Calli

Home > Other > Calli > Page 14
Calli Page 14

by Jessica Anderson


  When we get to the register, I add a couple of 3 Musketeers to our small pile of stuff, and Liz sets a few Snickers for herself on the belt conveyor. She pays for the items and holds out the change for me. “Here, take this change for your science project donation.”

  Adding what Liz just gave me, I’ve collected $58.12 for the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, not including what Mr. Hatley will donate. There are still a few more days left of school, and I might be able to add even more money to the donation. Dub’s helping me spread the word. He keeps hinting at something nice he’s bought me for our anniversary. It would be funny if he got me a new pair of All Stars too.

  When we get home, I keep my eyes focused on our bent aluminum overhang. It’s taken me this long to truly feel lucky for the blessings in my life.

  The house is quiet when we walk inside, and Mom places her finger over her lips. Lemond must’ve fallen asleep.

  With the candy bars and picture frames hidden in my purse, I walk down the hallway to my room. Lemond’s door is open, and I can hear him breathing heavily as I walk past his room. At least it’s his room for now. I have a feeling it’ll always be a guest room of sorts.

  As the hours tick by, I can’t sleep. I pull the emerald green dress out of the closet and change into it. I plan to try it on every once in a while. Have my own Intervention to pick up my spirits when I need to.

  I turn around in the mirror and imagine what people from school will say when they see me wearing it.

  Who’s that girl in the pretty green dress?

  Is that really Calli?

  She’s not plain at all.

  Maybe I’ll be able to wear it in New Orleans if we end up going. Most likely, it will be just my family hitting the road. My mom, Mom. My other mom, Liz. And me, Calli.

  Who knows who might be part of our lives in the future?

  JESSICA LEE ANDERSON is the author of Trudy (Milkweed, 2005) and Border Crossing (Milkweed, 2009). She studied writing for young adults at Hollins University and has published two nonfiction readers, as well as fiction and nonfiction in a variety of magazines, including Highlights for Children. She’s a part of the Texas Sweethearts and Scoundrels (www.texassweethearts.com) and hopes to be more Sweetheart than Scoundrel. She lives near Austin, Texas, with her husband, Michael. Visit her Web site at www.jessicaleeanderson.com.

  If you enjoyed this book, you’ll also want to read these other Milkweed novels.

  To order books or for more information,

  contact Milkweed at (800) 520-6455

  or visit our Web site (www.milkweed.org).

  Discovering Pig Magic

  Julie Crabtree

  The Crepe Makers’ Bond

  Julie Crabtree

  Perfect

  Natasha Friend

  Slant

  Laura E. Williams

  MILKWEED EDITIONS

  Founded as a nonprofit organization in 1979, Milkweed Editions is an independent publisher. Our mission is to identify, nurture and publish transformative literature, and build an engaged community around it.

  JOIN US

  In addition to revenue generated by the sales of books we publish, Milkweed Editions depends on the generosity of institutions and individuals like you. In an increasingly consolidated and bottom-line-driven publishing world, your support allows us to select and publish books on the basis of their literary quality and transformative potential. Please visit our Web site (www.milkweed.org) or contact us at (800) 520-6455 to learn more.

  Milkweed Editions, a nonprofit publisher, gratefully acknowledges sustaining support from Amazon.com; Emilie and Henry Buchwald; the Bush Foundation; the Patrick and Aimee Butler Foundation; Timothy and Tara Clark; the Dougherty Family Foundation; Friesens; the General Mills Foundation; John and Joanne Gordon; Ellen Grace; William and Jeanne Grandy; the Jerome Foundation; the Lerner Foundation; Sanders and Tasha Marvin; the McKnight Foundation; Mid-Continent Engineering; the Minnesota State Arts Board, through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts; Kelly Morrison and John Willoughby; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Navarre Corporation; Ann and Doug Ness; Jörg and Angie Pierach; the Carl and Eloise Pohlad Family Foundation; the RBC Foundation USA; the Target Foundation; the Travelers Foundation; Moira and John Turner; and Edward and Jenny Wahl.

  Interior design by Connie Kuhnz

  Typeset in Minion Pro

  by BookMobile Design and Publishing Services

  Printed on acid-free 100% postconsumer waste paper

  by Friesens Corporation

  The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  © 2011, Text by Jessica Lee Anderson

  All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews,

  no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without

  prior written permission from the publisher:

  Milkweed Editions, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 300,

  Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415.

  (800) 520-6455

  www.milkweed.org

  Manufactured in Altona, Manitoba, Canada, in August 2011 by Friesens Corporation.

  Please turn to the back of this book for a list of the sustaining funders of Milkweed Editions.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Anderson, Jessica Lee, 1980–

  Summary: When fifteen-year-old Calli’s two moms take in Cherish, a troubled teenager, and Calli tries to stand up to her antisocial behavior, things quickly begin to spiral downward before Calli can begin to regain some semblance of control.

  eISBN : 978-1-571-31845-9

  [1. Family problems—Fiction. 2. Foster home care—Fiction. 3. Lesbians—Fiction. 4. Mothers and daughters—Fiction. 5. Interpersonal relations—Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.A53665Cal 2011 [Fic]—dc22

  2011007076

  This book is printed on acid-free paper.

 

 

 


‹ Prev