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A l l G o o d C h i l d r e n
Advance Reading Copy
“Ally will love it once it airs out,” Dallas says, bouncing on
the couch. “It’s every kid’s dream.”
Freakshow
is down to the final three contestants.
Zipperhead was in the lead, but they did a Saturday special
on Squid and his dead parents, which earned him a boost
in support.
“Dorsal’s got to go,” I say. Dorsal is crippled by
a bulbous curved spine and a lumpy skull, but her brain is
normal. She takes virtual college courses in library sciences.
They did a show on her a few weeks back, stressing how
hard she worked to go that extra mile like Mom always
talks about. Not that Dorsal could even sit in a car, let
alone drive an extra mile.
“Zipperhead always looks sad,” Dallas says. “It makes the
show depressing.”
Celeste knocks at the door. She’s blue, literally and
metaphorically, wearing alien makeup and a frown. She’s not
withstanding so well these days.
“Hey, come on in,” I say. “Want to sit in our tent?”
“No, thank you.” She smiles like everybody has a military
staff tent in their apartment. “I have a favor to ask you, Max.”
“Anything.”
“Will you walk to school with Xavier tomorrow? It’s
his first day back since he got sick, and he’s still having
dizzy spells.”
Dallas peers through the tent window and shouts, “Come
camping with us, Celeste! Wow, this window makes you look
completely blue!”
“I guess Dennis isn’t doing so well either,” she whispers.
“Poor thing.”
