Oh. My. Gods. - Weebly
Oh. My. Gods. - Weebly Oh. My. Gods. - Weebly
“That sounds like you’re running away from your problems.” “No,” I insist as I drop into one of the chairs in front of the desk. “It’s more than that, really. I miss Cesca and Nola and Southern California. I even miss . . .” I pull out the surefire family card. “. . . Yia Yia Minta. I bet she misses me, too.” Mom smiles. “Nice try.” Can’t I get anything past the adults in this house? Mom might as well read minds like Damian. “Fine, it’s not about Yia Yia Minta. It’s about me.” I cross my arms over my chest. “I’m not happy here. I’m not going to be happy here. I’m counting the days until I can go home—something this place will never be for me.” She watches me for a long time, like she’s evaluating me for a psych report. I’m used to this. She’s been shrinking my head since I was a baby—and it’s not going to work any better now than it did then. I just lie back and relax until she reaches her conclusion. What she says surprises the crap out of me. “I’m sorry for putting you through this.” She actually looks sad. “If there had been any other way—I feel so selfish for turning your world upside-down, just so I could be happy.” Her voice kinda cracks at the end, and I see tears form in her eyes. Can she really be this heartbroken? After all, she’s the one who brought me here. I tried to tell her I didn’t want to— She sobs. A big gasping sob backed up by a whole lot of tears. As she reaches for a tissue from the nearest bookshelf, I feel super guilty for making her feel so rotten. 196
“Don’t be ridiculous, Mom,” I soothe. “You deserve happiness as much as anybody. More, on most days.” “I should have waited,” she says, shaking her head. “Damian and I could have married next summer.” I wince as she blows her nose with a big honk. “I’m over that,” I say, handing her the box of tissues. “I’m going to miss you so much when you go off to college.” The tears start again with more force. “After your father died you were the only thing that kept me going. I want to hold on to you for a little longer, is that so wrong?” “Aw, Mom.” I jump out of my chair and hurry around to her side. Pulling her into a big bear hug, I promise, “I’ll still come back on holidays and maybe even summer vacation. I’ll be the only kid on campus who gets to spend all her off time on a Greek island. Everyone will be so jealous.” She laughs through her sniffles and squeezes me back. We are still clutched in a tight hug when Damian walks in. “We have a problem,” he says, his voice tight and flat. “A big problem.” 197
- Page 153 and 154: Who wouldn’t stare at a girl on h
- Page 155 and 156: paper bag in his left hand. My hear
- Page 157 and 158: comfy gray sweats. I feel practical
- Page 159 and 160: accept responsibility for his actio
- Page 161 and 162: “Right,” he says, his eyes snap
- Page 163 and 164: “No, really, that’s not nec—
- Page 165 and 166: He nods once. “How many of you ar
- Page 167 and 168: I was taunting him in the qualifyin
- Page 169 and 170: Oh. My. God. I totally forgot the s
- Page 171 and 172: LostPhoebe: just some junk about sc
- Page 173 and 174: NaughtyNic: did she freak out? Lost
- Page 175 and 176: LostPhoebe: um, not anymore Princes
- Page 177 and 178: While everyone moves to a machine,
- Page 179 and 180: friendly advice when suddenly her a
- Page 181 and 182: fifty years in a day.” Then, purs
- Page 183 and 184: though I didn’t mean to do it, it
- Page 185 and 186: he said, We can easily forgive a ch
- Page 187 and 188: Somehow that’s more appropriate f
- Page 189 and 190: teau and any day now I’m going to
- Page 191 and 192: From the corner of my eye I see the
- Page 193 and 194: Griffin adds, “I’ll make sure s
- Page 195 and 196: “Fine.” I turn off the track, h
- Page 197 and 198: “Oh really?” I ask, trying for
- Page 199 and 200: He makes no indication he even hear
- Page 201 and 202: announcement wouldn’t be made unt
- Page 203: stay focused on my goal. I can’t
- Page 207 and 208: ecause she doesn’t have a blog. B
- Page 209 and 210: When she and Damian make no move to
- Page 211 and 212: “You’re right,” I say. “The
- Page 213 and 214: “Is everything all right?” she
- Page 215 and 216: “Tell them what?” he asks. cian
- Page 217 and 218: I manage to steer clear of Stella u
- Page 219 and 220: take a calming breath. I’ve decid
- Page 221 and 222: coveted trophy at their school for
- Page 223 and 224: “Hey, how is my being part of tha
- Page 225 and 226: fall for his lies. He could be maki
- Page 227 and 228: “Whatever.” I roll my eyes. But
- Page 229 and 230: “We’ve got another mile left on
- Page 231 and 232: “What are you doing with him?”
- Page 233 and 234: what happened to his parents. Wrapp
- Page 235 and 236: He’s such a good friend I know he
- Page 237 and 238: I’m on my way through the door wh
- Page 239 and 240: a quick glance around to see if any
- Page 241 and 242: I wish I could know what Jackie is
- Page 243 and 244: The finish line is closing in, so I
- Page 245 and 246: know Nola and Cesca from anyone, bu
- Page 247 and 248: Damian, following us across the law
- Page 249 and 250: When I glance back he’s still the
- Page 251 and 252: stand what he’s saying. It’s li
- Page 253 and 254: “What rules?” I stare at him, f
“That sounds like you’re running away from your problems.”<br />
“No,” I insist as I drop into one of the chairs in front of the<br />
desk. “It’s more than that, really. I miss Cesca and Nola and Southern<br />
California. I even miss . . .” I pull out the surefire family card.<br />
“. . . Yia Yia Minta. I bet she misses me, too.”<br />
Mom smiles. “Nice try.”<br />
Can’t I get anything past the adults in this house? Mom might as<br />
well read minds like Damian.<br />
“Fine, it’s not about Yia Yia Minta. It’s about me.” I cross my arms<br />
over my chest. “I’m not happy here. I’m not going to be happy here.<br />
I’m counting the days until I can go home—something this place<br />
will never be for me.”<br />
She watches me for a long time, like she’s evaluating me for a<br />
psych report. I’m used to this. She’s been shrinking my head since<br />
I was a baby—and it’s not going to work any better now than it did<br />
then.<br />
I just lie back and relax until she reaches her conclusion.<br />
What she says surprises the crap out of me.<br />
“I’m sorry for putting you through this.” She actually looks sad.<br />
“If there had been any other way—I feel so selfish for turning your<br />
world upside-down, just so I could be happy.”<br />
Her voice kinda cracks at the end, and I see tears form in her<br />
eyes. Can she really be this heartbroken? After all, she’s the one who<br />
brought me here. I tried to tell her I didn’t want to—<br />
She sobs. A big gasping sob backed up by a whole lot of tears.<br />
As she reaches for a tissue from the nearest bookshelf, I feel<br />
super guilty for making her feel so rotten.<br />
196
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