Math made my brain hurt. The phone began to ring as Dad strode in the back door, fresh from a day of concrete finishing. I could smell him before he even hit the porch, something like sweat mixed with tar. Soap suds dripped down Mom’s arms as she did some pre-dinner dishes. A tiny bubble drifted ...
Gran finds me and gently propels me into the kitchen. She seats me at the table, hands me a cup of hot chocolate, and nudges a plate of cookies in my direction. I shove a cookie in my mouth and look at Gran with pleading, plaintive eyes. She doesn’t say anything but raises an eyebrow as she waits...
I was drawn out of my Kyle and Claudia contemplation just in time to see a basketball hurtling toward my head. Well, a basketball and Josh Larson. Josh knocked the ball away just as it was about to make contact and landed hard on the bleacher in front of me, wincing in pain. &nb...
The wipers swiped at the build-up ineffectively. Squinting through the haze, Charlotte Miller thought that the light was at least yellow, so she tapped her brake pedal to slow the car down. The wheels scrambled to find traction, and Charlotte's breath caught as she felt the car fishtail before ri...
Hayley came into my room, a brush in one hand and her unplugged hair dryer in the other. I put a bracelet on and asked, “Why wouldn’t I?” “Oh come on, you haven’t been in a while,” she said. “I’ll be ready to leave in fifteen minutes.” I watched her...
Jake loomed in the back; a big, hulking shadow of disapproval. When we pulled into my driveway, Rory draped his arm across the back of my seat. “Listen, some of my friends are having a party, do you want to run in and change? Then you could come with me.” He fingered the s...