the surprise.”
Rosie came and took me in a tight hug. “I’m going to be watching you and Cor!”
I let out a breath of relief. It may not have been cool to have a babysitter at eighteen, but Aunt Rosie was a blast. She always brought us junk food and stayed up way too late with us, watching movies.
We stayed up that night to celebrate, eating vegan ice cream, but when I went to bed, I remembered I was still Rapunzel, locked away in the tower, while everyone else lived the life of their dreams.
Four
The natural mineral makeup Mom bought me did nothing on the circles under my eyes. I was tired. From school, from work, and mostly from constantly feeling trapped in my own home.
Giving up, I put the brush down and went to the kitchen for breakfast. Today was a chia yogurt bowl with fresh organic fruit. I sat at the breakfast bar by Cori, who had a book open.
“Trying to catch up on assigned reading?” I asked.
She glanced toward the opposite end of the kitchen where Mom was prepping fruits and vegetables for snacks.
“She can’t hear us,” I muttered.
“There is something I want to talk to you about, though,” she said, setting her book down and giving me a pointed look. “Can you save the cheering for my next actual game?”
Laughing, I shook my head. “Is it my fault my sister’s such a beast?”
She rolled her eyes, then lowered her voice. “Maybe I’ll get a scholarship at a school so far away I’ll have to live in the dorms.”
I stuck my tongue out at her. “Rude.”
“I’m still holding out hope for you.” She beat her chest and held up her fist. “I’m on your team.”
I rolled my eyes. “You ready to go?”
She took a couple more bites of her breakfast and stood. “Let’s go.”
Mom glanced over from her work. “Have a good day!”
We waved goodbye and went out to the car. While I drove, she read, and we parted ways in the parking lot. Instead of meeting the girls like usual, I sent them a text.
Ginger: See you at lunch. Got something to do.
Ray’s pickup usually sat a couple of rows away from my car, but it wasn’t here yet. I leaned back against my hood, waiting for him to show.
He didn’t disappoint. His lifted truck rolled into the lot, the engine rumbling loudly. It was nothing like my quiet electric car. Mud dripped from the undercarriage and stained the bottom side of his paint brown.
Setting his cowboy hat on the dash, he killed the engine and easily hopped down, dragging his backpack behind him.
His long legs started toward the school, and I realized, instead of gawking, I needed to say something or he’d lose me completely.
“Ray,” I called. “Ray!”
He turned, confused, then caught sight of me. The disappointed look that crossed his features hit me right in the gut.
“What’s up?” he asked.
I caught up to him and steeled myself for the question that had been nagging at me since the day before. “What’s your problem with me?”
He turned his eyes toward the sky and readjusted his backpack. “I don’t have a problem with you.”
Raising my eyebrows, I said, “Oh really?” He may have just stepped off the fertilizer farm, but I wasn’t buying his crap.
He lowered his chin, meeting my eyes with his blue gaze. “Really.”
My heart stuttered, not prepared for the depths of his stare. “Really,” I managed. “Then why did you act like that when I told you my family owns Ripe?” He’d practically asked me on a date and then gave me a shoulder so cold it could reverse global warming.
The bell rang across the parking lot, and Ray let out a swear word. “We’re going to be late.” He strode toward the building, and I hurried to keep up.
“So you admit you acted off yesterday?”
He cast me a sideways glance. “You are quite the reporter. No comment.”
I rolled my eyes. “What is it?”
Taking the stairs two at a time, he said, “Maybe it’s the fact that your family spreads misinformation about my way of life.”
I stalled at the last stair, breathing hard. “What do you mean?”
He stopped then too, not even slightly winded, and turned to face me. “’No antibiotics?’ ‘Factory farming?’ Have you or your parents ever even set foot on a farm? Or is it all just a money grab for you?”
“Excuse me?” I demanded. I had red hair and wore size eighteen clothes. I was used to people picking on