17 First Kisses by Allen Rachael

Author:Allen, Rachael
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperTeen

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

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Chapter

10

Mama’s voice carries into my bathroom while I’m blow-drying my hair.

“Hey, Claire, can I drive you to school this morning on my way to run errands? I need a new lens.”

My mom. Awake. At seven thirty on a Monday morning. It’s all I can do not to pinch myself.

“Sure.”

I text Megan that I don’t need a ride today. She’s been MIA this weekend (not a good sign), and my stomach is in knots with wondering what happened between her and Luke, but there’s no way I’m turning down a ride from my mom. I practically skip downstairs and into the kitchen to make my scrambled eggs. Libby sits at the table with a bowl of peaches ’n’ cream oatmeal and a shocked expression.

“You okay?”

She points to the counter, where two insulated lunch bags sit side by side.

“She made lunches too?” I whisper.

Libby nods.

I peek inside. The food is totally normal. A chicken-salad sandwich, some fruit, a yogurt. My mom’s heels click toward the kitchen, causing me to shove the bag back into place and pretend egg scrambling is an all-consuming task. Wait a minute. Heels! I glance down. She is wearing heels. And makeup. And pearls. Before everything went wrong, I thought it was weird that she got all dolled up even to run to the grocery store. But in the years after, it was much stranger to watch her leave the house with a messy ponytail and haunted eyes.

“We’re leaving in five minutes,” she announces before breezing out of the room.

Libby shovels in the rest of her oatmeal, and I eat my eggs straight from the pan. Then we pile into the car, me riding shotgun, Libby in the backseat. Mama and I make awkward small talk. Libby doesn’t say a word—even when we drop her off. She just leans in between the seats to give Mama a hug before running inside.

I’m still thinking about Libby when we pull up to the turnaround in front of George P. Rutherford High School.

“Have a good day at school,” Mama says. She smiles a brilliant smile, like the ones she used to smile all the time before Timothy.

“Thanks.” It’s all I can think of. I hover by the car window, wishing I could say so much more. Her eyes search mine, still smiling, and she gives the tiniest of nods. I think she knows.

When I slide into my chair at lunch, the first thing Megan says to me is, “I know you’re mad.”

“Huh?”

“You didn’t ride with me this morning because you’re mad at me about Luke?”

“No. My mom wanted to drive me.”

“Oh. Well, that’s great.”

An awkward silence follows.

“Should I be mad at you about Luke?”

I start to feel queasy when she takes so long to answer.

“We’re together,” she finally says.

Those two words are like a punch in the gut. I knew this was going to happen. The girl gets everything she wants—and apparently Luke falls into the category of everything. But for a little while at the football game, and on the swing Friday night .

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