Chapter 14
Carrying an extremely heavy backpack with his large biology and history textbooks inside, Johnny Eckel unlocked the front door of his mother’s house and walked in. Not expecting anyone to be there, he jumped.
“You scared me, Mom! What are you doing here?” Noticing that her face was completely red, her makeup was all washed out, and that she look like she hadn't slept at all, he suddenly asked, “Wait, are you okay? What’s going on?”
“Come inside, Johnny. I want to talk to you about something.” Johnny set his backpack down in the hallway and followed his mom into the kitchen. There was a huge ice cream tub sitting on the table, empty.
He went to the freezer and took out another ice cream tub. “Maybe we should open this one,” he said, hoping to lighten the mood.
His mother nod
