“What’s going on, James?” She eyed me. “What’s your angle here?”
“Myangle?”
“Yes, clearly you wrote this.”
This time it was me who laughed. “Principal Unger,” I said, “why would I write a fake absence note for my sister?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “That’s why I’m asking.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer,” I told her. “Grace loves school. You know her—she smiles all day, every day. She wouldn’t stay home unless she was sick. Which sheis.” I gestured to the receipt. “Our mom really did write that note.”
Principal Unger picked up her office phone. “We’re goingto see about that.” She looked at me, ready to dial. “Your mother’s cell phone, please?”
I rattled off the number but made sure to add, “She won’t pick up, though. She has a huge pitch at the ad firm today.”
Her pursed lips twisted. “Grace, then. Please call Grace, and put her on speaker.”
Are you fucking kidding me?nearly slipped out of my mouth. Because really, was she fucking kidding me?
But I did as instructed.
One ring.
Two rings.
Three rings.
Four.
On the fifth and final ring tone, we heard aclickand a feeble voice. “Hello?”
“Gracie!” I said overenthusiastically with gritted teeth. “I’m here with Principal Unger. She wanted to see how her president was doing.”
“Oh, Principal Unger, hi,” my sister said faintly. “I’d, um, rather not give you too many details if that’s okay. There’s a bucket involved.”
“Don’t worry, Miss Barbour, I don’t need them,” Principal Unger said while I heard what sounded like a muffled voice in the background. Was she watching Netflix or something? “Like your brother said, I only wanted to see how you’re faring.”
“Thank you, Principal,” Grace replied with a drained sigh. “I really appreciate that.”
Then, being my sister, she asked if I could stop by her classes to collect any assignments she’d be missing. “Sure thing,” I lied, knowing Isa would be on the case.
I felt a twinge in my ribs and fought the urge to wince.Isa…
Principal Unger and I stared at each other after she suggested Grace get some rest and I ended the call.
“May I be dismissed?” I asked, already half out of my chair. “Locker? Homeroom?”
“Yes,” she said mildly, still side-eyeing me. “I’ll see you later, James.”
Somehow word had spread like wildfire that Grace was sick. I skidded into Mr.Goldberg’s classroom right as the bell rang, and everyone sprung up from their desks. “How serious is it?” Grace’s ex-girlfriend Steph asked me. (Grace had broken up with her nicely enough that Steph still cared.) “Because last night at the library, Ididoverhear Leah Brennan telling Ty Wallace that when she swung through Chick-fil-A, she heard from Connor McCallister and Erin Magee that earlier at tennis practice, Grace said she was feeling a little woozy.”
“All right, I didn’t follow any of that,” I said, trying to find an open desk but also looking around for Isa. We needed to talk about last night. “But yep, she’s probably hacking up a lung as we speak.”
And watching Netflix,I thought, remembering that other voice I’d heard on the phone.Watching Netflix and hugging that bucket.
I ended up in the back row, searching for Isa’s too-tight ponytail among the heads in front of me. Since Grace was sick, David Morales—her vice president and ex-boyfriend—led the Pledge of Allegiance over the loudspeaker. “And last but certainly not least,” he said after making the morning announcements, “let’s all keep President Grace Barbour in our thoughts today. It’s been made known that she is currently in the hospital with food poisoning…”
“Oh, for shit’s sake,” I muttered, keeping my head down while Mr.Goldberg started taking attendance.
