Maybe This Time(61)

“Jett Hart yelled at Gunnar?” Her voice was ice.

“Yes,” I responded quietly.

“Oh, I’m gonna give him what for,” she said.

“You are?” She was going to yell at Jett Hart?

“Why wouldn’t I? Kind of like I defend you when people down at the market call you a weirdo.”

Wait, what? “What?” I asked.

“My point is, I stand up for my kids. And I’m going to give Jett Hart a piece of my mind.”

“Momma, no. It’s fine. Andrew talked to him and so did I and … Hello?” I looked at my phone again. She was gone. I bit my lip, staring at the black screen.

I stood on my tiptoes to try to locate the platform in the middle of the maze but couldn’t see anything but cornstalks.

Another group of laughing kids came from around a corner.

“Anyone seen Gunnar?” I asked them.

“No,” one of them replied, and kept walking. I continued on, weaving my way toward the middle of the maze, hoping to find the lookout point.

“Soph!” a voice called out.

I turned in a circle but nobody was around.

“Up here!”

I looked up. Andrew stood above the maze, obviously on the platform that I couldn’t see. The wooden structure was right below the tops of the stalks.

“Can you see Gunnar from up there?” I called back to Andrew.

He shook his head no. I wanted to get up and see for myself, but he was at least two rows over from me.

“How do I get over there?” I shouted.

He scanned the area around me. “Follow your path straight. About halfway down your row, turn to the right. Then stay right at the fork and it will lead you to the stairs. I’ll meet you halfway.”

“No, just stay there in case I get turned around,” I said, but it was too late; he’d already disappeared from above me.

I followed his directions. Or so I thought. But I couldn’t find the corridor on the right he’d been talking about. The path only led to one veering left. Maybe he hadn’t realized which row I was in. I kept going, then turned right as soon as I possibly could. But I knew after ten minutes of not discovering stairs that I’d taken the wrong path.

I texted him: Go back to the platform. I got turned around.

How could you possibly have gotten turned around? There were literally three steps.

Maybe you give bad directions.

I don’t.

You obviously do.

My phone buzzed with a call, making me jump. It was my mom again.

“Hello?”

“He made it out.”

“What?”

“Gunnar’s out.”

“Is he okay?” I asked, relief pouring through me.

She must’ve handed the phone to Gunnar because he got on and was talking a mile a minute. “I did the whole maze by myself. I was good at it too on account of I’m so fast. Momma was right, I am old enough to do it. I didn’t even have to use the lookout. I just remembered all the turns like a map in my head and it was so fun. I should race you next time. The Carter boys were racing and I think I could beat both of them—”

“I’m glad you’re okay,” I said, cutting him off. “And good job on the maze.”

“Thanks. Here’s Mom.”

“Hey,” she said. “So we’re takin’ off then.”

“Okay … How’s Jett? Was he … mean to you?”

“That man is all hat, no cattle.”

So my mom could hold her own against Jett Hart. I was impressed. “Did you take it easy on him?” I asked.

“I said what needed to be said.”

“Thank you, Mom.”

“What? I actually get a thank-you? I bring you a letter that says you get free money, nothing. I yell at some grown man, and ‘thank you, Mom.’ ”

The angry feelings that I feared were never going to leave surged in my chest. “Mom …”

“What?”

“That scholarship. You know I didn’t want it. I’ve been perfectly clear on what I want to do with my life. To me it only represents the fact that you don’t believe in me.” There, I’d said it. Sure, I’d said it on the phone so I didn’t have to look her in the eye when I did, but still.

Mom didn’t respond right away. I held my breath. Apparently I was going to fight with everyone tonight.

“Sophie, I live in the real world,” Mom said at last. “And in the real world, this is the money you need to go to college.”

“I’ve been saving and Dad’s been saving.”

“Dad? You mean that man I loaned a hundred bucks to last week because he’s never been able to save a penny in his life? That Dad? Or did you adopt a different one who doesn’t have money issues?”

I blinked. “That’s not true. He’s been matching me.”

She just laughed.

My dad hadn’t been saving money for me? A pit formed in my stomach and seemed to want to swallow me whole.

“That’s not the point!” I protested, feeling desperate. “It doesn’t matter. I can apply for grants and aid and …”

“Scholarships?” she said.

I couldn’t respond. I could hardly breathe.