“Jasmine, Kayla. Come in here, please,” I hear my mom call from the kitchen. I let out a sigh and follow Kayla down the hall. My mom is sitting at the table, and Travis is standing by the counter.
“Jasmine, where were you?” she says.
“At Alice’s,” I say.
Travis sighs loudly and leans against the cabinets. “Kayla?”
Kayla looks at me and rolls her eyes. “A party,” she says.
I drop my head and take a deep breath. Here we go.
“So, you’re back to lying?” my mom asks, whipping her head in my direction. “That quickly, huh? I can see your location from my phone, Jasmine.” I keep my head down, but I can see her feet moving closer. Ugh. I can’t believe I forgot she could track me.
“I didn’t have to ask you a damn thing, I just wanted to see if you would lie to me. And of course you did.Of courseyou did!” she yells.
“Okay, Janice, come on,” Travis says. “It’s not only her fault.”
“What’s not?” my mom asks him sharply. “Is it my fault that she can’t be trusted then?”
Travis sighs and shakes his head. My mom turns her attention back to me.
“I told her it was cool for us to go. She didn’t want to, but I insisted. I didn’t know it would be such a big deal,” Kayla pipes up.
I finally lift my head, grateful and surprised that Kayla is standing up for me.
“Yes, Kayla—for you. Jasmine isn’t in the same boat. She has different rules, and she knows that,” my mom says, glaring at me.
“And that’s so fair,” I mumble.
Kayla takes a step back into the hallway, and my mom catches my eye before I can look away. “Have you forgotten why things are like this? Remember violating PINS for a random night out? Did that end well for you, Jasmine?”
I can’t believe she’s going there. “Maybe if you were home more, you could’ve made me stay inside!” I yell.
“Janice…” Travis says, his voice low.
“You are grounded,” my mom says, throwing her hands up and storming out. Travis follows her.
I run upstairs and slam my door, the tears falling as soon as I hit my bed.
Then
After our pizza dinner, me, Amari, and two girls I don’t know that well—Kia and Mary—are on cleanup duty. Samantha walks into the kitchen just as I load the last plate into the dishwasher. She gives me a knowing look, raising her eyebrows as she passes.
“Ms. Pat said there should be a slice in here for me,” she says, slamming the fridge shut when she doesn’t find one.
“She lied to you,” Amari says, laughing. “They ordered like one slice per person.”
“Exactly?” She throws her hands up in confusion. “So, where’s mine?”
Mary stops wiping down the counter and opens the microwave. “In there,” she mumbles.
“Thank you for your hard work,” Samantha says sarcastically.
“You’re lucky we didn’t eat it,” Kia says.
Samantha doesn’t respond and just presses a button to warm up her pizza.
I walk over to her because I want to know where she was. It kept crossing my mind that maybe she had left already. “Why did you miss dinner?” I ask quietly. The sound of the dishwasher masks our conversation.
