My warning came too late. Big Mama skunk turned tail and fired. It was a direct hit on Madison. The college student wailed and covered her face. I could be wrong, but I think some of the spray landed in Madison’s mouth. I tried not to gag.
Colin and I took four big steps back.
“That is foul,” the young guard said.
Curie howled, probably lamenting another bath to come.
Madison crumpled to the pavement and cried. Dylan made no move to go to her.
“Do you think Bergita has any hydrogen peroxide left?” I asked Colin.
Colin held his nose. “Probably. I’d use the V8 too, just to be safe.”
EPILOGUE
My first day at Killdeer Middle School was two days away, and Bethany, Amelie, and I were inside the local discount store, back-to-school shopping. Colin tagged along although Bergita had bought all of his school supplies in July. She was a planner. Amelie was not. It seemed that Bethany and Amelie had reached some type of truce, and my sister was no longer asking to move back in with the Cragmeyers. I was relieved. As much as my sister drove me crazy, I didn’t want to be alone out in Killdeer without her.
Amelie shook out the piece of printed computer paper in front of her. “I can’t believe these supply lists. And why are there so many choices in pencils? Where are the plain yellow number two pencils? Why would you need anything else?”
Colin held up a package. “They are right here.”
She grabbed two packs and dropped them in the cart. “This parent stuff is hard.”
I consulted my list. “I need a calculator.”
She sighed. “Don’t you have one from last year?”
I nodded. “I do, but the list says I need a scientific calculator. It’s for pre-algebra.” Because of my high test scores, I would be able to take pre-algebra in the seventh grade instead of eighth. Colin would be in the class with me.
“They’re in the next aisle,” Amelie said. “I think. I haven’t bought a calculator since I don’t know when. You don’t have much need for one in my field.”
Bethany rifled through a box of colorful folders. “This is going to take me a while. I need to decide who I want to be in Killdeer, and my folder choice is very important to my identity.”
Amelie raised her eyebrows to Colin and me. “Am I supposed to understand what that means?”
I grinned. It meant Bethany was staying, I thought. My grin grew wider.
Bethany waved us on. “Go to the calculators without me.”
Shaking her head, Amelie pushed the cart around the corner and nearly ran into Dr. Comfrey, pushing her own cart.
“Meg, how are you?” my aunt asked.
Dr. Comfrey smiled. “Good. Back-to-school shopping?” she asked.
I nodded.
“How’s Madison?” I asked. After Discovery Camp was canceled, I never heard what happened to her.
Dr. Comfrey frowned. “She was expelled. I hated to see it happen. She was a smart kid, but someone could have really gotten hurt.” She touched the bandage on her hand. Her arm was no longer in a sling. “The university really didn’t have a choice. Dylan has been suspended for a semester. They both are so bright.”
“Sometimes the pressure is too much,” Amelie said barely above a whisper.
Dr. Comfrey nodded. “It’s a shame. Dylan will be all right, and Madison will eventually get her life back together. When she does, she will apply at a new college and start over. The university decided not to press charges. There will be nothing on her permanent record, legally at least. She can start again.”
“What about Polk?” I asked. “Is he back at the college?”
She shook her head. “No. He retired. It was time for him to let go of that place. In some ways he held on too long.”
I frowned. “Have you seen him since he left?”
She shook her head.
Amelie frowned. “I know that look, Andi. Don’t get any ideas about going to look for Polk, okay? Let the man be.”
“Who? Me?”
Amelie sighed.
Dr. Comfrey laughed and pushed her cart down the aisle with a wave.
Colin held up a calculator. “Andi, you should get this one. I have the same one, and it’s excellent.”
I took the calculator from his hand. “It looks like it has everything I need. Since Ava will be in pre-algebra too I want the best one I can find.” I tossed it into Amelie’s cart.
“What’s next on the list?” Amelie asked.
“Tomato juice,” I said. “Considering this summer, I think we need to stock up.”
“Don’t forget the hydrogen peroxide,” Colin added with a grin.
We laughed, and I felt ready for my new school and new school year, whether Ava Gomez liked it or not.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
When I wrote this book, I was under the greatest stress and pressure of my life, so the novel is aptly titled. During that time, it was a welcome relief to escape into Andi’s world of mystery and middle school hijinks. I have many people to thank for allowing me this creative getaway.
I’m grateful to my agent, Nicole Resciniti, who cares about me enough to know when I need her to be my career advocate and when I just need her to be my friend. I am also grateful to the editorial and middle grade teams at Zondervan, including Mary Hassinger, Britta Eastburg, and Sara Merritt, for their support and creativity, as well as Kim Childress, my first editor for Andi. Kim knows Andi as well as I do.
Thanks to Dr. Sarah Preston, chemistry professor and friend, for answering my tireless questions and helping me find the right explosion that was “big but not too big.” Any mistakes in the novel are mine alone.
Love to my friends and family, who support me through the many changes in my writing career, especially Andy, Nicole, Isabella, Andrew, Delia, Mariellyn, Meredith, and Suzy.
Andi Under Pressure will always have a special place in my heart because it is my last novel my mother, Rev. Pamela Flower, read before she went home to heaven. Even at the end of her life she pushed me to be a better writer and a better servant for God. She was the perfect mother for me and the best friend I will ever have.
Finally, thank you to God in heaven. May everything I write be pleasing to you.
Andi Under Pressure Page 12