Sonnet let Daisy take as many shots as she wanted. Patient and helpful, she was a good sport about it. Another thing about her—sportsmanship. She had a great attitude about everything. And the funny thing was, of all the kids Daisy knew, Sonnet Romano had the most strikes against her, the most reasons to cop an attitude or fail in school or be a slacker. She was born to an unwed teenage mother, she was biracial, she and her mom barely made ends meet.
Yet despite having the deck stacked against her, Sonnet was a straight-A student who was a year ahead in school. She was a national merit scholar, a talented musician and a kindergarten tutor. She had been accepted by early decision to college, and was awaiting news of a financial package. She was, as far as Daisy could tell, everyone’s dream kid, the sort of trophy child parents could brag about, patting themselves on the back as they took credit for how good she was.
Sonnet was the kind of daughter Daisy’s mom wished she had. Instead, Daisy’s mom got a daughter who didn’t give a shit about school or college, who partied herself into oblivion and got pregnant by a boy she didn’t even like.
“Enough already,” Zach said as Daisy took another series of shots. “You’re going to break the camera.”
Daisy took a picture of his taunting face.
“See those ledges up there?” Sonnet pointed to the overhanging cliffs. “My uncles told me they’re ice caves.” Sonnet had, like, six uncles, who resembled the cast of the Sopranos. “Caves in the hillside that are lined with ice. I read about them in the library archives for a history project last year. Some of the cliffs in the area have these caves with ice so thick it never melts, even in summer. It’s one reason they named the town Avalon.”
Daisy tilted her head to one side. “Okay, you lost me.”
“From the legend of King Arthur,” Zach said. “Merlin’s Crystal Cave. Avalon was the place the High King went after he was mortally wounded in his last battle.”
“I must have missed the memo,” Daisy said. “I don’t know why you guys put up with me. I’m a dunce.” Which was ironic, she thought. She had attended the most competitive, most exclusive school in Manhattan. These two kids went to a run-of-the-mill public school. Yet they both seemed so much smarter than her.
“You’re not a dunce,” Sonnet said.
“You have no idea,” Daisy said, bracing herself. It was time. She had to get it over with. Right here, right now. “I need to tell you guys something,” she said in a rush, letting the words escape before she could chicken out.
They must have sensed the urgency in her tone, because they both gave her their full attention. She hesitated, the way she’d done when she’d told her dad, trying to memorize the way they were looking at her now. She was about to change their perception for good.
“It’s, um, it’s kind of a big deal.” She carefully lowered her camera, felt the weight of it tugging at the back of her neck. “I’m going to have a baby. It’s due in the summer.”
The words fell into a silence so complete, it was like a vacuum had sucked them out of the air. Daisy looked at them, her only friends in this town, and held her breath. She refused to breathe until they spoke, reassuring her that they wouldn’t stop being her friend. For a moment, they just stared at her. Then a red flush crept into Zach’s face and he looked supremely uncomfortable, the way Max had when she’d told him. Sonnet’s eyebrows went up, and then down. “Hey, that is a big deal.”
Daisy nodded. “It’s not the smartest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s done. I was going to, you know, terminate it, but at the last minute I couldn’t. So here I am.”
Zach seemed to find something endlessly fascinating in the hollow of a tree by the bridge. He clearly didn’t want to participate in this conversation.
Finally Sonnet spoke up, sounding a little flustered. “Wow. I mean, wow. That’s unexpected.”
“No shit,” Daisy said.
“Is this why you left your old school?” Sonnet asked.
Daisy shook her head. “I didn’t know. I mean, I wasn’t sure.”
“Is the baby’s father going to help you out?” A peculiar tension threaded itself through Sonnet’s voice. Daisy knew that Sonnet’s relationship with her father was a difficult one, fraught with secrecy due to his position in the Pentagon.
“I haven’t told him. I haven’t even decided whether or not I will. He won’t be happy, I can tell you that.”
“He should have thought of that when he—when the two of you—”
“True,” Daisy agreed. “We both should have thought of that.”
Sonnet put a mittened hand on Daisy’s shoulder. “You’ll be all right,” she said.
Daisy smiled at her. “That’s the plan. So anyway,” she said brightly, “I got through the ordeal of telling my parents, and…we’ll deal.” She had to believe that, had to believe having a baby was not like falling into an abyss.
The three of them were silent for a while, and Daisy felt a measure of relief. That wasn’t so hard. She figured there would be a period of adjustment, and then they’d go back to the way things were. For a while, at
