She knew she’d been grounded for a good, long time, no matter what clever lies or stories she conjured for her parents. Once school started on Monday, it would be school, then home. Period. When play practice started for the spring musical, she would be allowed to attend rehearsals, but that was it. All in all, she thought, it wasn’t a bad deal. Sneak off to New York, have a lusty bout of almost-sex with your hot boyfriend, get grounded. There were worse things to get grounded for. And fortunately her parents hadn’t decided to take away her phone. It rang now, TLC’s “Waterfalls” blaring out too loud. Connie’s mom loved that old song, sang it around the house all the time, until it was ingrained in Connie’s brain. She wasn’t sure if she loved the song or not, but she was obsessed with it just from hearing it all the time. “Don’t go chasing…” She turned down the volume on her phone. It would suck if her parents heard the ringtone and thought, Oh, yeah, we should confiscate her phone, too.
