Still, Caroline continued to feel not-quite-right as Dad picked them up from school and as they began their homework. Lara felt far away, even though she was just on the other side of the bedroom.
Just before dinner, Caroline’s phone pinged. She had a text from an unfamiliar number:
Hey
She frowned. Caroline didn’t usually get many text messages, except boring ones from her family. Benny had a habit of sharing GIFs of aardvarks drinking pop and whatnot. She tapped out a quick response to the mystery texter.
Who are you?
Moments later, an answer appeared.
Micah
Caroline smiled at the name and happy blue paint streaks took shape. Of course! She’d given her phone number to Micah during lunch. Twirling her hair, she thought about what to say back. It occurred to her that texting was similar to her speech app. She liked that.
Another text popped up while Caroline considered her options.
So what are you doing?
Not much. Homework.
How about you?
That sounded sufficiently friend-like, Caroline thought.
Same. Why do they assign homework on the first day?
I guess that’s just middle school.
Yeah.
The creak of a door forced Caroline’s attention away from her phone. She glanced up to see Dad shuffle in. Noting his messy curls and stained T-shirt, Caroline frowned.
“Hey,” Dad said.
She tried to push aside her worries and smile at him. “Hi. I’m texting with my new friend.”
Caroline pointed to her phone.
“That’s great, honey,” Dad said. But Caroline thought he didn’t sound properly enthusiastic.
“Yep,” Caroline replied.
Dad darted his eyes around the room, looking a little like Kugel did when he chased his laser toy. “You haven’t happened to see your mother’s brooch around here recently?”
“No,” Caroline replied immediately. The only place she’d seen one of Ima’s brooches was on Ima, and even that was quite rare. Her mother didn’t usually wear jewelry.
Her father sighed. “Well, keep an eye out for it, okay? Ima’s family brought it over from Turkey and it’s really important to her. Turquoise and silver, two or three inches wide.”
“Sure,” Caroline said, only half paying attention.
Caroline glanced back at her phone. While she’d been talking to Dad, Micah had typed out several additional messages.
So I’ve been thinking
What Marissa did to you wasn’t cool
At all
We should do something
Payback
For several minutes, Caroline just stared at her screen. She certainly couldn’t disagree about the uncoolness of Marissa’s actions. But the whole idea of payback just made her feel a little funny in her stomach.
What do you mean?
You’ll see.
It’s better to talk about that in person.
Ok. I’m excited to hear about it.
But as she stared at Micah’s words, Caroline felt no excitement whatsoever.
CHAPTER TWELVE: THE UNEXPECTED ADVENTURE
Given the not-good-ness of Caroline’s first day at middle school, she was rather surprised to find that the next few days were very good indeed.
She certainly had not anticipated that she would enjoy lunch at Pinecone Arts Academy. Yet she did, and it was all thanks to Micah.
They had their usual table—in the corner, where it was less noisy. Caroline was pretty sure Micah had deliberately chosen the table after she mentioned how much she hated all the clanging and chatter in the cafeteria.
The food itself wasn’t anything special. Dad’s culinary creativity appeared to have abandoned him, and Caroline found herself eating quite a few roast beef sandwiches—extra cheese, no tomato. But that was okay. Lunch wasn’t about the food.
Caroline had gotten into the habit of holding her sandwich in one hand while she tapped on her phone with the other. She and Micah had a constant stream of text messages going, and lunchtime was their busiest time. Even though she’d told Micah, on numerous occasions, that he could speak out loud to her if he wanted, he said he liked the idea of texting better. Way cooler, he’d texted. Plus we have privacy. Nosy people can’t overhear us.
In truth Caroline did not have the slightest idea why anyone would want to listen in on their conversations about Micah’s comic project and her opinions on the best brand of colored pencils. But she liked the idea that Micah wanted to keep their conversations private.
A text from Micah lit up her phone.
I like your giraffe.
The compliment brought an immediate smile to her face. After the disaster with her zebra, Caroline had begun another sculpture in art class. Ms. Williamson praised it, filling Caroline with a warm glow despite her lingering fear that someone might destroy her work at any moment.
Thanks
Why haven’t you made another zebra?
Caroline bit her lip. She had not forgotten Micah’s promise that Marissa would pay for what she’d done. Now she had to nudge him away from the topic, and quickly.
Just didn’t want to. Maybe another time.
I have an idea.
And there it was. Caroline’s heartbeat quickened as she rapidly typed out a response.
About what?
Marissa.
We should pull a prank on her. I’m still working on the details, but I have an idea. Just wait till you hear it.
If it had been Lara who had proposed a revenge plot, Caroline would have had no problem telling her exactly what she thought about it. But Micah wasn’t Lara. He must have loads of other kids who wanted to be his friend, surely.
Several minutes passed while Caroline stared at her screen. She had to say something, she knew.
Frowning, Caroline settled on:
Are you sure?
Micah’s response was swift.
Yep. Don’t worry. We won’t do anything that really hurts her. My brothers and I play pranks on each other all the time.
Caroline chewed on her lip and considered her options. Ima sometimes gave her advice on talking to people. One of Ima’s best tips was, If someone is talking about something you don’t want to discuss, just change the subject. It was one of her favorite ways to handle Lara when she got particularly annoying. Maybe it could work with Micah, too.
How many brothers do you have?
Two. I’m the youngest.
Caroline smiled at the response and quickly composed her own.
I’m second-youngest. Two brothers and a sister.
So you get all of the
