other’s bedrooms.”
“Do you ever stop thinking about that?”
“Not really.” Dylan sighed. They were both silent for a moment.
“If you think about it,” Gracie said, “I’ve been invisible my whole life.”
“I know you’re speaking metaphorically, Gracie, but come on. Maybe you’re not the center of attention in your family, but as families go, yours is no more dysfunctional than any other. In all probability, less so. I mean, your parents are still married, unlike mine.”
“Well, technically.”
“There’s no murder or incest in your family, no psychotic family members are imprisoned in your attic that I know of, and no one has any fatal diseases. And neither you nor your siblings have been thrown in jail or sent to reform school.”
“Jen would be in jail right now if I hadn’t saved her with the journal.”
“That’s a matter of personal faith.” Dylan’s voice was a bit more hollow than usual, but other than that he sounded perfectly normal. “Maybe you thought you were invisible before, but believe me, that was nothing compared to now.”
“Dylan?” Gracie found her house key, which disappeared the moment she picked it up, and carefully slid it into the lock.
“Yeah?”
“Everyone’s going to wonder where we are.”
“I know,” Dylan said. “Unless we
tell
them we’re invisible, which I would warn against unless we want to be tossed into the psych ward at Dorothea Dix. But I’m quite confident that once Dad gets home from golf, this will be easy to fix, right, Gracie?”
“Right.” Gracie pushed open her back door. Her voice, even to herself, sounded lacking in confidence.
It’s like in
Tom Sawyer, she thought.
When everyone thought Tom and Huck were dead
.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Gracie and Dylan tiptoed through her family room, holding hands. They had started upstairs with her backpack when the door to the garage slammed.
“Kids? I’m home.” Mom dropped her briefcase on the floor, then headed for the stairs. Gracie squeezed Dylan’s hand as Mom walked right past them on the landing. She didn’t see them at all! They followed her down the hall as she knocked on Alex’s door before pushing it open.
“So? How bad was detention?”
Alex, lying on his bed playing his Game Boy, shrugged. “She yelled at us to shut up the whole time. We didn’t and now everyone has another day of detention.”
“You’re kidding!”
“Nope.”
“That’s horrible!” Mom said. “Why didn’t the school call me?”
“They said they tried.”
Mom took out her BlackBerry, stared at the screen, then went down the hall, knocked, and opened Jen’s door. “Jen! What happened to your face?”
Jen was lying on her bed in her pj’s, and she’d put Band-Aids over the inflamed scratches on her cheek and neck. Her stained clothes lay in a pile on the floor. Jen told Mom everything that had happened in the cafeteria.
“And get this,” Jen finished. “Gracie comes into the lunchroom, and I’m getting beat up by this girl, I mean totally smacked around, and Gracie doesn’t even try to get her off of me or anything.”
“Th—” Gracie started, but Dylan squeezed her hand and she bit her invisible lip.
“She just stands there like a complete idiot and stares at me like I’ve got three heads, and then turns around and runs the other way. I mean, it’s bad enough to have this space-cadet sister who’s like a
total
social liability, but the fact that she’s not even
loyal
really ticks me off. Plus, she stole my earrings.”
“Jen, I find this entire episode appalling. You were suspended, and that other girl was expelled? Why wasn’t I called?” Mom punched a few more buttons on her BlackBerry.
“They said they tried. And I didn’t even do anything, Mom; I was just carrying my tray across the lunchroom, minding my own business.”
“Oh, gosh. I have three messages. They must have called during that staff meeting when I turned my phone to vibrate,” Mom said.
“Do you ever stop thinking about that?”
“Not really.” Dylan sighed. They were both silent for a moment.
“If you think about it,” Gracie said, “I’ve been invisible my whole life.”
“I know you’re speaking metaphorically, Gracie, but come on. Maybe you’re not the center of attention in your family, but as families go, yours is no more dysfunctional than any other. In all probability, less so. I mean, your parents are still married, unlike mine.”
“Well, technically.”
“There’s no murder or incest in your family, no psychotic family members are imprisoned in your attic that I know of, and no one has any fatal diseases. And neither you nor your siblings have been thrown in jail or sent to reform school.”
“Jen would be in jail right now if I hadn’t saved her with the journal.”
“That’s a matter of personal faith.” Dylan’s voice was a bit more hollow than usual, but other than that he sounded perfectly normal. “Maybe you thought you were invisible before, but believe me, that was nothing compared to now.”
“Dylan?” Gracie found her house key, which disappeared the moment she picked it up, and carefully slid it into the lock.
“Yeah?”
“Everyone’s going to wonder where we are.”
“I know,” Dylan said. “Unless we
tell
them we’re invisible, which I would warn against unless we want to be tossed into the psych ward at Dorothea Dix. But I’m quite confident that once Dad gets home from golf, this will be easy to fix, right, Gracie?”
“Right.” Gracie pushed open her back door. Her voice, even to herself, sounded lacking in confidence.
It’s like in
Tom Sawyer, she thought.
When everyone thought Tom and Huck were dead
.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Gracie and Dylan tiptoed through her family room, holding hands. They had started upstairs with her backpack when the door to the garage slammed.
“Kids? I’m home.” Mom dropped her briefcase on the floor, then headed for the stairs. Gracie squeezed Dylan’s hand as Mom walked right past them on the landing. She didn’t see them at all! They followed her down the hall as she knocked on Alex’s door before pushing it open.
“So? How bad was detention?”
Alex, lying on his bed playing his Game Boy, shrugged. “She yelled at us to shut up the whole time. We didn’t and now everyone has another day of detention.”
“You’re kidding!”
“Nope.”
“That’s horrible!” Mom said. “Why didn’t the school call me?”
“They said they tried.”
Mom took out her BlackBerry, stared at the screen, then went down the hall, knocked, and opened Jen’s door. “Jen! What happened to your face?”
Jen was lying on her bed in her pj’s, and she’d put Band-Aids over the inflamed scratches on her cheek and neck. Her stained clothes lay in a pile on the floor. Jen told Mom everything that had happened in the cafeteria.
“And get this,” Jen finished. “Gracie comes into the lunchroom, and I’m getting beat up by this girl, I mean totally smacked around, and Gracie doesn’t even try to get her off of me or anything.”
“Th—” Gracie started, but Dylan squeezed her hand and she bit her invisible lip.
“She just stands there like a complete idiot and stares at me like I’ve got three heads, and then turns around and runs the other way. I mean, it’s bad enough to have this space-cadet sister who’s like a
total
social liability, but the fact that she’s not even
loyal
really ticks me off. Plus, she stole my earrings.”
“Jen, I find this entire episode appalling. You were suspended, and that other girl was expelled? Why wasn’t I called?” Mom punched a few more buttons on her BlackBerry.
“They said they tried. And I didn’t even do anything, Mom; I was just carrying my tray across the lunchroom, minding my own business.”
“Oh, gosh. I have three messages. They must have called during that staff meeting when I turned my phone to vibrate,” Mom said.
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