I wasn’t expecting fights or poor grades on my first date with Blake. But Mom had just moved back from the hotel and she wanted to give me a ride, so I had to take all necessary precautions. She told me I looked beautiful57 and then she started the engine and cried. She wanted to talk about why she had been gone so long but I shut her down. I refused to spend my first date scratching like a flea-ridden cat. I had waited seven days for her explanation. What was one more day? So I said that and then blasted the radio. “Sexy and I Know It” was on.58 A letter in a plain white envelope rested on the seat between us. It was addressed to me in Helvetica 12-point font. “What’s this?” “Oh, that came today,” she said, sniffling. “I forgot to give it to you.” “Finally,” I said, assuming it was U.S. Customs saying my SWAP bracelets had cleared. If I collected the money by Wednesday I’d still have time to enter and I wouldn’t need “the solution” again until finals. I tore the letter open.
