Page 67 - The Life of A Teenage Girl (Stories About Finding Your Way)

BETWEEN THE LANES

He sat down beside me, but he didn’t look angry or disgruntled.
“And they said a new student was coming to the school,” he said

calmly.

I interrupted him, still worried he’d found out about the test.
“Wait—this isn’t about the… test?”

“No?” he replied, confused. “What test?”
Oh, great. He doesn’t know. For a second, my chest tightened so

hard I thought I’d crack—I was sure he found out I cheated on that
science test. The guilt had been sitting in my stomach all week, curling

up like bad food.

But the way he spoke this morning—calm and casual—made me
realize he had no clue. Still… I couldn’t help but wonder if this

conversation was about to take a sharp turn.
“Nothing… keep going.” I faked a smile.

“Anyway, as I was saying, a new student is coming to your class,”
Dad continued. “And they need three kids from your class to assist him

around the school.”

“Every day?” I glanced at him.
“No, just for now—until they get used to the school.”

“Okay, so why tell me?” I took another bite of my food.

“They need you to come, Elle. And two other kids. You probably
know them.”

“But I don’t want to! It’s literally summer break. Can’t the other
kids just do it without me?”

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