Chapter One
âAre you listening?â
I typed, In case I forget later, GL with the dance comp. Gotta go.
âDaria!â
âOkay. Okay!â I said as I hit Send and pocketed my phone.
âI told her you would go by after school,â my mother said. âTo meet the kids.â
âTold who?â I asked through a mouthful of cereal. âWhat kids?â
I looked up from the table when I noticed the silence filling the kitchen. My motherâs hands gripped the chair in front of her. Her eyes were closed.
âWhat?â I asked. So now she expected me to read her mind?
Mom opened her eyes. Her hands were white on the top of the chair. âWhy do I waste my breath?â she hissed.
âWhat?â I asked again. I scooped up a spoonful of cereal and munched.
Mom sighed. âCynthia Clarkson. A colleague of mine? I have told you about her.â My mother must be the only person who can spit through clenched teeth. âShe has two children,â she said. âThey need a babysitter.â
âMe?â Only twelve-year-olds babysat!
âThis would be one way to earn the fare to see Selena and Josie at spring break,â she said.
âI want to work at the mall,â I told her. âIn a clothes store, maybe. So I can get a discount.â
âYouâre too young to work in retail.â
My phone vibrated against my leg. I pulled it out of my pocket and checked the screen. Two messages.
âLeave that,â said Mom. âListen to me for one minute.â
âI am listening.â One was a text from Josie. Call S to wish her luck. PLS. Shes driving me nuts.
Momâs hand shot out and batted the phone from my hand. It skittered across the table.
I grabbed it and wiped it on my shirt. âYou could have smashed that!â
Suddenly my motherâs face was so close I could see the pores on her nose. âGive me your attention,â she said. âFor once.â
âChill out, would you?â I checked the screen to make sure everything still worked.
âThatâs it. Forget it.â Mom shoved her chair hard against the table, causing my spoon to tip out of my bowl and clatter onto the floor. âI thought it would be a good idea,â she said. âJust forget it.â
âMom!â Why did she have to overreact to everything?
âNever mind. Iâll be late. Clean up that mess,â she said as she charged out.
I watched the door, expecting her to come back. She sometimes does that. She gets a second wind and starts in again at full rant.
When I heard Momâs footsteps thud up the stairs, I settled back in my chair. I quickly texted Josie back. Did already. U kno S. Tell her to imagine Im there watching. Take pics.
I closed my phone and stuck it in my pocket.
Babysitting! What was Mom thinking? Snotty kids. Reading stories. Doing puzzles! There had to be better ways to make the fare back to Calgary.
Chapter Two
I sat next to the window in case things got boring, and in the middle row to avoid getting noticed. I unpacked my books and binders and stacked them on my desk with my phone on top.
âOkay if I sit here?â asked a girl Iâd never seen before. She was wearing a knitted hat with pink strings that hung down to her shoulders.
I shrugged.
The girl unloaded her bulging green bag and unpacked a load of stuff onto the desk. âI love the first day at a new school.â A silver ring in her bottom lip flickered. âIâm Cleo.â She stuck her hand across the aisle.
âPleased to meet you.â I kept my own hands on my desk.
Cleo didnât seem to notice the snub. âAnd you are?â
âDaria. Rhymes with malaria.â Josie had pointed that out the day we met in grade two.
Cleo pulled a pen out. âI just moved to Delta. Whatâs it like, then?â
âBoring.â
âI guess youâd feel that way if you always lived here,â said