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shove.”
    â€œWhatever.” Legs crossed, he hopped. “Just hurry and put in your key.”
    â€œI told you to go at Pier Point.” Holding open the door, she flipped on the lights.
    â€œWhoa.” Their usually cool loft was wrecked. “Did we get robbed?”
    â€œNo.” She ruffled his hair, usually a sign she was thinking of him as a little kid instead of an almost grown-up. “But as soon as you get out of the bathroom, I do have a surprise for you.”
    â€œIs it good?” he asked on his way down the hall crowded with skyscraper piles of boxes.
    â€œI think so. I hope you will, too.”
    Kolt peed quickly. He was supposed to wash hishands, but since he wanted to know why there were so many boxes, he just brushed his hands on the fancy towels.
    â€œOkay, what?” he asked, back in the living room.
    His mom sucked in a lot of air and then blew it all out. “Well…while you were busy at camp, I was busy, too. Remember when you were little, and I bought you that giant stuffed buffalo and a tepee to play in? And we talked about Oklahoma and how it’s an important state?”
    â€œYeah?” Why did she look as if she was gonna cry? Man, he hated it when she did that. It made his insides feel all twisty.
    â€œThere’s a reason Oklahoma means more to us than the other states.” She wiped her hands on her jeans.
    â€œI know my dad’s from there, and those people from the pictures you showed me, but I don’t even really know where Oklahoma is.”
    â€œThat’s about to change.” She put on a really spooky, big smile. “Honey, I know this is going to be hard for you, but we’re moving to Oklahoma, and—”
    â€œWhat?” Kolt jumped up from the sofa, pitching one of his mom’s fancy pillows halfway across the room. “That’s stupid! My friend James moved to Chicago and I’ve never seen him again.”
    â€œHoney, calm down and let me explain.”
    â€œI don’t wanna hear anything. This is because of my stupid dad who I don’t even know, isn’t it? You’re ruining my life! I hate you!” Kolt didn’t really hate her, but on the way to his room, he couldn’t think of anything better to say. Moving was stupid and so was his mom.
    He slammed his door.
    She opened it and parked herself on his bed. “Sweetie, there are things I haven’t told you that I should’ve. When I was your age, I had a rough time.”
    â€œWhy?”
    She took a stuffed pig from his toy bucket and played with its ear. “Some day, when you’re older, I’ll tell you. But for now, I need you to know that when I mentioned all of our relatives lived too far away for us to see, well…”
    While she took more really deep breaths, Kolt asked, “You want us to live with them, right? Are we poor or is this supposed to teach me something?”
    Standing, she pitched the pig back in his home. “We’re not poor and yes, being around people who love you will no doubt prove very educational.”
    Hating his mom so much he didn’t even want to see her, he asked, “How can they love me when they don’t even know me?”
    â€œSometimes…” Her hug smooshed his forehead into her boobs. Why wouldn’t she stop and just leave him alone? “When people are family, they love you unconditionally. That’s how it’s going to be for you. In our new house, you’ll have your grandmother and uncles and aunts and there’ll be cousins for you to play with.”
    His friend Lincoln had cousins and they were cool. Every Christmas they stayed with him for like two whole weeks. “Boy or girl cousins?”
    â€œGirls, but—”
    â€œI hate girls!” Just wanting to be by himself, Koltran to the living room, unhooking the safety bar on the sliding glass door that led to the balcony.
    Planted in big pots were little