Laugh Till You Cry (11 page)

“They made me feel more grown-up. We had this clubhouse but I don’t have a clubhouse anymore. Dad’s already given orders to tear it down.”

“That’s rough,” Cody said. “Well, how about it? Truce? For Grandma’s sake?”

“Truce.” The two cousins shook hands. “Thanks,” Hayden said.

“Then come on.”

Cody led the way to their grandmother’s open bedroom door. Just before stepping in, he put an arm around Hayden’s shoulders. After only a moment’s hesitation, Hayden did the same to him.

“Hi, Grandma,” they both said.

She was sitting up in her easy chair, propped on each side with pillows, and seemed to be feeling a lot better.
“Hi,” she said. “What happened? I know there’s been a commotion.”

“Smoke bomb got smoky,” Cody said. “It went off too soon.”

Mrs. Norton looked concerned. “I know sometimes boys do dumb things,” she said, “but smoke bombs are dangerous. I hope I won’t hear about something like this again.”

“Don’t worry. You won’t,” Hayden said. “It was my dumb idea.”

“It’s nice to see you two together. How’d the
Hamlet
reports go?” she asked.

“I don’t know yet,” Hayden said. “The written reports haven’t been graded.”

Cody grinned. “A-plus. Mine was an oral report. I decided to run a trial like my dad would have done.”

“I’m proud of you, Cody,” Mrs. Norton said. She smiled.

Cody’s mother hurried into the room. “Boys!” she said. “What are you doing in here?”

“They were filling me in on the smoke bomb,” Mrs. Norton said. “These things happen, I guess. Boys will be boys. Now they’re going to go to the kitchen and get something to eat. Isn’t there some double chocolate-fudge ice cream in the freezer?”

Cody dropped his arm from Hayden’s shoulders and walked back to the kitchen, Hayden following.

“I wouldn’t mind if you came over to hang out,” Hayden said.

“Okay,” Cody answered. “I’m here until Grandma gets better. We should make the most of it.”

He looked at the kitchen clock. It wouldn’t be long before Jake would be walking onstage in the club.
He’d stand in the spotlight at the mike, and he’d use Cody’s joke.

Cody thought,
If I were a stand-up comic
 …

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. You’re a fine-looking group. Of course, you can’t tell much from the way people look. Take me, for instance. You might not guess that during the week, I’m a district attorney in Santa Olivia. But tonight at open-mike, I’m Cody Carter, stand-up comic, and I want to talk to you about my cousin Hayden.

You don’t get to choose cousins. You have to take what you get. Having a cousin is sort of like having a brother, except you don’t get a Christmas present from him, just a card. And you don’t get to tell him what you really think of him, because he comes with a pair of bodyguards called an aunt and uncle. And you have a cousin forever and ever, no refunds, no returns. So I’ve got Hayden. Okay, he’s taller than I am but he’s not so tough after all. I know how to beat him at his own game. I can tell him jokes that are so funny he laughs till he cries.