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“get that zombie look off your face.”
    Sprig puts on her coat and boots and follows Dakota out of the house. Miss Ruthie is at her window, waving to them. “Hi, Miss Ruthie,” Sprig says in a little voice.
    â€œWhy are you talking like that?” Dakota looks up. “Hi, Miss Ruthie!” she yells.
    â€œDakota —” Still, the little voice. “I don’t want Dad to go there.”
    â€œWell, do you think I do?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œYou’ve got that right, anyway. Besides, he isn’t going this minute. Maybe something will happen, and the plans will change.”
    â€œReally? Do you really think that could happen, Dakota?”
    Dakota leans out over the curb, looking for the bus. “I said it, didn’t I?”

“I STILL think taking care of Cora should have been my job,” Sprig says. She and Bliss are sprawled on Sprig’s bed, with a plate of chocolate chip cookies between them. It’s Friday afternoon. Tomorrow morning Miss Ruthie is going to Boston.
    â€œTotally right,” Bliss says loyally. She’s sleeping over. So is Krystee. Ugh. “Like, guess who’s the animal lover.” Bliss points to the pictures of boy singers on Dakota’s side of the room, and then to Sprig’s wall with its pictures of chimpanzees and dogs. She takes another cookie, munches, and makes appreciative sounds. “These are so good! You could be a professional baker.”
    â€œNo thanks. I want to do animal research, like Jane Goodall. Right in the jungle with the chimpanzees. I mean, if there are any left. They’re an endangered species, and they’re our closest relatives. Bliss, we’re letting members of our own family die!”
    â€œCousins I never knew I had.” Bliss scratches under her arms, hunching her shoulders and making huffing chimp noises.
    â€œBliss, do you know how intelligent they are? They use tools, they’re problem-solvers, they don’t talk like we do, but they communicate, and they have fabulous memories. We share ninety-eight percent of our genes with chimps.”
    â€œThat’s awesome,” Bliss says. “I have to tell that to my dad. He loves numbers — it’s the math-teacher thing. Did I tell you that he wants me to be a math teacher? He thinks it’s the greatest job.”
    â€œYou’re good in math too. Do you want to do that?”
    Bliss shakes her head. “I’m more the social-worker type, like my mom.”
    â€œI’m definitely going to do something different from my parents.” Sprig rolls over and stares up at the stars painted on the ceiling. Mom put them up there, ages ago. “My mom is always working late and thinking about problems. My dad, you know what my dad does, I told you about him and Afghanistan.” As soon as she says that, she has to clear her throat.
    Just then, Dakota walks in with Krystee. “Time’s up,” Dakota says. “Good-bye. This is our room. We need our privacy.”
    â€œWhy don’t you two sleep in the parents’ study?” Sprig says.
    Dakota smooths her beautiful red hair behind her ears. “You guys are sleeping there. We agreed, that’s the plan.”
    â€œThat’s what I heard,” Krystee drawls. “Don’t be a brat.” As if it’s her house.
    Sprig picks up the plate of cookies. “Come on, Bliss. Let’s go!”
    Bliss follows her to the door, but then she stops and says sweetly, “Krystee. Do you know that you’re a first cousin to a chimpanzee?”
    â€œ What? ” Krystee says.
    Sprig and Bliss are still laughing when they close the door to the study. “That was so perfect,” Sprig says. “It was brilliant.”
    â€œWell, you told me,” Bliss says modestly.
    They set to work, first blowing up the camp mattresses, then unrolling the sleeping bags. “This is so fun,” Bliss says. “Like