relievers Mom hands me and head back to my room to get ready for school. I look for something to put on my hands to cover the bandages. I don’t want people asking me what happened. It’ll get to over one hundred degrees by lunchtime, so mittens won’t fly. I can’t find anything and I’m running out of time when Mom calls me for breakfast. Jana is sitting at the table, talking with Mom.
“Well, I always knew you were a world-class klutz, but this really takes the cake!” Jana laughs. I make a face at her as Mom reaches over and swats the back of her head with the morning paper. By the time I finish eating, I only have time to grab my stuff and go. Jana gets her keys, so I gather she’s taking me, which worries me a little. Jana doesn’t have the best driving record—and that’s putting it nicely.
“Try to get me to school in one piece please,” I quip.
“You’re not worried I’ll hurt you, are you? You seem to be handling that pretty well yourself.”
“Hardy-har-har,” I say lamely.
As we back out of the driveway in Jana’s little car, she nearly backs into a dark truck driving past. It was such a close call I’m surprised when the driver doesn’t honk or give us the finger. They do, however, slow down a little to check us out through their tinted windows. I’m unable to see who’s behind the wheel, but the license plate is from California.
That makes me think of my dad’s mom, Gram, who lives in Glendale, California. Summer is almost here, which means it’s almost time for my annual trip to see her. I’m really close to Gram, and I look forward to my visits with her all year.
Jana is surprisingly quiet the entire trip to school. As we pull into the parking lot, she stops next to the curb and gets out of the car. I’m shocked as she opens the door for me. I gather my stuff and climb out of my seat. I’m about to deliver some witty remark about her managing not to kill me when she spontaneously hugs me. She’s gentle so she doesn’t hurt my ribs.
“Please try to be careful with yourself. You’re my only sister, and even though you can be a twerp, I kinda like ya,” she grumbles.
A show of affection like this from Jana is rare. “Thanks, Jana. You’re not so bad yourself.”
“Have a good day, sis.” She gets back in her car and pulls out to leave, narrowly missing another car driving by. It’s so typically Jana that I can’t help but laugh.
I make it to first hour without anyone asking what happened to my hands. Once I’m called to give my presentation, I grab my visuals and charts and head to the front of class.
Mr. Perry immediately notices my bandaged palms and says, “Good gracious, Addy, what did you do to yourself?”
Because I’m not even sure what did happen, I decide to stick close to the version of events in my dream.
“I fell in the street last night and skinned up my palms,” I mumble, hoping to avoid further questions.
“Bummer. All right, well, good luck.” He smiles and motions for me to begin.
My presentation goes off without a hitch, and when I’m finished, I feel pretty good about it. Technically, I could go home now and sleep the rest of the day, but as I take inventory of my injuries, I find they really don’t hurt so much. The medicine must be doing its job. I use Mr. Perry’s phone after class to call my mom and tell her I’m doing fine and that I’m going to stay and get a ride home from Tori.
I’m a little apprehensive about seeing Tori after last night’s dream with the fake Tori. But when I see her in third hour, it’s reassuring to find my worries are unfounded. Tori is still her normal, shallow self—the first thing she says upon seeing me is how much my bandages make me look like a leper. She doesn’t even ask why I’m wearing them. Some things never change.
“Let’s go out for lunch today,” she says as we walk to our lockers after class. “I’m in the mood for a big, fat juicy burger.”
“Did you and Jordan get in
“Well, I always knew you were a world-class klutz, but this really takes the cake!” Jana laughs. I make a face at her as Mom reaches over and swats the back of her head with the morning paper. By the time I finish eating, I only have time to grab my stuff and go. Jana gets her keys, so I gather she’s taking me, which worries me a little. Jana doesn’t have the best driving record—and that’s putting it nicely.
“Try to get me to school in one piece please,” I quip.
“You’re not worried I’ll hurt you, are you? You seem to be handling that pretty well yourself.”
“Hardy-har-har,” I say lamely.
As we back out of the driveway in Jana’s little car, she nearly backs into a dark truck driving past. It was such a close call I’m surprised when the driver doesn’t honk or give us the finger. They do, however, slow down a little to check us out through their tinted windows. I’m unable to see who’s behind the wheel, but the license plate is from California.
That makes me think of my dad’s mom, Gram, who lives in Glendale, California. Summer is almost here, which means it’s almost time for my annual trip to see her. I’m really close to Gram, and I look forward to my visits with her all year.
Jana is surprisingly quiet the entire trip to school. As we pull into the parking lot, she stops next to the curb and gets out of the car. I’m shocked as she opens the door for me. I gather my stuff and climb out of my seat. I’m about to deliver some witty remark about her managing not to kill me when she spontaneously hugs me. She’s gentle so she doesn’t hurt my ribs.
“Please try to be careful with yourself. You’re my only sister, and even though you can be a twerp, I kinda like ya,” she grumbles.
A show of affection like this from Jana is rare. “Thanks, Jana. You’re not so bad yourself.”
“Have a good day, sis.” She gets back in her car and pulls out to leave, narrowly missing another car driving by. It’s so typically Jana that I can’t help but laugh.
I make it to first hour without anyone asking what happened to my hands. Once I’m called to give my presentation, I grab my visuals and charts and head to the front of class.
Mr. Perry immediately notices my bandaged palms and says, “Good gracious, Addy, what did you do to yourself?”
Because I’m not even sure what did happen, I decide to stick close to the version of events in my dream.
“I fell in the street last night and skinned up my palms,” I mumble, hoping to avoid further questions.
“Bummer. All right, well, good luck.” He smiles and motions for me to begin.
My presentation goes off without a hitch, and when I’m finished, I feel pretty good about it. Technically, I could go home now and sleep the rest of the day, but as I take inventory of my injuries, I find they really don’t hurt so much. The medicine must be doing its job. I use Mr. Perry’s phone after class to call my mom and tell her I’m doing fine and that I’m going to stay and get a ride home from Tori.
I’m a little apprehensive about seeing Tori after last night’s dream with the fake Tori. But when I see her in third hour, it’s reassuring to find my worries are unfounded. Tori is still her normal, shallow self—the first thing she says upon seeing me is how much my bandages make me look like a leper. She doesn’t even ask why I’m wearing them. Some things never change.
“Let’s go out for lunch today,” she says as we walk to our lockers after class. “I’m in the mood for a big, fat juicy burger.”
“Did you and Jordan get in
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