LOCH NESS MONSTER
After I finished, the room went quiet. So I thought I’d blown it.
But when I sat down, Harper gave me a hug, and Aria poked me. “Norah, you crushed that thing like a grape,” she whispered. “Like a grape.”
We voted on the three best. At the end of class, Ms. Farrell announced the winners: Aria, Cait, and me. I was the only unanimous vote getter—which meant that everyone in the class had voted for me. Even Addison, weirdly enough.
Ms. Farrell said that we’d be presenting the speeches in a school assembly next week, and Aria, Cait, and I could invite anyone we wanted, not just parents. I knew exactly who I wanted to invite, but before I did, I had to ask Ms. Farrell a question.
So when class was over, I went up to her desk. “This isn’t part of that Overcoming Challenges thing, right?”
Ms. Farrell looked surprised. “Why? Would it be a problem if it was?”
I wasn’t sure. A few weeks ago I’d have said yes without even thinking. Now I just shrugged.
All of a sudden, Addison was squeezing me in a hug. “Norah, that was so, so good!”
“Thanks,” I said. I couldn’t tell if she meant it—if she’d changed her mind about being jealous, or whatever she was. But as I watched her walk away, I realized I didn’t care.
“Ms. Farrell?” Now Aria was in front of me, bouncing. “When I do Artemis onstage, is it okay if I shoot my arrow?”
“Absolutely not!” Ms. Farrell said. She looked horrified.
“But how come? I promise not to aim it at anyone!”
“Aria, it’s a weapon! We’re not taking the chance that your hand slips.”
“I can still bring it with me onstage, right? If I don’t shoot it?”
“I’ll discuss it with the principal.”
“Aww,” Aria said, pouting. But Ms. Farrell wasn’t Mrs. Maldonado, and this time I doubted she’d get her way.
Then Harper and Cait joined us.
“You both did great,” I told them truthfully.
“Thanks,” Harper replied as we hugged, “but I’m glad I didn’t win, because I’d be too nervous to do it onstage. Although I’m kind of sorry Astrid won’t hear it!”
I laughed. “Just say it in Art Club. We’ll pretend you’re rehearsing!”
“Yeah, Norah, let’s totally do that!” Harper was laughing too, so I couldn’t tell if she was serious. But I was.
Then Cait, who wasn’t laughing, said, “Um, Ms. Farrell? I’m not sure about the assembly.”
“What aren’t you sure about?” Ms. Farrell asked patiently.
“The whole thing. If I can do it.”
“Well, your classmates think you can,” Ms. Farrell said. “No one’s forcing you, Cait, but they did choose you to represent the class.”
Aria put her arm around Cait’s shoulders. “Come on, Caitie, you’ll do amazing! Your speech rocked! How do you know sign language?”
“My little brother is deaf,” Cait said. “That’s how we talk at home.”
“Omigosh, that’s so cool! I wish I knew sign language!”
“Me too,” Harper said.
“Me three,” I said.
“I could teach you guys some words,” Cait offered shyly. “Maybe next weekend, at my house?”
“Yes! And we’ll sleep over,” Aria declared.
“Aria, don’t just invite yourself like that,” Harper scolded, smacking her arm.
“No, no, that sounds fun,” Cait protested happily. She turned to me. “Norah, you’ll sleep over too?”
I grinned. “Yes. Definitely. That’ll be awesome.”
I knew it meant declaring war on the Weekend Rule—but I was ready for that fight.
* * *
I didn’t have to wait long.
The next day, Saturday, I was reading on the sofa when the doorbell rang. Dad answered, and a couple of seconds later, whoosh. The air molecules shifted.
“Hey, Norah,” Griffin said. He was smiling shyly, his hair sticking up at a weird angle, a small red zit on his chin. But I still thought he was the cutest boy I’d ever seen, and seeing him in my living room again just made my heart explode.
“Hi,” I said in a chirpy voice. “What’s up?”
“I have a present for you.” He handed me a black tee. With my logo printed on it, and the word KRAKEN in slimy-looking letters. “We had these printed and they just arrived, so I thought you should have one.”
I screamed.
Dad came running into the living room with a pale, freaked-out look on his face. “Norah, you okay?”
“LOOK,” I said, holding up the tee. “MY LOGO.”
“That’s why you screamed?”
“YES. THAT’S WHY I SCREAMED.”
Griffin was laughing behind his hand.
Dad stared at me. Then he stared at Griffin. “Oh,” he said, the color returning to his face. “You shouldn’t scare me like that, Norah.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to. Dad?”
“Yes?”
I peeked at Griffin. For the last couple of days, we’d been talking about a movie that had just come out, Return to Loch Ness. It was the sort of movie that was either extremely cool or so bad it was hilarious, but we couldn’t tell from the online trailer. And when I’d mentioned to Griffin that I wanted to see it, he’d replied, “Yeah, we definitely should.”
We. Which had to mean something, right?
“Griffin and I were wondering if you’d drive us to a movie,” I said very fast.
Griffin coughed, or possibly choked. I couldn’t tell which.
“Today?” Dad asked. “Now?” In violation of the Resting-on-Weekends rule? his eyes asked me.
Not in violation, my eyes answered. Because I’m communicating with you! And it's time we got rid of that stupid thing, okay?
Yeah, Dad agreed. Okay.
I looked at Griffin. “Unless you have something else to do right now?”
“Nah,” he said, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Now is fine.”
So I put on the kraken tee, Dad drove us to the mall, and we saw the movie. Not as a date, specifically—although not as a nondate, either. Just a griffin and a norah watching a screen together, sharing a tub of popcorn.
Oh, and by the way, the movie was hilarious.
UNDERWORLD
Five days later, I gave my Persephone speech for the whole school. Dad and Nicole sat in the front row, FaceTiming it with Mom so she could watch from California. Raina and Ayesha sat right behind them,
