Society Rules by Katherine Whitley Page A

sort of alien! Ha. Oh, you’re not surprised, are you? You’ve always suspected as much, right?”
    Indie silenced her internal monologue. The reality was this; she did not need to worry about hiding it from her husband at all. He was not going to ask how her day went.
    He never did. Indie’s thoughts continued to race.
    He comes home, eats his supper and hops on to the internet until his bedtime, she reasoned. This would be no problem. Then she sobered.
    The twins. They would not let her off so easily. It felt like her skull was made up of crystal clear glass whenever they looked at her. They read her brain like a manuscript.
    Well , she breathed deeply, I have to face them all  . . . I have no choice . I have to go home, don’t I?
    She pulled in to the driveway and cut the engine. Everyone was inside. She could see the lights and hear the patter of nine-year-old feet, and giant stomping size 11 boots. Indie saw Will peek out through the window at her. She drew in another deep breath and let it out slowly.
    And here we go!
    She readied herself for the worst, which would be the interrogation from the children. With an inaudible groan, she pulled herself out of the car and popped the trunk. She gathered the bags of groceries, picking up all five with her free hand.
    Indie knew better than to expect a spontaneous offer of help from her husband. He would never think, all by himself, to help her carry anything. Oh, he would if she went upstairs and asked him to please bring up the groceries . . . but something about the fact that she would have to ask always exasperated her, so she just carried them in herself.
    She was not into being a martyr; she did this knowing that he wouldn’t notice that she had, nor would he have any redeeming thoughts, like “Oh, I’m so sorry. I should have gotten that for you!” No, it would not enter his mind.
    Indie trekked up the stairs, the front door opening before she had to fumble her fully loaded arms to try to open it herself.
    “Mommy!” It was Jake. “Can I carry something for you?”
    “Yes, thank you, pup!” At least her boy was a gentleman. Cassidy appeared, and little helper that she was, began putting away groceries. Indie noticed at once the twins’ sneaky, corner of the eye glances, and sighed. And so it begins.
    “Mommy, what happened to you today?” It was Cassidy, always the first to start. She spoke with a deliberate casualness.
    “Nothing out of the ordinary, why?” Indie lied calmly and ineffectively. “Oh?” Cassidy stood with a loaf of bread in her little hands, seemingly lost in thought.
    “What is it?” Indie asked wearily, although she did not want to encourage this line of discussion. Her daughter squinted up at her, in a way that made Indie’s head feel as if it were being pried open by some invisible tool.
    “Cassidy, come help me with my homework!” Jake spoke suddenly, looking meaningfully at his sister. She broke off her mental attack, and looked at Indie reproachfully. Then she sighed.
    “Fine, I’m coming,” and they left the kitchen together. Indie watched them leave, somewhat relieved.
    She quickly made her way to her bedroom and shed her now crinkled scrubs, not noticing how the light blue color matched her eyes just so. Kicking them off, Indie didn’t bother removing her Reeboks. She jerked on her black running pants, and pulled one of Will’s undershirts roughly over her head.
    Without a word to anyone, Indie sprinted out the door, pausing to grab her IPod on the way, looping the earphones around her head with one hand.
    Ten circles around the block later, ears nearly on fire from the thought destroying volume of her music, Indie bounded back in the front door. Her tactic had worked; the loud and pounding music had made it nearly impossible to focus on anything else. But now, here she was, right back where she started.
    Her body almost collapsed under the realization. There was no way she was going to be able to summon the