Page 32 of Small Steps (Holes 2)
Ginny covered her gaping mouth with her hand. From behind it, she asked, “What’d she say?”
“She said yeah.”
Ginny giggled.
“What’s so funny?”
“The w-way y-you l-look.”
“How do I look?”
“All dreamy-eyed.” She giggled some more. “What’s her name?” she asked in a teasing kind of voice.
“Tatiana.”
Ginny giggled.
“What?”
“The way you said it.”
“How did I say it?”
“Tati-ahna.”
“Tatiana,” said Armpit, trying to sound normal.
“Tati-ahna,” said Ginny. “Is she pretty?”
“Yeah, but in a different kind of way. It’s like that Kaira DeLeon song ‘Imperfection’? You know?” He sang: “You reflect on your reflection. But you will never see. Your imperfection is your finest quality.”
Ginny laughed. He wasn’t a very good singer.
“She’s cute because of all her imperfections,” Armpit explained.
“I knew it!” said Ginny. “I smelled her p-perfume on Coo.”
Armpit remembered Tatiana had hugged Coo.
“Tati-ahna,” teased Ginny.
“I don’t even know if she really likes me,” Armpit said. “I think she’s just a big Kaira DeLeon fan.”
“She likes you,” said Ginny.
“Oh, yeah? How do you know?”
“Because. You’re a v-very thoughtful and caring p-person.”
While Ginny and Armpit were walking around the block, Tatiana was sitting on the floor of Claire’s bedroom, along with their friend Roxanne. They were sharing a bowl of popcorn and drinking diet sodas.
“Aren’t you just a little bit scared?” Roxanne asked.
“No, why should I be?”
Claire and Roxanne looked at each other knowingly.
“He is kind of dangerous,” said Claire.
