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grandmother to let her know we’re going to study together?” Felicity asked.
    Mercy sucked in a deep breath. “Um, yes.”
    Felicity offered her cell phone and Mercy faked a phone call to Gran.
    “Tell her I can drive you home,” Greg offered.
    Mercy conveyed this information to the imaginary grandmother on the other end of the line and ended the call. “We’re good.” She handed the phone back to Felicity , feeling uncomfortable with her charade. Lying was not her strong point , but she seemed to be practicing this skill more often .
    After school Felicity stuffed the cello in the rear seat and climbed in beside Kelli in the front. Mercy rode with Greg in his car, listening to music as they followed Kelli to her house .
    She still didn’t feel at ease with her new relationship with Greg, but he seemed to be okay with it. He took a left turn and Mercy leaned against hi s shoulder, then a quick right and she was slammed against the door. Ahead of them, Kelli swerv ed into her driveway , then killed the ignition and climbed out. “Last stop,” she called cheerily.
    Felicity jumped from Kelli ’s car and retrieved her cello while Mer cy and Greg emerg ed from his and sorted out their book bags. Greg gave her a little smile before trekking after Felicity into the house.
     
    ~*~
     
    Mrs. Porter ordered pizza and they took a break to eat before returning to their studies. Kelli lived two doors down from Felicity , so she gathered her books and took off f irs t.
    “Do you need a ride home, Mercy,” Mrs. Porter ask ed.
    “No, m a’am,” Greg answered for her. “I’m going to drop her off at her house.” He picked up Mercy’s backpac k and motioned toward the door.
    They st epped outside on to the porch. It was a nice night. Not too hot. Not too humid. Cicadas ma de their weird buzz ing noises and lightning bugs flickered on and off.
    “So, are you ready for the test tomorrow?” he asked.
    “Yeah, I think so.” The night air felt cool on her skin . She tilted her face up to the sky and gazed up at a zillion stars twinkling down at her. She thought how it must feel to be an astronaut soaring so far above the earth, and then realized that was still just a fraction of the vastness out there. “There are so many things I don’t know.”
    “Like what? You nailed all the study questions.”
    “No, I mean, there are so many mysteries in the universe. I wish I knew more.”
    He grinned at her. “I didn’t know you were interested in that stuff.”
    “I’m interested in everything.” She turned to face him. “I wish I could be one of those people who say, ‘I want to be a nurse, or a doctor or a bak er.’ I don’t know what I want.”
    “I want to play baseball.” He shrugged. “Just go with what you’re good at.”
    “Not sure what that is.” What I do NOT want to be is a witch .
    He opened the car door for her and she slipped onto the seat . He turned the key in the ignition and pulled out into the street.
    They were silent the rest of the way to her home. When he pulled onto her street, she realized that the lights were off at her house. It looked like no one was home. How could she explain her grandmother's ab sence if he asked her about it?
    She began a barrage of chatter, hoping to distract him. "I hope you're prepared for the test tomorrow. We studied everything. Is there anything you can think of that we didn't prepare for?"
    He glanced at her quizzically. "Can't think of anything, but I guess we'll find out tomorrow." " When the car stopped, she insisted that she could walk up to the door by herself. In one corner of her brain, she realized that Greg was disappointed. In another, she thought maybe he had planned to kiss her. She bounded up to the front and turned to wave brightly. “See you tomorrow,” she called before she ducked inside.
    Mercy dropped her book bag by the door and leaned back against it. All she had wanted was one normal d ay.
    This wasn’t it.
     
    ~*~
     
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