Miss Match by Wendy Toliver Read Free Book Online

of neon-green goggles before my eyes.
    The flask falls, glass shattering on the floor. Twenty-three heads turn and forty-six eyes zero in on me. Oh, God. He did not just say he’s taking Synchronized Swimming.
    “Oops!” is all I can think of to say.
    “It’s okay,” Derek says, making a beeline for the cleanup closet.
    Oh, but it’s not okay. The only saving grace of being in Synchronized Swimming is that there are no guys in it whatsoever. Derek can not see me in my nose clip and überugly Speedo one-piece. This is the worst news ever!
     
    After taking the written exam so I’m a legal Vespa rider (which I have to admit wasn’t a big deal after all), I wander into the kitchen in pursuit of an after-school snack. Since I didn’t eat lunch, I’m totally starved. With Mom working so late, and with Maddie’s bustling social life, we never eat dinner before seven, or sometimes even eight.
    Speaking of Maddie, I’ve got to figure out where the heck she is. Or, more importantly, who the heck she’s with . That Kevin McGregor dude has been loitering around her lately, and I’ve got to make sure he doesn’t ask Maddie to the homecoming dance. I call her cell.
    “Hey, Sasha. What’s up?” she says.
    “Hi. Um, just calling to see what you’re doing.”
    “Oh, not much. Just downloading a few songs over at Kevin’s. Ever heard of Seven’s Sake? They’re the coolest band ever! They totally sound like Depeche Mode.”
    Oh no. This is not good. Must think fast. “I was thinking maybe you should come home,” I say, rummaging through my mind for a compelling reason. “Mom’s all depressed, and I was going to make a really good dinner to try and lift her spirits. So what do you say?”
    “That woman’s always depressed.”
    “It’s probably because her oldest daughter is never home anymore. She misses you, Maddie.”
    After a brief pause Maddie says, “You’re right. Okay, I’ll be there.”
    As I hang up the phone, it’s clear I’ve got to find out more about Kevin and Maddie’s relationship. I hope it’s not too late.
     
    “Hi, honey,” Mom says, coming into the kitchen. I just sent an e-mail to Hunter, giving him directions and even attaching a kick-butt diagram of how to stuff folded paper in the doorjamb of Anna’s locker for Operation Paper Stick. I’m totally excited to hear how it goes!
    Mom is a classic beauty, an older version of Maddie. However, when she’s tired, like today, she’s all dark under-eye circles and sunken cheeks. At the risk of sounding mean, I’m glad she looks so beat, ’cause Maddie’s psyched about saving Mom from her “depression.”
    “Wow, something sure smells good,” Mom says wistfully.
    “Halibut Olympia. I thought I’d make something special.” Mom’s a vegetarian for the most part, but she sometimes splurges on fish.
    She peeks into the oven and smiles. “Sasha, you’re a gem.”
    Ten minutes later the stench of burnt potatoes fills the air. Great. Mom, Maddie, and I take our seats at the kitchen table and dig into the halibut, spinach salad (sans bacon), and the nonblackened portion of roasted potatoes. From time to time Mom’s gaze flits to the empty seat at the end of the table, where Dad used to sit.
    “Are you doing better in algebra?” Mom asks Maddie, asking the sort of question Dad would ask if he were here.
    “Let’s not talk about something so depressing,” Maddie says with her mouthfull. “Life’s too short to worry about little things like math and divorce .”
    Mom purses her lips together and says nothing. Her cell phone rings, and she excuses herself to answer it. That’s the thing about being a real-estate agent. Calls equal money, and we’d have to be in the hospital or something for her not to answer.
    I dissect a potato with my fork and then look up at my sister. “I wasn’t going to mention this, ’cause I know it’s none of my business. But I’d feel horrible if I kept it a secret and you had to give up