Face-Friends Malcolm opened one eye then the next Hmmm It was awfully quiet for a Saturday morning He sat up yawned and scratched his moppy bedhead Where is everybody It was obvious that his sister Cocoa was gone no size-ten clomping feet or teeth-grinding whiny twang His stomach growled like a monster Must Eat He crawled out of bed in search of food Surely Mom had whipped
up a wonderfully tasty breakfast of Huh The kitchen was empty and clean No eggs No oatmeal No waffl es Malcolm poured a bowl of Fancy Flakes drowned them in milk and shoveled them in After the last fl oating fl ake had been swallowed he gulped the milk right out of the bowl He rinsed his dishes then wandered through the house looking for signs of life Just when he thought he was all alone he found Grandma Eunice sitting at his dad’s computer Her eyes were narrowed in concentration and her tongue poked out of the corner of her mouth as she typed Where’s Mom Malcolm asked Grandma Eunice didn’t look up Cocoa joined the debate club and your mother volunteered to chaperone today’s tournament 5
Malcolm scratched his head Cocoa’s on the debate team Yep Grandma answered Go fi gure Malcolm couldn’t imagine Cocoa ever winning a debate without screaming Just shut up Can you do me a favor Malcolm asked Grandma still kept her eyes straight on the computer Not right now I’m busy Just a small favor he egged I’m almost done she said peck peck pecking at the keyboard He hated asking but I need to borrow some money Grandma Eunice didn’t even look up She still pecked away at the computer Grandma what are you doing 6
I’m trying to set up a Face-Friends page she answered What Why would Grandma want a Face-Friends page Did she even have any friends Malcolm watched her tip-tap at the keyboard She tilted her head this way and that Once in a while she’d lean really close examining what she’d typed This could take forever he thought Uh do you need some help he asked Nope I’ve got it She fiddled some more filling in the boxes on the page Hmmm Do you think I should lie about my age Malcolm shrugged Might as well No one would believe your real age anyway Hey Grandma fussed I’m not that old 7
