“My dad thinks girl, and my mom thinks boy,” Jessi said. “All I know is that it will be a baby, and either way it will be crying and screaming, so what does it matter?”

Frida said, “Maybe that’s what the chaos is going to be!”

“Well, I knew that already!” Jessi laughed. “I didn’t need the Flash Fortune app to tell me that.”

“She’s got a point, Frida,” I agreed.

I knew Frida was taking the app, and all this good luck stuff, very seriously, but I didn’t have much belief in it. I wasn’t going to be taking a trip far away soon. But I guess it was all just for fun. Right?

Chapter Three

The next day before dinner, I sat down at my desk in my bedroom to video chat with Kara, my best friend from Connecticut. There is a three-hour time difference between California and Connecticut. Sometimes I forget that and text Kara at nine at night in Cali, when it is actually midnight in Connecticut. Or sometimes Kara will want to talk to me, and it’s five a.m. in California—a little too early for me. But overall we’ve been pretty good at figuring out the time difference and keeping in touch.

“Hey, Devin!” Kara’s face popped up on my computer. She had her light brown hair pulled up on the top of her head in a bun. Wispy pieces fell from the bun and framed her face. It looked really pretty.

“Oh, I love your hair!” I said. “I’m going to try that.”

“Hey, you’ve got that rocking beach hair going on, complete with highlights,” she said. “Don’t steal my look!”

I laughed as I touched my own hair. Playing soccer out in the Cali sun had added some blondish streaks to my brown hair, and when I take a shower at night, I always pull my wet hair into a messy bun. When I wake up in the morning and take my hair out, it’s in nice beachy waves. That’s my beauty routine—fast and easy. I usually prefer spending time on the soccer field, not in front of a mirror.

“Hey, I’ve got great news!” Kara’s blue eyes got big and sparkly. “I was invited to Charlotte’s sweet sixteen party!”