“Yeah, I heard that, too, which is why I want to go. You in?”
I sighed. Ma had been having a really tough time lately with all the stress from the investigation and the worry over money now that I couldn’t do readings. “Nah,” I finally said. “I should hang out with Ma after school. Why don’t you go to the cheer-off and then come pick me up around six thirty?”
When he didn’t answer, I looked back and saw that he’d fallen behind and was glancing over his shoulder. “Stubs?”
I got his attention, and he pushed hard on his skateboard to catch up to me again. “I don’t want to freak you out or anything, but there’s a car following us.”
I glanced back so fast that I felt the bike wobble underneath me. Sure enough, a black sedan was cruising slowly down the street. It was too far away to see who was driving, but I had a pretty good idea. “Let’s cut through the park,” I said. We hurried our pace to the park, where the car couldn’t follow us. I felt pretty good about ditching my least-favorite FBI agents until I parted ways with Stubby and came around the corner to my street, only to find that same black sedan sitting at the curb a little bit down from my house.
I was tempted to flip them off, but stopped myself because I didn’t know if there was some weird law against giving a fed the finger. Along with not doing any more readings, Donny had also warned me to keep my nose clean.
So over the next couple of days I ignored every teacher who gave me a suspicious look. I also ignored the black sedan that would show up unexpectedly in front of our house or two houses down the street and sit there for hours.
On the night of the game, Ma made dinner, which was huge for her. She surprised me with spaghetti alla carbonara, which had been Dad’s favorite.
“I know this has been hard on you,” she said as we sat down together. “But I want you to know that I’m very proud of you.”
I blinked. Ma’s unexpected display of tenderness had caught me off guard. “Thanks,” I told her.
She nodded and played with her utensils. She seemed suddenly nervous about something. “You know, though, if you wanted to go back to doing a few readings here or there, I wouldn’t mind.”
My breath caught. I felt anger rise like heat from my chest to my cheeks. I knew it was Ma’s addiction talking, but why did she have to ruin such a sweet moment by being so transparent? “Donny said I couldn’t,” I reminded her, unable to keep the bitterness out of my tone.
Ma was still playing with her utensils. “I know. But what Donny doesn’t know…”
I stared at the plate of pasta, and my appetite vanished.
Ma must’ve noticed that I was upset because she quickly added, “It’s just that the settlement check doesn’t quite cover our needs, Maddie. You know we’re always short at the end of the month.”
I held back the retort that was on the tip of my tongue. I was the one who always made sure the checks got written and sent out the payments, because otherwise Ma would forget and we’d have the lights turned off. I knew as well as she did what came in and what went out, and the thing that always brought us up short was the liquor tab.
I cleared my throat and stared at my plate. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
She nodded reluctantly. “Okay, then maybe I’ll look for something,” she said, but I could tell she was mad. Ma’s employment history was spotty at best. And because she’d lost her license, whatever she applied for had to be within walking distance or a short bus ride, which I knew greatly limited what she’d be able to get.
We ate the rest of the meal in relative silence, and I couldn’t wait to bolt out the back door and head to the game.
I’d told Stubs to meet me on the block behind my house so we’d avoid the black sedan that might be out front. After cutting through the yard of the people behind us, I came out onto Mt. Clair Street, where I saw Stubby in his mom’s minivan a little ways down the block. “Hey!” he said when I got in. “I didn’t know which house backed up to yours.”
“You did fine,” I told him, and we made our way through my neighborhood, careful to keep well away from my street. The route took us a bit out of our way, but worth it if we could avoid the feds.
On the way, Stubby became excited and said, “Ohmigod, Mads! Wait until you see the new girl on Jupiter’s squad!”
I laughed. “I take it she’s cute?”
“No,” he said with a sly grin. “She’s beeeeautiful!”
I laughed again. Stubby seemed to have a new crush on a different cheerleader every year.
After arriving at school, Stubs parked near a streetlight and we hoofed it over to the gate where we had to show our school IDs to get in. We didn’t even bother with the Poplar High bleachers, but aimed our steps toward the visiting team’s side.
On our way we passed the concession stand, where there was already a line. I saw kids I’d grown up with: Kristy Junger (1-14-2100), Brady McDonald (3-17-2024), Molly Thompson (10-9-2082), and Tim Goodacre (9-21-2071). I’d ridden the bus to elementary school with Kristy and Brady. I’d been in the same catechism class with Tim, and I’d gone to aftercare with Molly. And yet, when Stubs and I walked by, there was barely a flicker of recognition. I was used to being ignored by my classmates, but with the whole Tevon Tibbolt thing hanging over my head I felt a little more vulnerable and sensitive to it, which made me even more grateful for my friendship with Stubby.
The bleachers on the visiting-team side were fairly full—Jupiter High is our closest rival, and their school always comes out to support the team—but Stubs found us great seats three rows up at the right corner.
I sat down and immediately began to scan the visiting team’s bench, which was a mass of light blue and bright white except for three navy rugby shirts. I found who I was looking for right away.