the last statement I expected. Other than giving me permission to get a body piercing. Or a tattoo. Or, you know, a hole in the head, which in her view is just as unfathomable.
“That’s not fair!” Bunny shoots out of her seat, knocking into the table. The platter of egg rolls tilts precariously, and Ari grasps the plate before it crashes to the floor.
“Really, Mama?” Ari whines. “I begged you to let Adam come over for dinner. To take me to the library, of all places. And you refused every time. Why does Winnie get to have all the fun?”
Mama frowns. “Oh, this isn’t going to be fun. Winnie’s going to be practicing, not actually dating. You girls managed to score 1550 on your SATs with the adequate prep, and that’s exactly what Winnie will do. Only she’ll be scoring the perfect husband instead.”
My pulse races. I’ve never dreamed that dating in high school was possible. I don’t care why Mama lets me date. The end result will be the same. I’ll be able to go to prom. Experience my first kiss. Maybe even have a boyfriend.
Is my entire life about to change?
Mama turns to me. “I’ll decide when, where, and how each date occurs,” she announces, dashing my hopes. Shoulda known such a concession would come with strings attached.
“Also with whom. Especially with whom.” Her eyes glitter. “And I have just the right boy to be your first candidate.”
Oh no. Don’t say it. Please don’t say it. She wouldn’t torture me like that. She couldn’t.
But then she goes ahead and does it anyway. “Mat Songsomboon,” she says, a pleased tilt to her voice.
My heart falls like it’s been kicked down by a Muay Thai fighter.
Mat Songsomboon is the son of my parents’ longtime friends…
…and he also happens to be my sworn enemy.
Chapter Two
I look down the sight of my Zombie Sidestrike Blaster Nerf gun. When I fix on my target, I pull the trigger. Viciously.
Pop!
A foam bullet flies out of the gun and hits Mat Songsomboon right in the middle of his big, annoying nose.
Well. It’s not his real nose, unfortunately, because it’s not the real Mat. Instead, my prey is a pencil sketch of his firm jaw and sleepy eyes, of the black hair that constantly falls over his forehead and of his distinctive nose—long and thin on top, flaring out at the nostrils.
Just like a guava, I think as I let loose another bullet. This one rips the paper by his cheek. Good. A few more direct hits, and the sketch can join the other mutilated faces in my wastebasket. All of the same person.
Have to say, my aim has improved significantly since my friendship with Mat dissolved into hate. Practice, as they say, makes perfect.
I reload my Sidestrike. Maybe I’d feel guilty about the guava comparison if he weren’t so damn arrogant. Besides, he’s got enough girls—and a few guys—fawning over him. Pencil-sketch Mat can take it.
I bring the sight to my eye again just as the door opens and Bunny pokes her head inside. My finger startles on the trigger, and a bullet hits her in the shoulder. Oops.
“Ouch.” My sister steps fully into the room, rubbing the red mark that’s sprouted on her skin. “The guests are here. Mama sent me to check on you.” She scans the pajama bottoms and tank top I threw on after my shower. “But I can see you’re very busy doing very important things.”
“I can’t get dressed until I rip this picture to shreds.” The excuse doesn’t make any sense, and we both know it. I’m not a fan of parties, and I hate attention of any sort. But I’ll go downstairs eventually. I’m too much of a good Thai daughter to skip out entirely, especially when that’s the only thing I have going for me. As perfect as they are, Ari and Bunny aren’t always so good at listening to our parents. Who can blame me for seizing that role? Still, every minute I linger in my room is a minute I don’t have to spend making small talk.
Bunny flops onto my bed, her hair billowing out like black silk. “Are you and Mat still mortal enemies?”
“Yep,” I say darkly. “I bet he’s got a voodoo doll or ten of me in his closet. Remember the massive migraine I had last night? Pretty sure that was Mat. When I tripped over the threshold of our front door and sent the groceries flying? Also Mat.”