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like I’d imagined. His body was small in comparison to my cowlike frame. His teeth weren’t crooked either. A large forehead was the only thing we had in common.
    I stand up and stretch before I continue writing the essay. “François Barbé-Marbois owed his liberty and life to Napoléon Bonaparte.” At this point I don’t care that the sentences in the essay sound more like the textbook than something Cherish would create independently. I’m up to three typed pages, a big difference from the previous two pages Cherish had written.
    I still can’t believe I had the nerve to steal and destroy her things, but maybe it will work out for the best.
    It’s long after midnight and I wonder if there are any shooting stars sailing across the night sky. Even though Dub did something as horrible as kiss Cherish, I can’t stop thinking about him. There may be guys with wicked sexy smiles who work at fast food chicken places, but Dub’s my first boyfriend. He’s been there for me.
    After the line about Napoléon I write, “THE END.” The essay isn’t done, but it has to be better than whatever Cherish wrote the first time. I’ll print it out tomorrow morning so I don’t wake anyone up.

FORGET THE BIKINI
    Monday, April 21

    “BONJOUR, SLEEPYHEAD,” Mom says as she gently wobbles my shoulder. Sassy licks my cheek and her hot breath smells like meaty dog food.
    I roll over, smashing my face into the pillow.
    “Time to get out of bed so you won’t miss the bus. And don’t forget, no walking adventures after school because we’re meeting Liz.”
    Mondays are bad enough with Madame Mahoney’s quizzes, but to make things worse, Monday nights are family nights at Mardi Gras Buffet. We eat free at the restaurant because Liz has been friends with the manager since forever.
    Mom pulls the pillow from under my head and lightly pops me with it. When I was a little girl, I thought that was funny, but today I’m not laughing. “Knock it off.”
    “Okay, Cranky Calli.” Mom pouts, and I hate feeling like I’m disappointing her.
    I want to go back to sleep, but then I remember
the agreement and the essay. I throw the covers off and stretch forward. “I’m up.”
    This seems to satisfy Mom and she leaves with Sassy.
    While I’m changing out of my nightgown there’s a knock at my door. From the force of it, I know it’s Cherish, and I know what she wants. It reminds me of the fairy tales Mom read to me when I was younger—I feel like I’m the miller’s daughter and Rumpelstiltskin has come to collect the gold.
    “Give me a minute,” I say, pulling my jeans up.
    The door swings open and I cover my bare chest with my hands. “Cherish, give me a minute means wait!”
    She stares at my stomach. “My bad,” she says and starts laughing.
    I know it’s because I’m huge compared to her and hail damaged with clumps of cellulite. I remind myself that I’m not going to take her crap. “What? You got a problem or something?”
    Cherish’s smirk fades. “Nothing.”
    “You want your paper or not? I still have to print it and you’re wasting my time.”
    She turns to the side so I can finish getting dressed in peace. I pull my pants over my granny panties with one hand while the other covers my cha-chas. I just about fall over when I grab the rest of my clothes.
    I’d like to crawl back into bed and stay there for a long, long time.
    I print all three pages, and Cherish snatches them from my hand and doesn’t even thank me. Yep, I love Mondays.
    “So how was your day, girls?” Mom asks while she steers the Hocus Focus to meet Liz at Lady Luck Casino. If
the Hocus Focus had magical powers, I’d wish it would somehow fast-forward this dinner and the rest of the school year. I close my eyes and think happy New Orleans thoughts—eating beignets at Café Du Monde and walking around the French Quarter. The Frenchness of the place doesn’t even bother me.
    “Mr. Roberts said my history paper looked good,” Cherish