She passed a large grassy area, noting it would be a good place to kick a soccer ball around, and turned down her street. Charlie scanned the driveways looking for their Subaru, but she didn’t see it, and for a frantic moment Charlie couldn’t remember which house was hers. Why would anybody want houses to all look the same?
Finally Charlie spotted the right house number. She headed up the driveway just as her dad pulled in and parked.
“Help me with the groceries?” he asked, getting out.
Charlie shrugged. “Sure.”
Charlie’s father, Charles Wilde, was tall and lean and wore glasses, and she was named after him. Amari had once told him that he looked exactly like a scientist was supposed to look, which had made him laugh, though to Charlie he just looked like a dad. Technically he was a doctor, like Charlie’s mom, but he often joked that he was only the PhD kind, which didn’t count for squat most of the time. And he hadn’t actually worked as a scientist in years, so it was a little weird for Charlie to think of him as one. That was about to change, too.
They brought everything inside and began putting things away in the empty refrigerator and pantry. Charlie’s mother flew past them, car keys jangling. “I’m running into work for a couple of hours,” she said, her face lit up. “They’ve got paperwork for me, and one of the doctors called in sick, so I guess I’m jumping right into the fray.” She grinned. “I don’t know when I’ll be home—don’t hold dinner.”
“Good luck!” said Charlie’s dad, swooping in to give her a kiss before she rushed off.
Charlie didn’t say anything. Soon they heard the car pulling out of the driveway.
“I thought she wasn’t starting until tomorrow,” said Charlie.
“Yeah, me too,” said her father. “But we knew it would be a little hectic once we got here.”
Charlie looked around for a bowl to put some fresh lemons and limes in, but there wasn’t one. She lined them up in a row on the counter instead.
“So,” Charlie’s dad said, putting milk in the refrigerator, “did you take a walk around the neighborhood?”
“Yep,” said Charlie.
“What did you think?”
Charlie rolled her eyes at the pantry shelves. “Boring.”
Charlie’s dad stopped what he was doing and came over to the pantry doorway. He studied his daughter. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Talk about how boring it is?” Charlie said with an edge to her voice. “No thanks.”
Her father pressed his lips together, and Charlie knew she’d gone too far, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t want to be here. Final answer.
“Look,” said Dad, “I know this is hard on you. But Mom had a great opportunity, and we just couldn’t—”
“Just couldn’t pass it up,” said Charlie. “I know.” She’d heard that line a thousand times. “But that doesn’t make me happy about it.” She brought some items to the pantry and pushed them around on the shelves, trying to make it look like what they’d had back home in Chicago. Her eyes stung.
“Aw, kiddo.” He put his hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “It’ll get better. I promise.”
Charlie doubted it. “Maybe for you and Mom. But not for me.” She pushed past her father and blindly unloaded the rest of the groceries onto the counter, opening cupboard doors and closing them again, feeling completely lost as to where to put things. Then she gathered up the empty bags, trying to figure out how to recycle them when they didn’t even have a recycling bin yet. She smashed them together into a big ball. “This house is so stupid,” she said bitterly.
Dad glanced sharply at Charlie, then his face grew sympathetic. But it was clear Charlie needed to blow off steam. “Just put all the cupboard food in the pantry for now and the refrigerator stuff in the refrigerator. We’ll sort it out later.”
“Fine,” said Charlie.
Charlie’s father eased his way out of the kitchen so Charlie could bang around undisturbed. “I’ll be in my study getting ready for tomorrow,” he said.
When the groceries were all put away, Charlie fled to her room.
As she lay on her bed, Charlie fumed. She was furious at her mother for making them move here. Dr. Diana Wilde had been offered an amazing job as head of the emergency room at the hospital in Navarro Junction. It was an opportunity she would’ve never had in Chicago—or so she repeated about fifty times a day to all their friends, neighbors, and relatives back home. The ER here was understaffed, and she’d be working a really crazy schedule, but the commute was only ten minutes—and she could even take the bus so they wouldn’t need to buy a second car. She was so pumped up about it that Charlie didn’t think she’d even noticed how unexcited her own daughter was about this “great” opportunity.
And her father was messing things up, too. He accepted a position teaching biology at the nearby community college, filling in the rest of the school year for a professor who was taking a leave of absence. So he was excited to work outside the home again for the first time in a long time. Charlie felt like all her lifelines were being taken away at once.
After a while of moping, Charlie heard Andy and her father talking, but she couldn’t make out the words. When curiosity got the best of her, she slid off the bed and found them in her father’s study. Dad was on the floor under his mahogany desk, setting up his computer. Andy was sitting on the desktop, plugging in the speakers.
“If you’re teaching tomorrow,” Andy was saying, “who’s bringing us to school?”
Charlie leaned against the doorframe, wondering the same thing.
“My first class starts at nine. I’ll drop you off on my way. I’ve got time to go inside at both schools, so don’t sweat it.”
“That’s okay,” said Charlie coolly. “I’m good.”
Dr. Wilde looked up from under the desk. His hair had fallen forward. “All right, suit yourself.”
“You’re going in with me,” said Andy. “I don’t know how to get anywhere.”
“We took a tour,” said Charlie disdainfully. “How can you not remember?”
“I wasn’t really paying attention. I was looking at the kids.”
On Charlie’s tour she’d tried not to make eye contact with anybody—but they were all staring at her. “Well, no wonder, you goof.” But Charlie’s confidence faltered as she tried to remember exactly how her campus was laid out. Everything was muddled.
Andy turned back to his dad. “Are you going to be home after school like always?”
“These first few days I will—I’ll pick you both up from school until we get the hang of things. After that you’ll ride the bus home sometimes, and Charlie will be able to walk,” said Dr. Wilde. He disappeared under the desk again. “I’m teaching evening classes twice a week, so some days you might come home from school and be alone for a few hours, unless Mom is home. But you two are old enough to handle it.”
“Home alone,” said Andy, nodding. “I like it.”
Charlie crossed her arms in front of her, a look of consternation on her face. It felt wrong, her father going to work, especially when everything else was so unsettled. Who was going to be home to cook and keep their schedules organized . . . and go to their after-school events? “So I’m stuck babysitting?” she asked.
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Andy said. “Besides, you might not be here much either if you make the soccer team. I’ll take care of myself just fine.” He seemed very eager to do so.
“It won’t be every day,” said their father. “And it’s only for three months. If I like teaching and it’s working for our family, I can try to stay on. And if I don’t, I can quit.”
“Great,” Charlie said icily. “Can I say the same thing about living here?”
Andy scowled at her. “Why are you being so annoying?”
Charlie shrugged. “Clearly you wouldn’t understand what it’s like to have friends and a life back home.”
“I already have one friend here,” Andy said smugly. “Met him this mo
rning while you were still sleeping. He lives down the street and is letting me use his old longboard until we can unpack mine.” Andy turned back to his dad. “Your job sounds cool, Dad. I’ve always wanted to have the whole house to myself. Does my school end before Charlie’s? I hope so. Hey . . . what exactly is biology again?”
Charlie sighed and went to her room.
CHAPTER 4
First Impressions
Charlie’s school was in walking distance, but she wasn’t sure how to get there yet, so she definitely didn’t mind having her dad drive her, especially the first day. She was so nervous she hadn’t slept well or eaten much breakfast. As they rode along, she stared out the window, ignoring Andy, who chattered like a chipmunk in the backseat.
Her dad stopped at her school first. When they pulled up to the drop-off spot by the big Summit Junior High School sign, Charlie’s hands began sweating. She wiped them on her jeans and picked up her backpack.
Dr. Wilde leaned sideways so he could kiss her on the head like he’d done every day of her entire school career. Charlie stiffened and pretended not to see. She opened the door and put one foot onto the curb. “Bye.”
Her dad blinked, then sat up straight, trying to hide the hurt look on his face. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go in with you?”
“Yeah,” Charlie lied. She looked back at Andy. “Good luck, squirt face,” she said. “Don’t get in trouble on your first day.”
Andy grinned and slapped the back of her seat. “Don’t be annoying on your first day.”
Charlie managed a weak smile for his sake. He had to be at least a little nervous too. She got out of the car, then walked slowly to her doom.
When she reached the school steps, she stopped and glanced over her shoulder. Her dad was still sitting there, waiting until she went inside. Charlie felt very alone.
It’s not like she had to go in without him—but things were different now. She was twelve, not a baby, and this was junior high. Charlie had seen the campus, and she tried telling herself it was no big deal—her sixth-grade class in Chicago was bigger than this entire school. But now she wavered. This was harder than she’d expected it would be. Everybody else knew each other, and she was alone. Kids were looking at her.
She expelled a heavy breath that sent her bangs fluttering in the cool air and tried to focus on something positive, like the upcoming tryouts for the soccer team. Amari, for one, was jealous that Navarro Junction had a spring team. Or at least she pretended to be, which was nice.
But this place felt foreign. Half the kids were wearing shorts—in winter. And the layout of the school was really different from the four-story mammoth brick building on the corner of two busy streets back in Chicago. This campus was central to several quiet neighborhoods, and each of the small, separate school buildings housed a different subject of learning. So there was a building for math, science, language arts, and so on, as well as an auditorium and a library. And while there were outdoor walkways between, there were no huge maple or oak trees standing tall and uprooting the sidewalk like back home. The few trees lining the property here were scraggly and sparse and looked like they were trying to figure out how to grow leaves.
Charlie held her head high, climbed the steps, and marched inside, wearing the fake face of confidence she’d often put on when dealing with something scary back in the city. “Let’s get this over with,” she said under her breath, and forged through the crowded hallway toward the office.
The school looked new inside, and the walls were free of lockers. On their tour, Charlie had seen clusters of them outside, of all places, between buildings. Clearly students really didn’t have to worry about the weather here. When Charlie reached the office, she paused for a moment, then squared her shoulders and opened the door.
A man sat behind a counter studying papers and scribbling on them with a green pen that had a fake sunflower attached to it. He wore a bright yellow button-down shirt, with a silver-and-leather bolo tie around his neck. He looked like he could be in a Western movie. Charlie slid her backpack off her shoulders. It thumped to the floor.
“Good morning,” the man drawled in a deep voice. He looked up from the paper he was writing on.
“Um, hi.” Charlie wasn’t sure what say.
“What can I do for you, young lady?”
“I’m— Hi,” she said again, flustered. “It’s my first day.” She shifted her feet. “I’m new,” she added, though she thought that was becoming pretty obvious by now.
“Oh!” he exclaimed. “Of course. One second . . .” The man took off his glasses and put one of the stems between his teeth, then flitted through papers on the desk, looking for something. He dropped the drawl. “Ah yes. Welcome, new student. I am Mr. Anderson. And you are . . . C. It’s a C name, right? We’re expecting you, of course.” He grabbed a folder and looked at the sticker in the corner of it. “Charlotte . . . ? Isn’t it?”
“Yes. Charlotte Wilde,” she said. “But I go by Charlie.”
The eccentric man clasped his hands together. “Of course, Charlie—avoid the spider and pig jokes at all costs, hmm? I don’t blame you. We’re so glad to have you here at Summit. So you’re an actor?”
Charlie blinked. “Um, what?”
“You like to act? Or are you more of a backstage type? I noticed you’re enrolled in my theater class sixth period.”
“Oh—uh, yes, I guess so.” Charlie was confused. The office receptionist was apparently also the theater teacher. She knew this school was a lot smaller than her old one, but this was ridiculous. She started to say that she’d only enrolled in theater class because she thought it would be easy and her mom figured it was a good way to make friends, but then she realized it would be better not to mention it.
“Great!” Mr. Anderson said, energized. “I’ve already chosen a cast for the current musical—Bye Bye Birdie, my favorite!—so you’ll have to be assigned to stage crew. All right?”
Charlie smiled weakly. “Sure.”
“Lots of after-school opportunities as well,” he said.
Charlie grew concerned. “But I might have soccer,” she said.
“Don’t worry, it’s optional.”
“Oh, okay,” said Charlie, relieved.
“One moment,” Mr. Anderson went on. “I’m going to track down your guide for the day.” He rolled his chair sideways to the next station and grabbed the phone.
Guide? thought Charlie. She didn’t know what he was talking about.
When he hung up, he rolled his chair back to his original spot. “Kelly Parker will be right here—you’ll love her. She has your identical schedule, so she’ll take you around today and have lunch with you and all that jazz.”
Charlie let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. “Okay. That’s—that’s cool.” It was a relief to know she’d have someone to help her. Everything was so much easier when you had friends. Maybe Kelly would be one.
While she waited, a couple of kids trickled into the office to drop off notes and pick up papers from Mr. Anderson. He spoke to all of them in his slightly strange manner, but they seemed to like him. He called some of them “minions.” Charlie decided it was probably because he couldn’t remember their names. Adults did stuff like that a lot.
When they left, Mr. Anderson smiled sympathetically at Charlie and leaned across the desk. “You know,” he said in a normal, quieter voice, “there’s only one thing worse than moving halfway across the country and starting at a new school, and that’s moving halfway across the country and starting at a new school in the middle of the school year.”
Charlie dropped her gaze. “Yeah, that pretty much sums it up,” she said. She wanted to say it stank, but she didn’t think that would be polite.
“Give us a fair shake, though. I think you’ll like it here. A new adventure at every turn.”
Charlie wasn’t sure what that meant, but she nodded anyway. “Yes, sir.”
He studied her folder, slid some papers into
it, and handed it to her. “Here you go. Inside you’ll find your schedule and a map that shows you where your classes are in case you get separated from Kelly. And I’ve circled the location of your locker, right outside this building in the covered walkway. Did you bring a padlock, or do you need to rent one from the school?”
Charlie took the folder. “I brought a lock. Thanks.”
“Excellent,” Mr. Anderson said. “I’ll see you in class. We’ll be doing some set building after school later this week and next week over lunchtime if you’d like to help. Lots of kids chip in. It’s not required, but I’m warning you, it’s fun.” His eyes twinkled.
“I’ll ask my parents.”
Mr. Anderson’s gaze tracked to the door behind Charlie as it opened. “Ah, good,” he said. “Here she is.”
Charlie turned. In walked a pretty, athletic-looking girl, a little taller than Charlie. Her blond hair was loosely woven into a French braid around her head. It kind of looked like a crown.
“Kelly,” Mr. Anderson said, “this is Charlie Wilde. She’s going to tag along with you today to get the lay of the land.”
Kelly gave Charlie a scrutinizing look. “Hi there,” she said. She had a sunny smile on her face, so bright it almost seemed fake. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’m glad I get to keep an eye on you today.”
“Me too,” Charlie replied tentatively. “Thanks for showing me around.” She wasn’t sure what to think about Kelly’s odd smile. Maybe that’s just how she looks, Charlie thought. She cast a fleeting glance at Mr. Anderson, but he’d put on his glasses and dived into his pile of papers again. So she picked up her backpack and offered Kelly a guarded smile. “Lead the way, I guess,” she said.
“Sure. Follow me.” Kelly pushed the door open with her shoulder and went out into the hallway. “Sooo. Charlie, huh?”
Charlie took long strides behind her to catch up. She wasn’t really worried about losing sight of Kelly’s crown head in the crowd, but she didn’t want to take any chances. “Yeah. It’s short for Charlotte. Named after my dad, Charles.” It was an automatic answer.