When do you leave ME MOM After Christmas blocking out his warmth ME Insert massive thought bubble above my head That’s four months from now DAD grabs ME by the shoulders and pulls ME in for a hug I transform into ice I won’t go to school with a bunch of people I don’t know It’s bad enough you guys moved me away from the one friend I have in the UK Now you expect me to start all over again My eyes are stinging now I will not cry I will not cry This will be a big change for everyone Annabelle but together we’ll get through DAD refuses to let ME go Zoom in on MOM wrapping her arms around us The warmth of MOM and DAD melts my ice block even though I don’t want it to Outside the rain stops falling The tree branch no longer smacks against the window And that imaginary ghost has faded into oblivion Everything will be fine Annabelle My Air Force buddy Pete Fingerlin is the counselor at McManus Middle School I called him yesterday to explain the situation He set you up with a buddy to give you a tour bright and early Monday Buddy Sounds like a code word for babysitter Call me psychic but I have a feeling this whole middle school thing will go horribly wrong DAD it MOM morning ME thinking End scene
2 Texting Across the Pond Mae Belle How’s life in the US Missing you here in the UK Me New country New house New school New problems Over it Mae SCHOOL Like with other humans Me Apparently Mom and Dad forgot that I’m allergic to formal education Mae That’s awful When do you start Me T minus 4 hrs 38 mins Run away with me Mae Oy I forgot about the time difference Get some sleep Me About to start a new novel with Dad Enchanted Air Margarita Engle strikes again I’m missing our father-daughter homeschool sessions Mae You’ll survive maybe FaceTime ya before you leave Sweet dreams
3 Linden Hates Me The FaceTime ringer beeps just as I’m getting ready for jail I mean school Mae Tanaka best friend keeper of promises As soon as I open the app on my iPad I let out a big yawn You must be tired Mae says You would be too if you’d spent the whole weekend having nightmares I still can’t believe your parents sprung all of this on you When Mom was stationed in the UK Mae was the first friend I met on base She and I were among the rare kids who preferred to be homeschooled rather than go to a new school every other year That’s the life of an Air Force kid Too many moves Too many desperate attempts to make new friends By the time we reached our third country I was totally over it Because both of our dads were techies who worked from home Mae and I had the perfect setup Our dads would take turns teaching us My dad would take the morning shift to teach us math technology and sciences And in the afternoon Mr Tanaka taught us how to use nature as our classroom We’d paint in the park take strolls around the lake and study foreign languages We’d read and discuss the fine works of our favorite authors Rita Williams-Garcia Margarita Engle and Kate DiCamillo Ah those were the good old days There’s a knock at my door and I already know who it is Hold on Mom alert I crack the door Mom weasels her face inside and looks at me frowning because I’m still in my robe Need help getting dressed she asks still wearing her I’m-sorry face
No Mom I’m fine Plus I’m FaceTiming with Mae for a couple minutes Tell her hello and don’t take too long Wouldn’t want you to be late to your meeting Honestly I’ve had enough meetings for one lifetime I hurry back to my iPad It’s almost seven o’clock That doesn’t give me much time so I speed my way through everything that’s happened over the weekend Mom’s TDY The new school The ridiculous school tour with a buddy I end my rant with So basically my life is ruined Mae hits me with No it isn’t You’ll be amazing Annabelle Typical Mae All rainbows and sunshine and bubbles I prop the iPad on my dresser Hold on while I get dressed I tell her Ooh what are you going to wear she asks I can’t even picture doing algebra in anything besides my pajamas I have yet to receive all of my boxes from Germany In my closet there are three boxes I still haven’t unpacked I haven’t had time to even think about that I say growing more frustrated as I look for clothes Nothing seems good enough You know Mae says I heard Americans like color Look for something that stands out Ooh like Lady Gaga I’d rather snack on broken glass Just trust me Mae laughs At the bottom of one of the boxes I find an oversized orange plaid shirt and purple leggings I shuffle over to my dresser still wrapped in my robe and hold up the outfit Gaga enough I ask Oh that’s perfect Mae says Now you just need shoes In the closet I find my favorite pair teal Converse sneaker-boots I’m pretty sure I’ve forgotten how this social thing works Mae I say as I pull them on Like who am I supposed to have lunch with Aren’t there rules and reserved
