Page 124 of Steps

“Yeah, sorry we didn’t get to do much together,” Imutter.

She shrugs and smacks her lips, smoothing out thecherry lip-gloss. “It’s cool. You had that part-time job with Mr. Kirby. Plus,you could barely leave the house.”

We stop at my locker. “They’ve eased up a little.”

Kenya chuckles. “That’s ‘cause they think you andVaren called it quits. Speaking of, how are things with him? Now that you haveyour phone back, are you two sexting like crazy?” She wiggles her flawlessbrows.

“Geez, Ken.” I peer around the hallway. “We keepit clean, and sadly, I have to delete my messages in case Mom changes her mindand takes it back.”

“Ugh, so much work. Damn.”

“Yeah, but we want to be together.”

We walk to her locker next.

“He’s going to pick me up from school everyThursday.”

She twists her mouth. “And your mom hasn’t saidanything about picking you up herself?”

“No, told her I’m tutoring someone on Thursdays soit might go late. Besides, I’m trying to convince her to let me use her caragain.”

The warning bell rings. We begin making our waydown the hallway to our classes.

“Any luck with that?” she asks.

I turn my head. “Not yet. But she’s warming.”

“Well,” We stop outside my Advanced Communicationsroom, “catch you later, girl.”

“K. See you at lunch.” I plaster on a broad smileand tell her, “Welcome to senior year.”

She eyeballs me. “Ugh. God.”

The house is quiet when I walk in the front doorthat afternoon.

“Mom!” I holler.

“Up here,” she replies, voice coming from themaster bedroom.

I jog upstairs, legs achy from my run with Alisonover the weekend. Part of me is sad to see her leave for school, another sideis relieved to be free from torture.

My stomach twists into knots when I step into thedoorway of Mom and Daniel’s room and see the baby clothes on the bed.

She holds them up one by one, smiling as sheregards the styles.

“What’s all this?” I mutter, edging closer.

Mom glances back with an excited look on her face.“Grandma Kirby sent them from Scotland. She says they’re Dan’s baby clothes.”

“But you don’t even know if it’s a boy,” I say,sounding more snobbish than expected.

She crinkles her brows. “Well, geez, Toya. Thewoman is just kind.” She goes back to the pile. “I think it’s super thoughtfulof her to want to pass on these cute items to her grandchild.”

I fold my arms. “What about Varen? Don’t you thinkhe’ll feel hurt by this?”

Mom looks at me with a frown. “Varen’s motherreceived clothes from Grandma Kirby as well.” She pauses, observing me. “What’swith you?”

“Nothing,” I blurt. “Sorry.”

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