Please Ignore Vera Dietz
THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2010 by A.S. King
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
King, A. S. (Amy Sarig)
Please ignore Vera Dietz / by A.S. King. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: When her best friend, whom she secretly loves, betrays her and then dies under mysterious circumstances, high school senior Vera Dietz struggles with secrets that could clear his name.
eISBN: 978-0-375-89617-0
[1. Best friends—Fiction. 2. Friendship—Fiction. 3. Secrets—Fiction. 4. Death—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.K5693Pl 2010
[Fic]—dc22
2010012730
Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.
v3.1
For my parents, who taught me about
flow charts … and everything else
.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Epigraph
Prologue
Part One
The Funeral
Three and a Half Months Later—A Thursday in December
You’re Wondering Where My Mother Is
Thursday—Four to Close
Thursday—Four to Close
A Brief Word from Ken Dietz (Vera’s Dad)
A Brief Word from the Pagoda
Thursday—Four to Close
The First Night It Happened
History—Age Eleven
History—Age Seven
Friday—Four to Close
History—Age Thirteen
A Brief Word from the Dead Kid
Friday—Four to Close
Friday—Four to Close—Last Stop
History—Age Twelve
History—Age Twelve—Mid-August
History—Age Thirteen—Summer
Various Times Saturday Morning—Day Off
Christmas Break
Part Two
New Year’s Eve
New Year’s Day
History—Age Fourteen
New Year’s Day—Four to Close
History—Age Fourteen
History—Age Fourteen
A Brief Word from the Pagoda
New Year’s Day—After Work
A Brief Word from the Dead Kid
New Year’s Day (Night)
A Brief Word from Ken Dietz (Vera’s Frustrated Dad)
Monday, January 2nd
History—Age Fourteen
Part Three
Monday, January 2nd—Night Off
Four Weeks Later—Super Bowl Night—Four to Close
Second Monday in February—Five Days Until Party Night
Second Friday in February—Party Night
History—Age Fifteen
The Pagoda Pizza Christmas Party—Part 1
History—Age Sixteen
No Place, No Time
History—Age Seventeen
A Brief Word from the Dead Kid
A Brief Word from the Pagoda
The Pagoda Pizza Christmas Party—Part 2
Part Four
Grounded, Completely and Totally—Part 1
A Brief Word from Ken Dietz (Vera’s Hateful Dad)
History I’d Rather Forget—Age Seventeen—Spring
Grounded, Completely and Totally—Part 2
A Brief Word from the Dead Kid
Three Weeks of Vocab Words and Other Makeup Homework
Grounded, Completely and Totally—Part 3
First Day Back in School—Monday
History I’d Rather Forget—Age Seventeen—June
A Brief Word from the Pagoda
Monday—Four to Eight
Part Five
Second Day Back in School—Tuesday
History I’d Rather Forget—Age Seventeen—August
A Brief Word from Ken Dietz (Vera’s Proud Dad)
Piggy’s Revenge—Tuesday
History I’d Rather Forget—Age Seventeen—August
Tuesday—Four to Eight
A Brief Word from the Dead Kid
Drive Car, Deliver Pizza—Tuesday—Four to Eight
A Brief Word from the Pagoda
What Really Happened to Charlie Kahn—Part 1
History I’d Rather Forget—Age Seventeen—August (Last One)
What Really Happened to Charlie Kahn—Part 2
Live A Little—Wednesday
Epilogue—Road Trip
Acknowledgments
About the Author
What is your original face, before your mother and father were born?
—
Zen koan
PROLOGUE
Before I died, I hid my secrets in the Master Oak.
This book is about my best friend, Vera Dietz, who eventually found them.
—Charlie Kahn
(the pickle on Vera’s Big Mac)
To say my friend died is one thing.
To say my friend screwed me over and then died five months later is another.
—Vera Dietz
(high school senior and pizza delivery technician)
