THEME: #4 ~ Gold Star
"It's none of your business!" Willa Jean shrieks, attempting to slam her bedroom door shut.
"Yes! It! Is!" Howie yells back, punctuating each word with a shove.
He can hear her bouncing backward with each of his pushes, and throws his weight particularly hard against the wood. She falls back with a squeal at the same time he topples into her room.
"MOTHERRRRRR!" she screams, scrambling to her feet. "GET HOWIE OU-!"
He scrabbles upward and clamps a hand over her mouth. "Willa Jean Kemp," he hisses. "Shut up, or I'll tell Mom you've been snitching her makeup."
She freezes obediently and the two strain to hear any footsteps. The quiet is quickly shattered when Willa Jean licks Howie's hand so that he releases her with a yelp.
"What do you want?" she snaps. Her long curls bounce as she perches on her bed, fixing him with a withering stare. He rubs his hand vigorously against his jeans, but stays silent. "Spit it out!"
He shoves his hands into his pockets. "…Davy said that you two…"
She stiffens, then. "What? Nothing. It's not me."
He snorts. "You're the only Willa Jean around." She scowls at that, and Howie wonders if the expression is something all girls attain with age. "You're twelve!" he sighs. "Why do you know boys exist? Stay away from them!"
Willa Jean laughs derisively. "You wouldn't understand," she sniffs. "You've never had a girlfriend! You can't even get with Ramona!"
Howie sputters at that. "W-what? I don't- Hey!"
Impatiently, Willa Jeans leaps off her bed, shoving him into the hallway with surprising strength. The door locks swiftly with a click before he can charge back in. Red-faced and cursing, he turns and collides into his mother.
"You get a gold star for effort," Mrs. Kemp intones dryly.
I've written full conversations between Beezus and Ramona, but not Willa Jean and Howie. I imagine she grew up to be just as much of a handful as she was when younger XD
next chapter is the last one! if you've been leaving me reviews all this time, or even sporadically, thank you! I'd love to hear from some new readers, too!