Copyright © 2018 Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved. Published by Disney Press, an imprint of Disney Book Group. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information address Disney Press, 1200 Grand Central Avenue, Glendale, California 91201.
ISBN 978-1-368-02776-2
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright
Part One
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Part Two
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
My mom is going to be so mad at me.
Looking down at the electric scooter’s dashboard, Andi hesitated. The keys jingled on the end of her finger as her hand shook. She wasn’t sure if she was shaking because she was nervous (after all, she had never ridden a scooter before) or because she was scared (after all, she had never defied her mother before—then again, she had never been almost thirteen before).
Taking a deep breath, she lowered the shiny black helmet over her brown pixie cut. Be brave, Andi Mack, she said to herself. You can do this! Then, before she could change her mind, Andi put the key in the ignition and turned it. With a loud roar—or rather a very loud purr—the scooter came to life. Gripping the handlebars, Andi took off.
As the scooter raced along the path toward the center of town, Andi tried not to scream. It felt like she was going a million miles an hour. The wind tugged at her jacket, making the white racing stripes flutter, and she was pretty sure that if the helmet hadn’t been covering every inch of her face, she would have gotten a serious case of windburn. Narrowly missing a tree, Andi took a corner—a bit faster than she had anticipated—and found herself looking out over a very steep hill.
This time she didn’t even attempt to hold back the scream.
“AHHHHHHH!”
Finally, the terrible hill flattened out, and Andi rolled onto Main Street. She clutched the handlebars as she weaved through people and traffic. For a brief moment, Andi felt like she was finally getting the hang of the scooter. Maybe buying this thing without telling anyone wasn’t such a bad idea after all. But then she rounded a corner and nearly flattened her two best friends before stopping.
“Whoa!” Cyrus shouted, nearly dropping his bright blue water bottle as he jumped back in fear.
“Watch where you’re going, psycho!” Buffy said. Unlike Cyrus, Buffy didn’t seem scared. She just looked annoyed, or angry, or ready to speak her mind. It was hard to tell. That was one of Buffy’s many talents—keeping people guessing.
Behind the opaque mask of her helmet, Andi smiled. Her best friends were so different from each other. Yet somehow, those differences seemed to make their friendship stronger. Cyrus was the sensitive one, always ready to help out and listen. He also happened to be totally tuned in to pop culture and was Andi’s go-to person when she was coming up with something new and crafty in her art shack. Buffy, on the other hand, was more a “tough love” kind of friend. She looked all sweetness and light with her big brown eyes and wide smile. But she was strong-minded—and not afraid of confrontation. Like now, for example, as she clenched her hands into fists at her sides.
Catching his breath, Cyrus stepped forward. “You could have killed us!” he shouted. But any further protest died on his lips as Andi finally took off her helmet and her friends realized who had nearly run them over.
“Andi!” he and Buffy exclaimed together.
Andi smiled, flipping her bangs out of her face. “Sorry! I haven’t figured out the brakes yet,” she said. “So…what do you think? Do you like it?”
Buffy and Cyrus rushed forward and began examining the shiny yellow scooter. They gushed as they checked out the metal handlebars and the fancy dials on the dashboard. They agreed: they didn’t just like the new bike; they loved it. But Buffy had one question.
“When do you think you’ll take off the training wheels?” she asked, pointing at the back of the bike.
Andi glanced at the two shiny new training wheels that were supporting the back wheel of the scooter. Looking at her friends, she laughed sheepishly. So she wasn’t quite a total rebel…not yet, at least. But the training wheels wouldn’t be there forever. The next day Andi was turning thirteen. That meant no more training wheels. And when they came off, there would be no stopping Andi Mack.
Andi turned and began to walk the scooter along Shadyside’s one and only Main Street sidewalk. Her friends fell in beside her. “I can’t believe your mom let you get this,” Cyrus said as they walked. They strolled past the same stores that had been there their whole lives. From the brick-fronted barbershop, with its traditional red, white, and blue post, to the flower shop, displaying dozens of bouquets, Main Street seemed perfect and picturesque.
“Oh, she has no idea,” Andi said. Cyrus’s tone had been teasing, but he knew as well as she did that her mom was not the easygoing type. She was the opposite. “I traded in my bike. That plus the money I made cat sitting for the Wadmans.” It had been hard for her to give up that money—the cat was not easy to sit for—but Andi had done it anyway. She had never bought anything so, well, grown-up with her own money before. While she knew it was probably going to land her in hot water, it still felt good.
And then Buffy rained reality on her parade.
“Hold on. Back up,” Buffy said, pulling on the straps of her backpack. “You really think she’ll let you keep this thing? The woman who wouldn’t let you within ten feet of a bouncy castle?”
Andi nodded. True, her mother was tough. True, her mother was not a fan of fun. Or adventure. But this was different. “All of that changes as of tomorrow,” she said.
Cyrus furrowed his dark eyebrows. “What happens tomorrow?”
“I turn thirteen,” Andi reminded her friends. “I become a teenager. It means I get to rebel.”
“Yeah, sure,” Cyrus agreed. “Do that.” Andi’s hopes lifted. She had known Cyrus would understand. Then he continued. “But maybe start with something simple? Some black nail polish. Or”—he paused for dramatic effect—“part your hair…on the other side.” He ran his hands through his own thick dark hair and left it standing straight up.
Andi couldn’t help smiling at her friend’s take on rebellion. She wasn’t really trying to rebel. Honestly, she was just tired of hearing someone say no every time she opened her mouth. She figured that if she didn’t ask, then her mom couldn’t say no. Wasn’t there some expression about doing now and asking for forgiveness later? She was just going to have to ask for forgiveness—a lot of forgiveness—after her mom saw the scooter.
Unfortunately, that moment was all too quick in coming. Shadyside wasn’t a big town, which meant its Main Street wasn’t exactly long. And since Andi lived right near Main Street, she and her friends arrived in front of her house way faster than she would have liked.
Stopping, she gazed up at her home. It looked perfect, just the way her mother liked it. The plants that lined the front walkway were impeccably trimmed. Bright flowers hung from flowerpots along the big wraparound porch, and the gray siding looked as though it had been painted that morning. Nothing was out of place. Andi was pretty sure not even a blade of grass dared to grow in the wrong direction—not under her mother’s watchful eye.
The
whole way over, she had kept talking about being brave and bold and how being a teenager was going to change her. But now, standing in front of her house, she felt some of that boldness slipping away.
Buffy was quick to notice. “I’m impressed,” she said, raising her eyebrows. “We made it almost to your driveway before you chickened out.”
“I’m not chickening out,” Andi protested. I’m totally chickening out, she thought, throwing a desperate look in Cyrus’s direction.
Cyrus saw the look and knew instantly what Andi needed. “I can hide it in my garage,” he offered.
Andi let out a sigh of relief. She had known Cyrus would come through for her. Thanking him, she turned to hand off the scooter and get inside before her mom saw them standing there. But just as she lifted her fingers from the handlebars, a loud roar came from the end of the street.
The three friends looked toward the sound and watched as a large black motorcycle turned onto Andi’s street. Cyrus began to grin. Buffy’s eyes grew wide. “Whoa,” she said, nudging Andi with her elbow. “Now that’s the real deal.”
“I like yours better,” Cyrus said, patting Andi on the shoulder in an attempt to make her feel better.
Andi barely noticed. She knitted her eyebrows as the bike came closer and closer. Then, to her surprise, it turned—into her driveway. The engine gave one last loud roar, and then the bike came to a stop. In the silence that followed, Buffy’s and Cyrus’s impressed gasps sounded louder than the bike’s engine had. “Who is that?” Buffy asked at the same time Cyrus wondered, “Do you know anyone who…”
They all watched as the mystery bike rider took off a helmet. This time, it was Andi’s turn to gasp. She did know someone who rode a motorcycle.
“Bex!” she cried. Dropping her backpack next to the scooter, she raced up the driveway and flung her arms around her big sister.
“Hey, Andiman!”
Andi’s arms tightened around her sister as Bex swung her around. Laughing, Andi enjoyed the moment for as long as she could. She hadn’t known Bex was coming home. Despite the age difference, Andi and Bex got along great. Whenever her sister was home, Andi felt like things made more sense.
Her parents, on the other hand, weren’t always as thrilled by Bex’s sudden appearances and disappearances. Her sister was what her mom called a free spirit. While the label was often intended as a compliment, Andi suspected her mom didn’t mean it that way. Whatever way it was used, though, Andi knew what it meant. It meant that Bex liked to live life to the fullest. She traveled the world and wasn’t afraid to try new things or meet new people. I doubt she would have been nervous to buy a scooter, Andi thought as Bex lowered Andi’s feet back to the ground. Come to think of it, now that she’s here, I should ask Bex’s advice on what to say to Mom….
Turning, she gestured for Buffy and Cyrus to come over. “Guys!” she said happily. “It’s my sister!” As her friends walked up the driveway, Cyrus pushing the scooter, Andi looked back at her sister. While she was happy to have Bex home, she couldn’t help asking, “What are you doing here?”
Bex leaned down, resting her hands on her torn jeans. Her hair, wavy and dark, brushed along the shoulders of her leather jacket. It wasn’t just the motorcycle; Bex simply radiated cool. From her turquoise-and-black choker to her graphic T-shirt, Bex looked every inch the free spirit. Andi wished, not for the first time, that she had gotten some of her big sister’s style and personality.
“What do you mean? I couldn’t miss your birthday!” Bex said, answering Andi’s question and snapping her back to the moment. Then Bex tilted her head thoughtfully. “Which, don’t say it…I know I’ve missed most of them—”
“I don’t care!” Andi said, cutting her sister off. “You’re here now.”
Buffy and Cyrus, who had been waiting for the reunion excitement to die down, stepped forward. Seeing them, Bex smiled. While she might have flitted into and out of Andi’s life for the past thirteen years, she had been around enough to get to know her friends—at least her two best friends. “Cyrus,” she said as he approached, still holding on to the scooter. Her eyebrows came together as she took in the bright yellow machine. “Are those your wheels?”
Beside her, Andi nodded to Cyrus and mouthed the word yes. She had every intention of getting Bex’s advice about the scooter, just not quite yet.
Cyrus picked up on the not-so-subtle hint. “Yeah,” he answered, clapping his hands together. “Totally. Full-throttle outlaw.” He stopped. He didn’t need to see the look on Buffy’s face to know that he sounded ridiculous. “Those are all the biker words I know,” he said, shrugging.
Lucky for Cyrus, his word vomit of biker lingo didn’t seem to bother or confuse Bex too much. Turning her attention to Andi’s other BFF, she smiled warmly. Bex had always had a soft spot for Buffy. “Wow,” she said, taking in the girl’s fashionable orange jacket and boho blue top. “You’re turning into the real Buffy.”
“I am a real Buffy. And I would prefer not being compared to a fictional vampire slayer on a television show from the last century,” she snapped. That was clearly not the first time someone had made the connection. But then she paused and looked a bit sheepish. “Although…I recently started watching it and it is pretty good,” she admitted with a laugh.
As their laughter died, Andi turned back to Bex. “So, does Mom know you’re here?” she asked.
“I wanted it to be a surprise,” Bex said, lifting her hands into the air and making a face like she hoped that was a good thing.
Andi frowned. Her mother hated surprises. She hated surprises almost as much as she hated her lawn not being perfect. Or saying yes to anything Andi asked for that wasn’t “safe” or “smart.” In other words, she really, really hated surprises. Quickly, Andi pointed that out to Bex.
“Yeah,” Bex said. “Will you come with me?” she asked hopefully. “And tell her?”
Smiling, Andi nodded. Of course she would help. After all, wasn’t that what sisters were for?
Andi burst through the front door of her house and barreled across the living room toward the sounds of someone cooking in the kitchen. Like the outside, the inside of the Macks’ home was perfectly put together. Dark wood antique pieces blended seamlessly with more modern touches. Beautiful rugs lay over the hardwood floors, which did not appear to have a scratch on them—thanks to Andi’s mother’s cleaning, of course. Pictures drawn by Andi when she was younger lined the wall by the stairs leading up to the second floor. There was at least one framed photo of Andi on every flat surface, from bookshelf to console table…and a few of Bex were mixed in for good measure.
In the kitchen, Andi’s father, Ham, was busily stirring cake batter. A rag was flung over his shoulder in case of any possible mess making, but otherwise he was as spotless as the house around him. His dark hair had only recently started to gray, giving him a salt-and-pepper look. For a man with one grown daughter and an almost teenager, he still looked young, and his eyes, which were bright, brightened even more as Andi and Bex rushed in.
“Dad! Look who came home for my birthday!” Andi said, letting go of her sister’s hand so Bex could give her father a hug.
“Bex! What a wonderful surprise!” he said, giving Bex a big squeeze. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, he looked over as his wife walked down. “Celia, look who’s here!”
Celia raised an eyebrow as she took in the reunion occurring in the kitchen. “I see,” she said flatly. Like the home she worked to keep perfect, Celia was also perfect. Not a strand of hair was out of place, and her silver necklace matched the simple earrings she wore.
“Hi, Mom,” Bex said.
“Rebecca,” Celia replied, using her daughter’s full name to show her displeasure. She gave her daughter a once-over. “You look…well,” she said, her tone implying otherwise. “How long will you be staying?”
Standing next to her big sister, Andi shifted uncomfortably on her feet. She knew that her mom and Bex didn’t have the best of relationships, but
she always wished she knew why. It was like there was something between them, some story, that made moments like that feel awkward at best. Right then, it was as though they were strangers meeting at a party, not a mother and daughter who hadn’t seen each other in a while.
“Okay,” Bex said, picking up on her mother’s unwelcoming question, “so much for the pleasantries, huh?” She frowned but kept an arm around Andi. She had known that the surprise visit wasn’t going to be her mom’s cup of tea. But she was less worried about the surprise and more worried about the news she was about to deliver. Looking at her father, she nodded at Celia. “Dad, can you brace Mom and give her something to grab?”
Andi’s father walked over to stand behind his wife and put his hands on her shoulders. Together, the pair waited to hear what Bex had to say.
“I’ll be staying a while,” she said, her voice rising at the end of the statement involuntarily. She hadn’t meant to make it sound like a question, but every time she was in front of her mother, she felt like she was the thirteen-year-old. “I’m moving back home.” As she broke the news, she looked down at Andi, hoping at least she would be excited.
A huge smile broke over Andi’s face. “Really? Really?” she shouted. She had been happy with just a surprise visit. But her sister moving back? For good? That was seriously awesome.
“Is that okay?” Bex asked. She ignored the glare coming from her mother.
“Of course it’s okay!” Andi cried. “It’s your home, too! Except your room is now an office slash home gym and we sold all your toe rings at a garage sale.” As she said this, Andi shot her mother a look. She had told her that was a bad idea.
Before his wife could speak, Andi’s father jumped in. “We have a pull-out couch,” he said, squeezing Celia’s shoulder. He could feel the tension and knew he would be in trouble later, but Bex was his daughter. He wasn’t going to have her sleeping on the floor. “You can stay for as long as you want.”
Bex smiled gratefully. “So, my plan is to get a job and find a place to live. I’m really ready to get my life together.” She risked looking at her mother, thinking that perhaps the words plan and job might be enough to thaw the daggers of ice Celia had been shooting her way since the moment she walked into the kitchen. No such luck.
Tomorrow Starts Today Page 1