doorway beating her sister by half a step As they burst out the back door with Barky yipping shrilly behind them the afternoon sun was high in a cloudless sky The air was still and dry It felt more like summer than spring Both girls were wearing shorts and sleeveless T shirts Lindy bent to pull open the garage door then stopped The house next door caught her eye Look _ they've got the walls up she told Kris pointing across their backyard That new house is going up so quickly It's amazing Kris said following her sister's gaze The builders had knocked down the old house during the winter The new concrete foundation had been put down in March Lindy and Kris had walked around on it when no
workers were there trying to figure out where the different rooms would go And now the walls had been built The construction suddenly looked like a real house rising up in the midst of tall stacks of lumber a big mound of red brown dirt a pile of concrete blocks and an assortment of power saws tools and machinery No one's working today Lindy said They took a few steps toward the new house Who do you think will move in Kris wondered Maybe some great looking guy our age Maybe great looking twin guys Yuck Lindy made a disgusted face Twin guys How drippy can you get I can't believe you and I are in the same family Kris was used to Lindy's sarcasm Both girls liked being twins and hated being twins at the same time Because they shared nearly everything their looks their clothing their they were closer than most sisters ever room get But because they were so much alike they also managed to drive each other crazy a lot of the time No one's around Let's check out the new house Lindy said
