In November Mom married my stepdad. In December we moved a hundred miles up the east coast from Miami. In January I transferred into Stuart Middle School in the middle of eighth grade. I thought I might be due a little peace—not the fight that broke out my first day...
May 8, 2003, Gilbert AZ—I idled down Loma Vista in our minivan—unlike my usual Mrs.-Miller-gets-airborne-over-speed-bumps reputation from the neighbor kids. One block till home. Twelve-year-old Annie sat shotgun. The back end of the van was stuffed with our sleeping...
May 8, 2003, Gilbert AZ—I idled down Loma Vista in our minivan—unlike my usual Mrs.-Miller-gets-airborne-over-speed-bumps reputation from the neighbor kids. One block till home. Twelve-year-old Annie sat shotgun. The back end of the van was stuffed with our sleeping...
I sat back on my heels in the front window of Behrens’ Book Store and eyed Jackie Herold’s Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls cradling a copy of Love Story. Ralph, my stepfather, had roped me into decorating the window for Valentine’s Day and I’d Tom-Sawyered Jackie into...
Amy Kuhns and I sidled up the swim team bus aisle past the upturned noses of the chlorine-silvered blondes, the fastest girls on the team, toward our usual spot in the middle. We could take ten seconds off our 100 Free times and still not blip onto their radar....
