Ivy in the Shadows by Chris Woodworth

guess.”
    I picked up speed on the way into the school building because I didn’t know if Caleb was behind me.
    â€œWell, anyway, you’re going to look so cool tonight! I cannot wait. We’ll have so much fun at Alexa’s party.”
    â€œUh-huh,” I said because, really, nothing in my life was in my control anymore so why should going to that stupid party be, either?
    â€œIt starts at six.”
    â€œSix!” I said. Mama got home between 6:30 and 7:00. There was no way she would approve of me going to a party like the kind Alexa would have.
    â€œYes, but we’re going earlier. I need to be there at five-thirty.”
    Five-thirty wouldn’t give me much time there. But if Caleb watched JJ, I could go, and maybe Ellen would find other friends so I could slip out. Maybe I could even use JJ’s “sickness” as an excuse that I wasn’t feeling well.
    â€œI was thinking you could meet me at my house at five. You can get dressed there and I’ll do your hair and makeup.”
    Five! I needed to feed JJ. I wouldn’t tell her, I’d just be a little late. “Okay but I’ll just get dressed at home.” I walked even faster so we could quit talking about the stupid party.
    â€œI need to get there early because Alexa asked me to help with some stuff,” she said.
    â€œFine. I’ll meet you at Alexa’s instead.” I speed-walked to my locker, huffing by the time I got there. Ellen kept right up with me. She didn’t even break stride.
    â€œIvy, don’t make me go alone. You’re my friend! I want you with me!”
    What about what I want?
    â€œListen, I said I’ll come, so I’ll come. But I don’t want to go that early and I don’t want … to wear makeup.” I hadn’t really planned on saying the last part but out it came anyway.
    Ellen pulled her skinny self up to her full height, poked out her scrawny chest, and said, “Ivy, I need you to be at my house at five o’clock tonight. Don’t let me down or, I swear, you can find yourself another BFF.”
    She took off in a huff. Ellen had been my friend my whole life and she wasn’t really asking that much of me. Especially since she’d bought me all that new stuff—even though I didn’t want it. I owed her, so I’d have to go, but good grief, I did not want to. Not one tiny bit. I banged my head against my locker door. Brandon, whose locker was next to mine, said, “I don’t think when people talk about banging their head against a wall, they mean it literally.”
    â€œYeah, well those people probably aren’t thinking that their life can’t get any worse.”
    But I was wrong.
    After school we walked home from the bus and I was just putting my key into the lock when the door opened. Standing inside, wearing an off-the-shoulder T-shirt and capris, with her dark hair streaked blond and tucked behind one ear showing about six earrings, was Aunt Maureen. That sounds like a good thing, right? And I thought so, too, at first. But how would you feel if you’d been working so hard to help your family and to keep things up and running, and then have your aunt hug you and say, “How could I stay away? Someone’s got to be here to keep this sinking boat afloat.”
    *   *   *
    â€œMayonnaise,” Aunt Maureen said with her hand out like a doctor asking for a scalpel. I found the jar and put it in her hand. She closed that cabinet door and opened another.
    â€œMacaroni,” she said. I looked through the sacks of food she’d brought until I found it.
    â€œReally, Aunt Maureen, I can put this stuff away. I know where it all goes.”
    â€œI know you do, sweet pea. But I don’t and I need to familiarize myself with this kitchen if I’m going to cook in it.”
    â€œDid Mama … did she know you were coming?”
    â€œNo!” She flashed