were growing weaker by the page. It was way past midnight, and if Dad caught me, heâd be furious. Getting Dad riled up that late at night could have sent him into a maniacal cleaning fitâone that may or may not have involved me scrubbing right alongside him.
Itâs not that I couldnât sleep. I wouldnât let myself. I had my window open wide so I could hear Momâs car the moment she pulled into the driveway. I thought sheâd probably squeal with joy when she heard I was going to prom with Jeremy, and the sound would probably wake up Dad, but it would be worth it. Besides, Mom would stop him from pulling out the bleach and the mop.
Her cell phone had been off all night, but one more try couldnât hurt. Peeking out to make sure my door was fully closedâit wasâI slid the phone under the covers and dialed her number one last time. Like the last zillion times, it rang. Unlike the last zillion times, she picked up.
âHello?â
âMom? Why are you whispering?â
I heard scratchy shuffling sounds. A manâs voice. âIâm at work, Sarie. Is everything okay?â
âYeah. I just have amazing news!â
âReally? What?â
âYou know that guy Iâve been talking about?â
âYes.â
âYouâre not going to believe it! Today heââ
âWait a second, honey.â More shuffling, then, âIâll be right back.â In the background, I could barely make out the sound of water running.
âMom?â
âIâm here.â The sound of an annoyingly long drag on a cigarette. âCan we talk in the morning, Sara?â
I lifted the sheet off my face just enough to see the clock. 1:40 a.m. âIt is morning.â
She let out a sigh, as if talking to me was the last thing on earth she felt like doing. âWeâre cleaning up from a party here. Believe me, Iâd rather be in bed. Can this wait? Iâd like to be able to really focus on you.â
The flashlight faded to black and all I could see was the glow of the streetlamp out front. The light hit the wall above my desk, nowhere else, making the room look totally empty. âDoesnât matter. Itâs nothing.â
Now, sitting at my desk in my new room, still wrapped in my green cardigan, I pull out my motherâs cigarettes and light one, setting it on the windowsill so I can watch the smoke curl up toward the ceiling and disappear. The phone rings. Mandy. âHey, you,â I say.
âAss in chair.â
âWhat does sitting have to do with anything? Iâve never gotten that.â
âJust do it.â
âDone.â
âI canât come this weekend.â
âNo! Donât do this to me. Iâm desperate to see you.â
âEddieâs family invited me to dinner. Itâs like theyâre sizing me up or something.â
âYouâre a junior in high school. Theyâre not sizing you up.â
âHeâs almost twenty and the Wilcoxes reproduce early and reproduce big. Believe me, that mother of his wants a good look at my childbearing hips.â
âShe better look hard. You have no hips.â
âIâm sorry. I can come next weekend instead.â
âPerfect.â
âI canât wait to go hang out at a big-city mall.â
âThere isnât really a mall near me. More like all these little shops.â
âThen weâll hang out by the school and tease the smart boys. Itâll make Eddie totally jealous. I just streaked my hair with pink stripes and Iâm going to bring my tightest jeans.â
I seriously doubt the new pink stripes in Mandyâs overly bleached blonde spikes are going to be a hit with the male Ants. âKids donât really hang out on street corners like they do in Lundon. Itâs different here.â
âThen what do they do for fun?â
I donât know. I havenât had any yet. The prospect
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