Page 56 of Dungeons and Drama

I gape at her. “Three weeks early?”

“What do you think? You can get your life back.”

She looks so pleased that I automatically return the smile. Inside, though, I suddenly feel cold. No more game store? Five weeks ago, I would have done anything to hear those words, but now my first thought is that if I leave the store, I won’t be spending my evenings with Nathan and the guys anymore. But…the things I could do with all that free time. My thoughts return to Miss Sahni’s offer to become her choir assistant. That’s not exactly the same as student directing the musical, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have a blast doing it. And the meeting with the administration is less than two weeks away. If that meeting goes well—I mean,whenit goes well—there will be so much to organize. Deciding on the musical, applying for the license, setting up and running auditions. My afternoons would fill up immediately.

Her expression flickers with confusion, probably because I’m not bouncing out of my seat at the news.

“And…,” she says with more hesitation, “your father and I also talked about homecoming. I know it’s only a week away and you don’t have a dress so maybe you aren’t still interested in going but—”

“I can go?” I screech.

She laughs and throws her hands in the air. “That’s the enthusiasm I was expecting! Yes, you can go. We can swing by the mall and look for dresses this week if you’d like.”

With just a week until homecoming, the only dresses left in town will be the ones no one wanted. It’ll be like trying to get a decent plate of food right after the high school football team has demolished the local Chinese buffet (true story). But whatever, I don’t care. I’ll wear a gray poncho and clogs if it means I get to go to hoco.

“Mom, I love you!” I lunge forward and pull her into ahug.

“Nowyou love me,” she complains, but her voice is teasing and her arms are tight around me.

I’m going to homecoming! I don’t know how I’ll handle the rest, but that’ll be for future-Riley to figure out.

Dad and I work at the store on Saturday, but he schedules us to both get off early. I expect him to mention somethingabout the end of my probation, but he doesn’t bring it up so I don’t say anything either. Every time I think about it, my chest tightens with anxiety and conflict. How can I say no to Miss Sahni? It’s an amazing opportunity. But how could I tell Nathan I’m quitting the store? How could I tell Dad? I’m not even sure I want to quit. It’s all too confusing.

To my surprise, Dad suggests we drive out to one of the local farms after our shift to pick up pumpkins for store decorations. Given Mom’s love of all things design, I’ve been to many fall festivals over the years to get fancy heirloom pumpkins, but it’s not something I’ve done with Dad. I take charge of the pumpkin choosing and then we eat spiced donuts from a picnic bench while sugared-up kids race around us. It’s all so charming that I can’t stop grinning across the table at Dad. I feel like we’re in an old-timey sitcom.

When we get home, he suggests breaking out Ticket to Ride and, for the first time ever, I don’t refuse him. I can tell from his expression that he’s surprised but trying not to act like it. And the game is pretty fun. It’s not going to overtake theater as my favorite pastime, but maybe Dad wasn’tcompletelywrong about all this game stuff.

I sleep in late on Sunday because Dad loves to sleep and never gives me a hard time about it. When I finally poke my head out of my room around eleven, Dad chuckles and waves me into the “dining room,” which he long ago converted into a painting space for his Warhammer models. I don’t think we’ve ever eaten a meal there. We just take our plates and sit on the couch.

“There she is!” he exclaims. “Ready to watch one of the best movies ever created?”

“Ooh, are we watchingLes Mistoday?”

He chuckles. He’s got a soda and a bag of potato chips next to him, and it makes me think back to Nathan’s comment about how Dad’s supposed to be watching what he eats. I hope for Dad’s sake that Nathan was confused because his kitchen might as well be the junk food aisle at the grocery store. But Dad is so happy that I hate to bring it up. If something serious was going on, I hope he’d have already told me.

“You are your mother’s daughter through and through. Except for the sleeping in. But you wait until you’ve seenHoly Grail.”

A knock on the front door alerts me that Hoshiko is here. Her eyes open wide as she steps in. She’s only been to my mom’s house before and this apartment couldn’t be more different from Mom’s gorgeously decorated home. There, every corner, shelf, and end table has been thoughtfully decorated with color-coordinated knickknacks. There are themed rooms and artistic lighting, and you don’t leave a cup on a table unless you have a coaster under it.

At Dad’s, there’s stuff everywhere. It’s very college dorm. In the kitchen there’s cereal and frozen chicken tenders and way too many bags of chips. The living room is nothing but a black leather couch, a recliner, and a TV that’s so big it might as well be a movie theater screen. Dad’s bookshelves are filled with sci-fi novels, D&D books from before I was born, and tabletop games. Honestly, I can’t imagine two people more different than my parents. I’m shocked they lasted as long as they did.

“Hoshiko!” Dad walks in from the other room. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Hi, Mr. Morris.” She waves and rocks back on her heels like she’s not sure what to make of the place.

“Dad, we’re going to hang out in my room until the guys get here.”

I beckon her toward the hallway. We have a little over two hours before the boys are set to arrive and I want to maximize the time with her. We haven’t had time alone like this since before my punishment started.

“Sorry, I should have warned you,” I say when we’re both in my room with the door closed. “Dad’s place is alittlebit different from Mom’s.”

Hoshiko laughs. “The boys are going to love it here.”

“Truly.” It’s so nice to be with her again. I’ve missed hanging out. “So, I have the best news—I was going to text but then decided to tell you in person. Mom said I can go to homecoming!”

Hoshiko jumps up and screams. “Yesssss! I knew it would work out!”

We start chattering about dresses and possible hairstyles. But when I bring up the possibility of driving together, Hoshiko hedges.

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