Shocked

At that point I blow past Mrs Schwartz, sprinting hard.

"Good Clara!" She calls. And then, a minute later, "That can't be right."

Slowing to a walk, I circle back to find out my time.

"Did I get it under ten minutes?"

"I clocked you at five forty-eight." She sounds truly shocked. She looks at me like she's having visions too, of me on the track team

Whoops. I wasn't paying attention, wasn't holding back.

I'm going to catch some major flak if Mum finds out.

I shrug

"The watch must have been messed up," I explain, trying for laid-back, hoping she'll buy it even though it means I'll have to run the stupid thing again next week.

"Yes," she says, nodding distractedly. "I must have started it wrong."

That night when Mum gets home she finds me slouched on the coach watching reruns of I love Lucy.

"That bad, huh?"

"It's my fallback when I can't find Touch by an Angel reply sarcastically.

She pulls a pint of Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby out of a paper sack. Like she read my mind.

"You're a goddess," I say.

She holds up a book: Trees of North America, A guide to Field Identification.

"Maybe my tree's not in North America."

"Let's just start with this."