Chapter One - GRACIE

Gracie ran after her five-year-old brother, his shirt hanging from her hand. “Noah, the bus comes in ten minutes. You have to be dressed.”

He looked back over his shoulder and yelled, “I’m not going.”

This wasn’t going to work. He was too fast, and she had lunches to make. Gracie wiped sweat from her brow. Ever since her mom had started working again, it had been up to Gracie to help her brothers and sisters get ready for school, but they didn’t listen to her like they did their mom. Thankfully, she’d already gotten the three older boys on the bus that would take them to the middle school. She just had Noah and her two sisters to worry about now.

“Fine, don’t go to school,” Gracie said, and she hurried into the kitchen to make the usual ham and cheese sandwiches. It was all she had time for.

Noah walked in slowly, and she noticed him watching curiously as she worked. “I don’t have to go?” he finally asked.

“Nope. You can stay here. By yourself. With no one to take care of you,” Gracie said, placing the sandwiches in bags. She hoped that he hadn’t learned about reverse psychology from their other siblings.

Noah retreated from the kitchen, looking slightly worried.

Gracie pulled a stepstool in front of the pantry so she could reach the individually wrapped cookies on the top shelf. Her mom had intended to keep the lunch treats out of reach of the younger kids but hadn’t accounted for Gracie’s lack of height. She was just under five feet tall, despite both of her parents towering above her at six feet. Gracie blamed her grandmother for her short genes.

Three lunches later, Gracie stood in the living room. She placed two fingers in her mouth and whistled. Immediately, pounding footsteps came from upstairs. Noah and their seven-year-old twin sisters appeared. Apparently, the thought of staying home alone had been enough for Noah to finish getting himself dressed. Thank goodness for that.

The bus pulled up just as Gracie ushered them outside. The twins were just about to follow Noah up the bus steps when Gracie noticed that neither girl was wearing shoes. Groaning, she called for them to wait, then sprinted back inside. Gracie grabbed two pairs of sandals, hoping they belonged to the twins, then ran back outside. Ignoring the impatient glare of the bus driver, she shoved the shoes into the girls’ outstretched hands, and they hurried up the steps. Gracie waved until the bus had pulled away, then chanced a glance at her phone.

7:45.

Crap. She was going to be late.

Gracie ran back inside and shoved a ham and cheese sandwich into her own backpack. She looked in the mirror and realized she’d forgotten to get dressed. Or brush her hair. Or teeth.

She grabbed the first thing she saw in the closet, threw her unruly red hair up into a ponytail, then grabbed a piece of gum as she ran out the door. This would be the fifth time she was late this month. Mrs. Krump was not going to be happy with her.

* * * * *

Gracie forced herself to drive the speed limit, but as soon as she parked in the high school’s parking lot, she grabbed her backpack and sprinted inside. She didn’t even take the time to visit her locker but ran straight to class.

When Gracie slipped through the classroom door and hurried to her seat, Mrs. Krump paused and waited for Gracie to get settled.

“Again?” Mrs. Krump asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Sorry,” Gracie said, slightly breathless. “It won’t happen again.”

Mrs. Krump crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s what you say every time. And I don’t foresee you breaking the habit any time soon.”

Gracie could have launched into a lengthy explanation about her mother starting back at work now that the youngest was in school, and about Gracie needing to help out a lot more with her six younger siblings than she had during the previous semester. It was taking its toll. Gracie hadn’t told anyone how hard it had been for her. Her parents were under enough stress as they figured out this new phase of life, not to mention raising seven kids. Her mom came home exhausted each night and barely had enough energy to make dinner. Gracie would feel guilty if she complained to her parents about it interfering with her social life, or how she barely had time to get her homework done because she was too busy helping everyone else with theirs.

Gracie didn’t tell Mrs. Krump all of that. Instead, she let her gaze drop and said, “I’m doing my best.”

“I’m sure you are, but it seems to me you need a little extra motivation,” Mrs. Krump said. “I’d like you to come up with a plan for how you are going to make it to school on time.”

Gracie nodded.

“In detention.”

Her gaze snapped back up. She couldn’t have detention; she needed to meet her siblings as they came off the bus. “I’d rather do something else,” she said. “An extra assignment, maybe?”

“You have somewhere more important to be?” Mrs. Krump asked.

Gracie released a long breath. “Yes, ma’am, I do.”

Mrs. Krump must have seen the panic that Gracie was trying to keep at bay, because she studied Gracie for a moment before tilting her head to the side. “All right. A five-page paper on how punctuality is an important skill to master. Give examples from important historical events.”

The others in the class gaped. Mrs. Krump was notorious for sending students to detention, and she’d never let anyone off the hook. She never took pity. As far as Gracie knew, she was the first.

“Yes, ma’am,” Gracie whispered, relief flooding through her. Now if only she could find the time to do the five-page paper, along with the rest of her homework.

The rest of class sped by, probably because Gracie was half-asleep for most of it. She could barely keep her eyes open. Man, it had only been a month since her mom started her job. How was Gracie going to manage this? She was only a junior…could she keep this up for another year and a half? It wasn’t until the bell rang and Mrs. Krump called for their homework to be placed on her desk that Gracie managed to wake up. She opened her backpack, grateful that she’d at least been able to get this assignment done. She tried not to think of all the others she was behind on.

“Where is it?” she murmured, searching through her bag. Oh, shoot. It must still be on her desk at home. In her rush, she had forgotten it. Gracie waited until the rest of the students left to approach Mrs. Krump, who was leaning against her desk, her feet crossed at the ankles.

“Do you have your assignment?” she asked, peering over her long nose. The way she said it, she must have known that Gracie didn’t.

“Yes,” Gracie said. “Er, I mean, I completed the assignment.”

Mrs. Krump extended her hand. “Well, give it here. You don’t want to be late for your next class as well.”

“The thing is…I left it at home. Can I bring it tomorrow? Or e-mail it to you?” Gracie’s muscles tightened, awaiting Mrs. Krump’s answer.

After a long silence, she asked, “You knew it was due at the end of class today, correct?”

“Yes, ma’am. Which is why I did it last night.”

“And yet…” Mrs. Krump trailed off and gave a small shrug.

“Please,” Gracie said. “It’s sitting on my desk. If you’d just let me e-mail it to you as soon as—”

Mrs. Krump interrupted her. “Responsibility is something you’ve been lacking recently, Miss Porter.” Her gaze softened, taking Gracie by surprise. “Is everything all right at home?”

Gracie wasn’t sure how to answer. No, things were chaotic and stressful, and she felt like she was losing her mind. But she wasn’t going to bare her soul to the most feared teacher in school. “Yes. Fine.”

Mrs. Krump didn’t look like she believed her, and her gaze lingered on Gracie just a few moments too long. Finally, she looked away. “I need to be fair to all of the students who turned their assignments in on time. I can’t make an exception for you simply because you forgot. It’s time you started learning the value of consequences. I think I was too lenient when I offered you an extra assignment in lieu of detention.”

“No, you weren’t,” Gracie said quickly. “The paper will give me a lot to think on.”

“I hope so,” Mrs. Krump said. She walked around her desk to where her chair was. “But I will still need to give you a zero on your missed assignment.”

Gracie was ready to protest, but before she had the chance, someone else stepped up to the desk beside her.

“I know Gracie, and she must have had a good reason to not have the assignment with her today,” a boy said. He was cute, but a little too put together. His sandy blond hair looked like it had just been cut, and the way he held himself, Gracie could have easily mistaken him for a teacher if he didn’t look so young.

Gracie glanced between the boy and Mrs. Krump. An air of familiarity permeated the space between the two. He seemed to know the history teacher well.

“I don’t recall inviting you into this conversation,” Mrs. Krump said, sitting down, but her lips pulled into a half-smile.

Whoa. If it had been Gracie who had interrupted, she’d already have detention for a week.

“You’re right. I’m overstepping my bounds. But maybe if she has the assignment to you first thing in the morning, you could just drop a letter grade?”

Mrs. Krump steepled her fingers together, then turned to Gracie. “All right. If you can manage to deliver your assignment fifteen minutes before your first class, I’ll only drop your grade by ten percent.”

Gracie swallowed hard. How was she going to get to school at the same time she was putting her younger siblings on the bus? “About the e-mail option…”

“I’m old-school, Miss Porter. I like to be able to physically write on your assignments. Hand delivered first thing in the morning.” The bell rang, and Mrs. Krump shook her head. “You’re late. Again. I suggest you get a move on.”

Gracie groaned in frustration and hurried from the room. She’d just have to take that zero, because she didn’t see how she could turn in her assignment that early.

“No ‘thank you’?” The boy was speed-walking alongside Gracie.

“You only delayed my punishment,” Gracie said, unsure how this boy knew her name or why he was attempting to help her. She glanced over at him and realized she was able to look him in the eyes. He was as short as she was.

“It’s already done, right? Isn’t that what you said?”

Gracie wondered if he was following her or if he had a class in this direction. She chose not to answer him, but instead quickened her pace. She really didn’t want to get into the details of her life with this guy.

“Missing out on an extra fifteen minutes of sleep isn’t going to kill you,” he continued. “I’m always here at least thirty minutes early.”

“Good for you.”

“I’m able to focus better in class when I don’t feel rushed. You should try it.”

Didn’t the guy realize she didn’t want to talk? Why was he still here?

Gracie turned down the hallway where her science class was. The mysterious guy turned with her.

“Are you following me?” she asked, feeling suddenly bold.

The boy glanced at her. “My class is three doors down.”

Heat crept into Gracie’s cheeks. Of course he wasn’t following her.

Gracie tried to think of something to say that would help relieve the awkwardness she’d created. Maybe she should thank him for trying to help her. He hadn’t realized that the stipulation he’d suggested to Mrs. Krump was impossible for Gracie to accomplish. She ran out of time, however, and she turned through the open door of her chemistry class, only pausing to briefly glance back over her shoulder.

The boy’s gaze met hers, but he hurried down the hall toward his own class before Gracie could make anything of it.