I closed the magazine and cracked the window. I was starting to feel queasy from reading in the car. I’d finish it later with Josh when he got to The Doughnut Stop after hockey practice.

“So how was school?” Dad asked.

“Fine,” Jeanine said. “Oh, except Ms. Shepard doesn’t want me helping out after vacation.”

Jeanine’s math is way beyond what they teach at Waydin, so before we started in January, my parents and the principal agreed that she’d do online courses with the Center for Talented Youth and help out in math classes at Waydin during her free periods.

“But I thought that was going so well,” Dad said. “What happened?”

“I don’t know.”

I laughed. “Oh, come on. You correct Ms. Shepard in class in front of everybody.”

Dad frowned at the rearview mirror. “You don’t. Please, tell me you don’t.”

“I have an obligation to make sure that the math is correct. That’s why Principal Kritcher put me in there.”

“Couldn’t you at least wait until after class?” Dad said.

“So those kids are supposed to learn it wrong for an entire day?”

I had to admit Jeanine had a point. Dad must have thought so too because he dropped the subject. “How was your day, Zo?”

“Did you know if you suck really hard on your arm, you can make a heart?” Zoe pushed up her sleeve and showed us her arm in the rearview mirror.

“You gave yourself a hickey?” I said.

“A heart. It’s pretty.” Zoe studied her work. “Want one?”

“Uh, no thanks,” I said.

“Zo Zo, no hickeys, okay?” Dad said.

“You mean on other people?”

“I mean, on anyone.”

“Why?”

“Because… Just don’t.”

Zoe didn’t say anything. I was pretty sure the next chance she had, she’d be spelling her name in hickey.

“And Tris, what about you,” Dad said. “Last day before break, how was it?”

“A five.”

“School is always a five with you.”

“Yeah, well, that’s kind of its ceiling.”

“That makes me sad.”

I hate it when he says that. I mean, I don’t want to make him sad, because he’s a pretty good dad given the other dads I’ve seen, and I think he knows that I don’t want to make him sad, so is he basically just asking me to lie to him?

“Think of it this way, I never say it’s less than a five, right? So that should make you happy.”

“But do you ever think maybe, just maybe, it could be a seven? What would that look like?”

“Not school?”

“I give up. Any big plans for spring break?”

“Figure out how to make doughnuts faster.”

Chapter 2

We dropped Zoe at home, then headed to town. Jeanine came with me and Dad so she could go to the library, her favorite place on earth.

My favorite place on earth? The NYC Cake and Bake Supply Company.

I had to get to The Doughnut Stop to open at 4:00 p.m. We used to be open just weekends, but in February, Josh and I convinced our parents we could handle Friday hours too. It turns out we can’t, but let’s just keep that between us.