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his milk glass. Jaden watched him, and he eyed her suspiciously. He’d seen her around plenty in school but had never really spoken to her until yesterday.
    The pace of her involvement in his life was disconcerting. First she writes the glowing article about him in the school paper, then she sits with him at lunch, and the next thing he knows, she’s having dinner with his family. Benji wagged his eyebrows at Josh as he poured the milk. Josh answered Benji’s smirk with a dirty look. He could imagine what Benji was thinking: At this rate Josh would be married to her by next week.
    Jaden sat with her hands and napkin in her lap, her back straight, and her wild, frizzy hair pulled back with a wide green ribbon.
    â€œI came to do a follow-up story,” she said to Josh, picking up the notebook underneath her leg, showing it to him, then replacing it, “and your mom asked me if Ilike beef stew.”
    Josh sat down and shot his mom a glance. She had her back to them, working over a steaming cauldron on the stove, then draining off a pot of noodles in the sink. His father walked back into the kitchen, kissed Laurel on the cheek, and studied Josh’s face, waiting for him to answer Jaden.
    Josh knew—after years of having dinner guests of all kinds—better than to be impolite. He’d find himself grounded for a week if he did anything to make Jaden feel unwelcome.
    â€œGreat,” Josh said, sitting down beside her with his milk. “My mom makes the best.”
    Josh put the glass to his lips and swallowed tentatively. His milk tasted like rotten bananas and cough medicine. Josh made a sour face.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” his father said, scowling.
    â€œNothing,” Josh said, forcing a smile onto his face, holding his breath, and gulping down his milk.
    â€œDid you know Jaden’s dad is a doctor at the hospital?” Josh’s mom asked as she set a bowl of stew down on the table along with a bowl of noodles. “He works all kinds of crazy hours.”
    â€œWow,” Josh said.
    â€œHe’s a resident physician,” Jaden said, beaming proudly.
    Her southern accent seemed more subdued than ithad when she spoke in the cafeteria, and Josh wondered if it got more pronounced when she was nervous.
    â€œWhen he’s done,” Jaden said, “he’ll be an orthopedic surgeon. Hopefully, he’ll work for the Yankees.”
    Benji wrinkled his nose and said, “Yankees? I thought you were from South Carolina.”
    â€œTexas,” Jaden said, slipping into the drawl, “but my father grew up in New York, and we’re Yankees fans.”
    â€œDude,” Benji said, “they stink.”
    â€œYou might say that if you’re a fan of the Red Sox or one of the other lesser teams,” Jaden said calmly, “but then you’d be denying the dominance of the franchise throughout the history of baseball.”
    Benji made choking noises until Josh’s dad cast him a dark look.
    â€œSorry, Mr. LeBlanc,” Benji said, sitting up straight and folding his hands. “Would you like me to say grace?”
    Josh rolled his eyes. Benji’s clowning sometimes got him into trouble, but he always knew how to kiss up to the adults.
    After grace, they dug into the stew, and Josh’s dad asked, “Jaden, I heard you say you were here for a story. Josh’s mom told me about the nice article you wrote about him in the school paper. What are you working on now?”
    Jaden finished her mouthful, took a small swallow ofmilk, and dabbed her lips with the napkin from her lap. She looked unflinchingly at Josh’s dad and said, “The story about why he’s not going to play for the team, Mr. LeBlanc. It’s big news, for Grant Middle, anyway. You should have seen Coach Miller’s face after you left.”
    â€œI thought he was going to cry ,” Benji said just as a belch escaped his lips. “Excuse