Just then Rebecca reaches me, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward art class. I hiss in Mattie’s ear, “I’ll text you my address. See you on Friday.”

“All right, I got it, Mercedes.” Now she sounds annoyed. Which makes me even more annoyed.

CHAPTER 13 Mattie

Not what we usually do on a school night,” my mom says after school, “but definitely better than cooking dinner and doing dishes.” Her new wedding ring glints as she climbs in the passenger seat of the minivan. She winks at Bob, who’s got his hands on the steering wheel. “I could get used to life in California.”

“Yay!” shouts Lucas from the last row in the minivan.

Even though it’s a school night, the Jasper family is going out. Back home in Minnesota, we never went anywhere on weeknights. My mom came home from work at five, I helped her make dinner, and then I did my homework while she watched the news. Sometimes we played a game on her phone or I helped her with a crossword puzzle—usually her figuring out the answers and me writing the letters in the little boxes. On Thursdays I got to stay up later than usual and watch TV. As long as my homework was done, she let me curl up on the couch with her. In the winter she would drink tea and I would have a hot chocolate. In the summer we made her special drink, mint fizz, which was just a few leaves of mint from her pot on the step mixed with sparkling water. This, though, is a totally different Thursday.

“You’ll love the Boardwalk, Mattie,” Bob says as he pulls out of the driveway.

“Roller coaster!” shouts Lucas.

“Can I get a corn dog? And an ice cream cone?” Kenny asks.

I expect my mom to say that corn dogs aren’t dinner, but she just laughs.

When we arrive, the boys shoot out of the car like a cannon. They’re excited about the rides, but I don’t like speed or heights—in other words, I hate roller coasters. I like knowing what’s going to happen next, not being surprised by bumps and drops.

“Can I get cotton candy?” I ask my mom when I see a concession stand, even though I know my super-health-crazy mom will never let me.

“I suppose,” she says. “Sounds like we’ll just have a junk food dinner.”

I stare at her. What has happened to my mother?

“Ready for the roller coaster, Mattie?” Bob asks after our questionable dinner—lots of hot dogs and ice cream and fries.

“Mattie hates fast,” my mom says.

“I like slower things,” I say. “Like chess.” I glance at Kenny, hoping maybe he’ll acknowledge my existence. But he just says, “I love roller coasters. Especially this one. It’s extra fast.”

“Sounds exciting to me,” my mom says.