he called.”
I just smile in response and swing the fridge door open with a flourish.
“You’re in a good mood for a Monday,” my dad points out.
I remove the bread and shut the door, nodding emphatically. “I think it’s gonna be a good day.”
“It’s raining,” Hadley points out.
“Is it?” I ask wistfully as I push my bread into the toaster. “Well, that just makes it all the more romantic.”
“What the fuh?” Hadley asks, referencing what I can only guess is another offering from Urban Dictionary.
I pat her head. “You’re adorable.”
“Mom,” Hadley whines, “Ellie’s on drugs. When was the last time you checked her room for narcotics?”
I glance over my dad’s shoulder at his screen. “Narcotic,” I suggest, pointing to a triple word score space.
He taps it in. “Ninety-six points! Yes!” He holds his hand up for a high five and I deliver.
My mom bangs a cabinet door closed.
My dad looks up from his iPad. “What are you looking for?”
“Nothing!” she snaps. “I’m not looking for anything at all. Why would I possibly be looking for something I have no hope of ever finding? At least not under this roof!”
When my toast pops up, I slather it with peanut butter and take a bite. This time, I’m determined for it not to end up squished at the bottom of my bag.
“Ellie,” my dad says.
“Don’t worry,” I tell him, walking over to plant a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll make the team. There’s no doubt in my mind.”
I swing my schoolbag over my shoulder and head for the garage door. I pause, looking back long enough to say, “I hope you all have a beautiful, fulfilling day. I’m off to change the world.”
Now I’m a Believer
8:02 a.m.
“Wow, it’s really chucking it down out there,” Owen says, getting into the car and giving his wet hair a shake. I watch the tiny droplets of rainwater land on the dash but today I fight the urge to wipe them away.
When I don’t respond, Owen turns and stares at me, his eyes lingering on my clothes a beat longer than normal, like he can sense something’s different but can’t figure out what it is.
“You like?” I say, flipping a lock of hair over my shoulder.
“Uh,” he stammers, but never quite finishes. Instead he chooses to comment on my music choice.
“New playlist?”
I put the car in gear and back out his driveway. “Yup, I made it this morning. It’s called ‘Brand-New World Order.’”
He grabs my phone and scrolls through the songs. “It’s very … bouncy.”
I bob my head to the beat of “I’m a Believer” by the Monkees. “What can I say? I feel bouncy.”
Admittedly, I’m a little disappointed that Owen didn’t comment on my outfit. It would have been nice for him to confirm that my new look is working, but whatever. I didn’t dress up to impress my best friend. I dressed up to impress my boyfriend.
“Oh, I almost forgot!” Owen reaches into his bag and removes two fortune cookies. “Choose your tasty fortune!”
I look at the wrapped cookies in his hand and select the one on the left. Owen opens the other and reads aloud. I almost mouth the words along with him.
“If your desires are not extravagant, they will be granted.” He crumples it up and tosses it into the backseat. “My desires are always extravagant.”
I toss my cookie into the cup holder.
“You’re not even going to open it?” Owen asks.
“Nah,” I tell him. “I already know what it’s going to say.”
He snorts. “That’s impossible.”
I hear a rustling beside me and I glance over to see Owen reading my fortune.
“Be the best version of yourself.”
I nearly swerve off the road. “What?”
“Whoa. Drive much?”
I grab the message from his hand and read it for myself.
Be the best version of yourself.
But that’s different. How can it be different?
“I thought you said you already knew what it was going to say,” Owen points out, and I don’t miss the smugness.
“I…” I stammer. “I thought I did, but I guess it changed.”
Then suddenly I understand.
Of course it changed! It’s my fortune! I’ve already set a new series of events in motion today. I’ve already started changing my fate.
“Uh, yellow light,” Owen says, interrupting my revelation.
I blink back to reality, dropping the fortune into my lap. Instinctively, I slam on the brakes, screeching to a halt right before the light turns red. The car next to me decides to make a run for it. I watch in awe as the intersection explodes in a series of bright flashes.
“That