by Holly Hook
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“I’ve got great news and not-so-great news. Have a seat.”
Janelle stopped in the kitchen doorway the next morning and stared hard at her father as he wiped off his glasses. She raised her eyelids, heart pounding. This might have to do with his secret phone conversation from last night. Maybe the planets had aligned and he was going to tell her something. After all her tossing and turning last night, she needed it.
“Good news first.” She pulled up a squeaky chair and poured herself some Magic Crunch, heart pounding with excitement and nerves at the same time. What was the bad news? Whatever he didn't want to tell her about?
“I was talking on the phone last night with an old buddy of mine.” Her father stabbed his cereal with his spoon. “And I’ve booked us a trip to the Bahamas. We’re leaving on September tenth and we’ll be gone for two weeks. I know that’s right after school starts, but I'm sure you won’t have any trouble catching up on your work ahead of time.” He wiped his glasses with more fervor. “I figured we could take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enjoy a real vacation.”
She stared hard at him. Bahamas? Them? “That’s…that’s awesome! Can we invite Leslie? She’d love that.”
“We can’t this time, Janelle. Maybe next time. We did just move, after all. And it’ll be too hard for her to get down here during school.”
Janelle kept a straight face, hiding her disappointment. “I’ve got school, too.”
“I’ll talk to your teachers, honey. We’ll get your work out of the way ahead of time.” He plucked a shiny brochure from under a pile of papers. “We’ll be at this hotel. Nice restaurant, swimming pools. See for yourself.”
Janelle took the brochure and rubbed her fingers across the smooth paper. She had to make sure it was real. She paged through it, barely reading any of the text and gawking at the photos. Palm trees. Bright blue lagoons. Perfect beaches. This might not be so bad, even if she had to go with her dad. Was this his apology? Maybe. She couldn't wait to tell Leslie about this. “Tell me. What are we doing there?”
“The highlight of the trip will be some scuba diving lessons. I know you’ll love checking out the wildlife.”
Janelle took a bite of her cereal, letting the marshmallows dissolve on her tongue. She had to be dreaming. “This is going to be so cool. So what’s the bad news?” Was he about to tell her whatever he hadn't wanted to tell her? She gripped the table in anticipation. There had to be something else.
Her father raised a spoon at her. “You’re going to have a lot of work to catch up on for school when we get back.”