My dad’s lopsided grin, which usually charmed everyone around him, sent a legit chill down my spine. “Yeah… she coulddefinitelyuse a hand.” They both looked over at Rose, who was fanning her face.
She stopped and stared at them. “What?”
Her dad pointed at her. “If Adrian is cool with it, you’re also working for the KoBra this summer.”
Rose froze. “Huh?!” she screeched, arms outstretched.
“You heard me. You’ve been busy with summer school and internships since sixth grade—it’s time you learned how to work a good old-fashioned summer job. Minimum wage.” He looked for confirmation at my dad, who nodded.
Rose’s mom looked like she was going to protest, but Mr. Carver sent her some spousal-telepathy signal. She nodded her head slowly and said, “That’s a great idea.Allthe money you two earn will go to paying back the school. How does that sound to you, Principal Sepulveda?”
I was too stunned to speak.Whatwas happening? Principal Sepulveda and our parents talked in a huddle, and Rose and I just stood there, helpless to our fates.
“Am I still suspended?” Rose asked, hands on her hips. “Hello?”
But they were absorbed in their conversation. I kicked the chair I had been sitting in, making it wobble but not fall over. Everyone ignored me.
The grown-up pack finally broke up, everyone looking satisfied. Principal Sepulveda pulled on her jacket. “All right, girls. Your parents have convinced me to hold off your suspensions since there are only two weeks left of school.Ifyou work all summer to help us pay for the damages, we can revisit this in the fall when school starts.”
Rose looked relieved, but I wasn’t. “Just give me the suspension! Leave me out of this UN deal!” I cried.
Principal Sepulveda chuckled. “It’s going to be an interesting summer, Clara.”
I looked helplessly at my dad, whose grim expression wasn’t changing. He turned his back to me and headed toward the door. When I looked over at Rose, our eyes met. I scowled, and a spark of hate ignited in her eyes before she swept out of the room with a flourish, her skirt twirling around her.
This is somenonsenseyou’ve started, Rose Carver. Ready your body for the worst summer of your life.
CHAPTER 5
My dad grounded me for the last two weeks of school. I wasforbiddento see Patrick and Felix outside of Elysian. They found that hilarious. I’d go to school then head straight home.
“What about Tulum?” Patrick had asked when I told them about my summer sentence. I swear he was more invested in my Tulum trip than I was. Patrick and Felix were kind of enamored of my mom. My mom’s life was, in general, #goals. Sometimes the only thing that got me through high school was knowing that a life like my mom’s was possible. Although she technically lived in São Paulo, she was barely home—never staying in one place long enough to get bored or bogged down by complicatedrelationships. If someone’slifecould be a role model for us, it was hers.
I had assured Patrick there was no way my dad would hold me to this for the entire summer. He would cave, because that’s what he always did. Especially this year, when I wouldn’t get to see my mom as much as I usually did. Despite her schedule, my mom always made sure to show up for my birthday and the holidays. And I always got to visit her twice a year, usually in New York or some other big city. But last Christmas she was sick and stuck in Thailand, and I hadn’t been able to make it out to visit her during spring break because of a visit from my grandparents. So there was no way my dad could make me skip yet another visit with her.
With this in mind, I played along with the punishment. While grounded, I didn’t sneak out, especially since my next-door neighbor Mr. Ramirez would have snitched on me in a second. Mr. Ramirez basically lived by his front window. He was the first person to catch me drinking, with a boy over, and sneaking out of my bedroom window. I thought people like him only existed in 1950s suburbs.
So the last two weeks of school was Netflix and chill. Literally.
And every single day that passed was filled with more dread than the day before because I knew it brought me closer to my KoBra prison sentence with Rose. Even though I was sure this entire punishment would end prematurely, the thought of spendinganytime with her made me want to puke.
***
The first Monday of summer break, I woke up to the blinds snapping open and sunlight flooding my room. “Bom dia, daughter!” my dad announced cheerfully, sipping from a giant thermos of coffee.
“No!” I yelled, throwing my pillow at him.
He knocked it out of the way with a soft punch. “Yes.”
When my eyes adjusted to the ungodly amount of light, I saw my dad holding up a KoBra T-shirt and a matching cap. I groaned. “I’m not wearing that.”
“I’m sorry, do you think you have achoicein the matter?”
In this light, my dad looked like a merch-wielding devil-angel—the sunlight haloed around him majestically.
“What time is it?” I grumbled, grasping for my phone on my nightstand.
He took another sip. “Six a.m. We have to replenish our ingredients today, so it’s an early one.”
