Golden Ticket by Kate Egan

Author:Kate Egan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Chapter Nine

Ash stayed in her bedroom for most of the night, pretending to do her homework. Was she supposed to do her math for Mr. Lopez now? A part of her wanted to do it, just to keep up with the GT class, but another part of her never wanted to see it again. When she did look at it, the triangles and circles all blurred together. Her phone bleeped just as she’d finally given up and started drawing in her notebook. Ash had a text, and there was only one person, apart from her family, who had her number. Jane.

Ash put the finishing touches on her sketch of a horse, making sure the mane was just right. She took a deep breath before daring to read the message, but the text was friendly enough. Jane didn’t seem to suspect anything was wrong, and if she was still upset about the Quiz Bowl, she didn’t mention it. Missed you this afternoon, Jane wrote. I did some more work on Moon Island. We’re almost ready to make some models! Ash didn’t text back. There was nothing she could say.

Gracie gave her a pep talk on the way to school the next day. “It’s going to be fine, Ash,” she said. “Like everything else, this is going to blow over.” Anyone who overheard them would have thought Gracie was the older sister.

“I hope so,” Ash said. Even though nothing else would be normal today, she was still early for school. She slunk past the main office with her head down and hesitated before she stepped into Ms. Cooper’s room.

Yesterday, Ash had seen a new side of Ms. Cooper. Her smile had been pressed down into a straight line, her gaze unblinking. Today, though, the usual Ms. Cooper was back, as sunny as ever. “Good morning, sweetie,” she said when Ash arrived. “Let’s make today a good day, okay?”

This was not at all what Ash expected. “Okay,” she said. Her eyes swam with tears again.

Ms. Cooper’s voice was soft. “Listen,” she said. “Can I give you a piece of advice?”

“I guess so,” Ash said.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” said Ms. Cooper. “Don’t make this worse than it has to be. You did something wrong, and you’re going to make it right. You admitted it, and you’ll apologize. What else can you do? You can only do your best, Ash. You can only look ahead. And who knows? Maybe something good can come out of this episode. Try to keep an open mind, okay?”

Her face lit up with a smile, and Ash did her best to match it, even though this was the most confusing advice she had ever heard.

“Honestly, I’m thrilled you’ll be with my class all day,” Ms. Cooper continued. “You’re going to grow a good deal more than you think.”

Ash had her doubts, but she nodded politely, and then her classmates started to arrive. Caden tried to get her attention by poking her with the eraser end of his pencil, but Ash sat stiffly, pretending to be wrapped up in her book.

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