Grace didn’t actually want to go to Rockin’ Jump today, but her father had already bought the tickets. So she’s at the trampoline park with a hundred screaming, running, jumping kids. She doesn’t know how to tell her dad she’s eleven now — which is to say, she is too old for this.

It seriously does not help that Candace is trying to prove she can be the cool stepmom. She’s clingy, standing too close to Grace all the time, acting like they’re besties — “So who are you crushing on, Grace? What’s his name? Is he cuuuuuute?” Gag.

Candace doesn’t realize that it’s already over. Her attempts at parenting, cooking, and tantric yoga — none of those will save her. Grace has seen the process several times now. Her dad has pulled the trigger inside his head.

Which is why Grace wanders off on her own inside the cavernous building when the fight begins. She figures they need a little space for the inevitable final sequence. By the time she gets back, Candace will be crying in an Uber, and her dad will be guilty and relieved. Then they’ll go for pizza.

Her dad doesn’t mean to be such a jerk. He knows he made a huge mistake when he left her mom; he’s said as much to her, thinking she was too young to understand. She suspects he’d like a do-over. But that’s never going to happen.

Her mom, Grace has noticed, has this sometimes scary ability to not need anyone else, to get along fine on her own, no matter what. There are moments when she’s come home early from fencing practice or soccer and caught her mother off guard. Not much, because nobody ever catches her mom completely off guard. But in those moments, she gets a chance to see her when the Mom Face is down. And her mother seems…perfect. Untouchable, in some way that Grace can’t fully explain.

Grace wonders if someone that untouchable can ever be close to anyone, no matter how hard they try.

She thinks about this as she stands in line for the Gladiator Challenge. It’s a balance beam over a big pit full of foam blocks. Kids line up on either side, and they’re given foam-covered poles with big pads on the ends, like giant Q-tips, and they whack the crap out of each other until one of them falls in the pit.

It’s her favorite thing here, honestly. She’s not sure why. She’s very good at it, though.