I didn’t have time to wonder because Principal Windsor caught my eye through the door and motioned to me. That was weird. My heart raced, but I knew I couldn’t be in trouble. Could I? When I stepped out into the hall, he handed me a little cardboard box that had already been opened. I looked at him questioningly. “It’s a gift,” he said, then walked away.

I set the box down on the floor, crouching over it. Removing the paper, I found a chocolate tackle box from Dylan’s Candy Bar. My favorite. I knew right away who it was from, and my eyes teared up remembering that Dad wouldn’t be here to fight over the Peanut Butter Pretzel Poppers with me. The card said: Break a leg on your geometry test today! All dads love their daughters. I’m a dad. Therefore, I love YOU. (A little deductive reasoning in case you forget!)

I held the card up to my chest. He was cooped up in jail and had remembered my test—and that I was struggling with deductive reasoning. It made me even more excited to see him this afternoon.

Three hours later, Merit pulled up in front of a long white building that, I’ll be honest, didn’t really look like a jail. There wasn’t a huge barbed-wire fence around it like in the movies. And I could see a basketball court and some picnic tables, so maybe Dad was at least getting some fresh air. Vitamin D was very important. “Maybe I’ll stay for a pickup game,” Merit joked, looking over at a group of men who were playing.

“I’ll walk you in,” Merit said, obviously sensing my nerves.

But then my mom jogged out the front door, and I said, “Don’t worry about it,” trying to seem cooler than I felt. “Hey, thanks for driving me.”

“Anytime.” He smiled at me, and, while I had believed his hotness was affecting me slightly less, butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Don’t get me wrong, I knew I had a huge crush on him. But I was getting to know him well enough that I thought I was acting sort of normal. I didn’t say one stupid thing during my whole surf lesson Sunday. Although it was kind of hard to talk while waves were smashing me in the face. Maybe that was better.

Mom opened the car door. “Thanks, Merit,” she said. Then, looking at me with her we got this face, “You ready?”

“Sure,” I said with much more confidence than I felt. I got out of the car and slammed the door. Suddenly the thought of walking into that building made me feel sick.