Two roads diverged in a wood and I I took the one less traveled by And that has made all the difference Robert Frost
Chapter 1 I was surrounded by racks and racks of swimsuits as if circled by sharks Mo do we have to do this now I asked my mom Everyone calls her Mo which is short for Maureen Come on said Mo waving at the counter for assistance like she was landing an airplane This is the perfect way to celebrate the end of the school year I wasn’t in the mood to celebrate Yesterday had been my last day at Pico Primary the only school I had ever known In the fall I would be moving over to the enormous regional middle school along with hundreds of other new seventh graders from all over Kettleboro Vermont Just thinking about the maze of hallways and a confusing cafeteria in that gigantic cement building made my stomach cramp 1
I already told you I don’t want a new What can I help you with ladies the sales woman chirped as she fluttered across the store I crossed my arms and scowled This is the first day of my daughter’s summer break announced Mo and she needs a bathing suit Nothing too pricey Just a cute sporty number that shows off her new curves My face instantly burned Ooh let’s think about this said the sales woman staring at me as if I were a mannequin in the window I would love to find something to complement those gorgeous exotic tones Exotic was supposed to be the nice way of describing the way I looked but that word made me cringe I’d inherited my dad’s tawny skin and piercing piercing dark eyes tossed together with Mo’s genes her coiled copper hair and excessive freckles The com bination makes it hard for people to label me no matter how hard they try And in the white world of Kettleboro they try a lot Within minutes Mo had gathered a dozen suits Let’s get this over with I grumbled as I grabbed the hangers and trudged toward the dressing dressing rooms 2
