The Takedown(37)

Dad snorted. “Audra was here before.”

“She was? That’s weird. I just saw her at dinner. She didn’t tell me she’d be dropping by. Was she okay?”

Dad shrugged. “She seemed great. Spent about a half hour talking with Mom in the kitchen.”

“About what?”

“I don’t know. Nothing, really. They were just chatting.”

“Did she leave me a message?”

“Uh-uh.”

Great. Rub it in, universe. My mom got along famously with everyone except me. As if he could tell this conversation was taking us into choppy waters, Dad cleared his throat and said, “So I found a person.”

“Are you going to get a medal?”

Like Kyle, Dad always laughed at my jokes.

“A lawyer. He deals with cases like ours.” Ours. “He’s rated five stars on LawLink. I told him it was urgent, so he squeezed us in at twelve thirty tomorrow. We’re his last appointment before he takes off for the holidays.”

“Cool.”

What I wanted to say was: Hey, Dad, ever win an argument and still feel like you lost?

Dad patted my knee. “Not a great reaction on my part. Sorry, kiddo.”

I shrugged. “It was mild in comparison to school.”

“Ahh,” he said, like that made him feel worse. “When I was growing up, if I ever complained about anything, your n?inai would say—well, first she would whap me across the back of my head, but then she’d say, ‘Jade doesn’t become a gem without some chiseling first.’ We’ll get through this. And we’ll be stronger and richer for it.”

N?inai.

N?inai would have told me I did the right thing with Mac. “Lots of time for boys,” she’d always said, then tapped her head—brains first. As if my n?inai were sending me a message from the afterlife, my Doc emitted its horror movie–style shriek.

Dad let out a mock mini wail. “Worst ring ever.”

Are you having a good night, pookie?

I chucked my Doc onto a chair across the room. Mac was the best person I knew. And I refused to go out with him. Audra came over to talk to my mom, apparently proving that my mother and my best friend had a better relationship than I had with either one. Before the video, I’d have said I had a few problems with a few people. Now all signs pointed to the fact that I was the problem.

“You gonna be okay, Kylie?”

“No worse off than I was before.” My voice caught. “I know I didn’t turn out like you guys were expecting. I’m sorry if I’ve been a disappointment.”

Dad didn’t pretend not to know what I was talking about.

“You’re not a disappointment; you’re a teenager. Mom knows that too. You two will find your level ground eventually. That’s the cool thing about family. We might have our ups and downs, but we’re kinda stuck together. There’s no question we love you, right?”

He nudged me.

“Sure,” I said.

I put my head on his shoulder. He put his arm around me. Not knowing what else to do, he clicked play on the hub. On-screen, a flying squirrel decapitated a blobby demon. Blood splattered everywhere. We laughed.





moi My dad just told me my mom loves me because she’s stuck with me.

Normally, I’d have sent the txt to Audra. I’d have whined about the latest turn in the Kyle-Mac saga. I’d have apologized for how weirdly we left dinner. But I just couldn’t get my fingers to cooperate with my brain.

When AnyLies instantly responded, I found myself feeling happy. Which was admittedly weird. But lately every time I txted Audra, her avatar was red. Instant txt replies felt so refreshing.

Why are you telling me this?

Because after our conversation tonight, I thought it best that I give Mac a little Doc space for the evening. And because what Dad had said had got me thinking. When you were stuck with someone, you had to come to terms with them, no?

moi I dunno where or when, but I think we got off on the wrong foot. So, hi! My name’s Kyla Cheng. My friends call me Kyle.

What are you doing???

If there was no way to technically take down the video—a fact I still didn’t accept—then this was my only play. Still, I hesitated. Fostering a relationship with my hater was clearly a bad idea. Yet worse things kept piling up. In the time between my bike ride to Mac’s house and my return home, two more families had canceled upcoming babysitting dates. And in the time it took to say good night to Dad and go to my room, I assumed that the file sweep programs caught on that the video had attached itself to all my volunteer organizations, because my G-File no longer said I volunteered for We Shelter, We Care, or the half dozen other organizations I belonged to, including Senator Cooper’s office. Additionally, all the photos I’d been tagged in at those places had been Pulled.

Even if colleges looked past my unfinished apps, now my profile contained nothing except the Mr. E. video and a collection of assorted family and friend tags.

I literally had nothing else to lose.

moi I’m doing the impossible. I’m going to convince you not to hate me.





The next morning, I groaned when my alarm went off. Nothing about my life made me want to get out of bed. It was Christmas Eve. In normal, non–devastated-city years, I would be sound asleep right now thanks to Park Prep Senior Perks. Instead I had a half day of school to get through and only eight more days until my college applications were due. Or, at least, were supposed to be due. I was pulling my pillow back over my head when there was a kick on my door.