Part 19 (1/2)

6. Everyone is embarra.s.sed by the same things.

#thingsIthoughtweretrue M y hands are filthy. There's grease all over my s.h.i.+rt. The tow truck is canceled and there's a fiery orange explosion in my chest. I'm prouder than Michael Phelps's mom at the Olympics.

The little donut spare is on, and I catch my reflection in the window and see the girl looking back at me glowing with pride.

When Amy pulls into the last gas station right before the border crossing, we pile out for a bathroom break and clean up. I check my follower status. 4444. All fours. I take that as a good sign.

Soon, we pull up to the border. There are only a few cars in front of us to cross, but each one seems to take forever to get cleared through.

The car clock seems stalled; the minutes crawl by. When it's finally our turn, the officer stares down each of us while he checks over our pa.s.sports. Amy starts to babble, but I poke her in the side and she stops.

”What's your purpose in Canada?” he asks me.

”I'm going to see my dad,” I tell him.

”She's never met him,” Amy adds. ”He left her mom before she was born.”

sixteenthings.indd 119 9/9/13 2:21 PM.

J a n e t G u r t l e r The officer leans in closer and studies me. ”That true?”

I nod. He glances in the backseat at Adam. ”We're here for moral support,” Adam says and smiles bigger than necessary.

The officer writes something on his clipboard and then looks back at me. His expression softens. ”I have a daughter your age.

I don't get to see her much.” He hands Amy our pa.s.sports. ”You kids drive safe.” He steps back from the car and waves us through.

We're quiet until we're a few minutes away from the crossing, and then I scream and woo- hoo at the top of my lungs. Amy and Adam join in.

After a car dance mini celebration, I check the GPS. ”We're on 264th Street and it'll take us to highway 1. Then we head west to Vancouver,” I tell Amy. ”We're going to be tight for time.”

”I don't want to get a speeding ticket,” she says. ”It's the one thing my dad would freak about.” Amy drives for about five minutes and then sighs. ”This scenery is exactly like Was.h.i.+ngton.”

”You want more Cheezies? Another Mountain Dew?” I ask.

Amy shakes her head. ”We could play table topics.”

I reach for the popcorn twists and shovel a handful in my mouth.

”Table topics?”

She glances over, as if I'm an alien or have grown a third eye.

”Only the best game on the planet. It's a card game, like a conver- sation starter.”

I shrug and glance back at Adam. He shrugs too.

”You seriously don't know? There are, like, thirty editions or something. We have more than half of them.”

I shrug again. ”Sorry.”

120.

sixteenthings.indd 120 9/9/13 2:21 PM.

1 6 t h i n g s i t h o u g h t w e r e t r u e ”You wanna play? Adam?”

”Why not?” Adam says.

Amy bounces up and down on her seat. ”Yay! Look in the glove compartment, Morgan. There's a set in there.” I open the glove box and see a red, cubed stack of cards and take it out.

”How do you play?” I ask.

”It's easy. You just pick a card, read it, and then everyone has to share.”

”How do you win?” Adam asks.

”You don't win. You talk.”

”No one wins?” Adam says.

”Your family puts a lot of value on talking,” I mumble.

She narrows her eyes into slits. ”Yes. Unlike yours, we don't sweep everything under the rug and pretend it doesn't exist.”

”How did you nail us so well?” I grin.

”Um, your mom never told you who your father was until you were eighteen.”

”Point taken,” I say.

”Sounds like a useless game,” Adam mumbles. ”No one even wins.”

Amy gestures at the cube. ”Just take one,” she says to me.

I open up the box, take out the top card, and flip it over. I read it and frown, biting my lip. I reach in my pocket for ChapStick and apply it.

”What does it say?” Amy yells.

I clear my throat. ”What is the most embarra.s.sing thing that's happened to you and what did it teach you?” I read.

The silence seems infinite and obnoxiously loud.

”Well, I guess that's obvious,” Amy finally says. ”Everyone in 121.

sixteenthings.indd 121 9/9/13 2:21 PM.

J a n e t G u r t l e r Tadita saw you dancing around in men's underwear. To that song.”