“Okay,” I say. “Y’all eat and I’ll entertain the twins.”
Neither Inga nor Vernon argues at that. The two of them pick sparingly at my mother’s oatmeal and topping selection while I make ridiculous faces at Nikolai and Luka as I bounce their carriers back and forth.
The gym has been closed to the public since Wednesday, when I showed up to find the place a complete wreck. Since then I’ve felt inexplicably anxious. It’s not that I feel unsafe, but I feel... out of sorts.
“Have they figured out what they’re doing with the girl Millie caught on camera?” my mom asks.
“We have,” says Vernon, using that voice he so often uses with my mother. It’s that you-won’t-like-this-but-you-can’t-change-it voice.
“We!” exclaims Inga. “More likehe! I had no part in this decision.” Both Nikolai and Luka sob in unison. Inga circles around to them, relieving me of my brief duties. “I know, babies. Your father is a spineless do-gooder.”
“Thanks,” says Vernon. “I’m sure they’ll respect me for life now.”
“Do something respectable,” she says. “Earn respect. Simple.”
He sighs. “I offered to let the girl work off the damages at the gym.”
“What!” My voice surprises even me. I clear my throat. “I’m sorry, but did you just say that Callie Reyes would be working at the gym?”
Mom turns away from her waffle maker. “Oh, Vernon, you don’t even need help at the gym. It’s not like she’ll be saving you any money.”
He shrugs. “The girl didn’t act alone, okay? I spent a lot of years getting into trouble. Maybe if someone would’ve given me a shot like this, I would’ve gotten to the finish line a little sooner.”
Mom and Inga shake their heads. I do, too.
Positive thoughts. Think positive thoughts.
But this is going to be—
Positive thoughts, I remind myself.Positive thoughts.
Nope. Hard as I try, I just can’t imagine a world where the next few months working with Callie aren’t miserable. Maybe Callie isn’t the biggest bully in school, but she’s not what I would call nice either.
It will only be as bad as you allow it to be, a small voice inside me says.
But the voice is too small to affect my growing sense of doom.
Callie
Eight
I didn’t realize how chaotic my world was until this weekend. Keith locked my cell phone away in the safe where he keeps his hunting rifles. I thought that was tragic, but then my mom locked me out of all the computers in the house, changed the Wi-Fi password, and added parental controls so that all I can watch is the History Channel. Somehow that last thing was what pissed me off the most. And that was only Friday.
I spent all evening Friday pacing my room like a prison yard. I knew my necklace gave me away, but it’s just a simpleCnecklace. Someone must have tipped off the sheriff. It was Melissa. That was something I had absolutely no doubt about.
By Saturday afternoon, I’m wondering what the rest of the team knows and how they’ve reacted. Surely more of them will come forward once they know I got caught.I mean, if everyone just owns up, they can’t disband the whole team.Sam wouldn’t let that happen. I wish I could just get a text out to her. At the very least I would tell her not to trust Melissa.
That afternoon my mother hands down my official punishment. She knocks on my door, not waiting for me to tell her to come in.
I sit on my bed with my Algebra Two homework spread out around me.
Mama only takes two steps in past the doorway.
“I’ve spoken with Sheriff Bell and Vice Principal Benavidez. The owner has graciously decided to hold off on pressing charges, so long as you work off the cost of the damage by helping out at the gym after school and sometimes on the weekends.”
I stand up, my arms crossed. “That won’t work. I can’t do that. Not with Nationals coming up. I can’t just continue to skip practice.”
She doesn’t even bother acknowledging my protest. “And Vice Principal Benavidez spoke with Principal Armstrong. They’ve both come to the conclusion that it would be inappropriate for you to continue on with the Shamrocks.”
