The week began quietly, though I didn’t feel quiet. My mind was spinning with every little detail Mom had dropped on me Sunday evening the kind of revelation that makes your stomach do somersaults and your brain loop over the same thought a hundred times. Nolan. Mom’s new guy. He had a daughter. My age. Zayelle. And she wouldn’t be starting at my school until next week.
I kept turning it over in my head as I got ready Monday morning. Lena had already invaded my room with her usual energy, flopping on the bed with her backpack like it was a throne.
“So,” she said, flipping her hair dramatically, “you’re officially about to meet the other daughter of a parent who’s way cooler than everyone else in this school. How does that make you feel?”
I groaned, pressing my face into my pillow. “Nerv
