Dicey? What did that mean, she wondered as the other phone hummed again.
Of course, Matt knew what had happened, but the whole thing made him a little uncomfortable. And now he was dealing with the aftermath, two grades below his sister.
“Well, hopefully they’ll get undicey before school starts,” Kate said.
She frowned at the noisy phone, spotting the group chat name “ride or dies” at the top. Kate knew that was about twenty girls from school, all headed into their senior year.
Somethingwas going on with them. Would Emma care?
Or…was itaboutEmma?
“I dunno,” Matt said, sounding either distracted or cagey.
“Whatdoyou know?” Kate asked, trying not to sound too anxious. “What did Ashton say?”
“Well, we don’t talk much about it because…”
“Yeah, I know. She’s your sister.” The endless vibrations continued, and Kate stole another look at the phone screen flashing like a strobe light.
She caught one line, the first few words of a text.
has anyone seen the screenshot bc someone said there’s a new
She swallowed hard. “Matt? What’s going on?”
He stayed silent except for a sigh, making Kate sit up straight and stare at the group text.
she is so not coming to my party not after this
Kate stared at the words texted from someone named Micki.
Some ride or die you are, Micki.
“It’s nothing,” Matt said, pulling her attention back to her own phone. “I just heard there’s a…petition or something to get her off the volleyball team.”
“What?” Kate croaked the word, her heart slamming. “They can’t do that! She’s their star setter! They couldn’t win a game without her.”
“I don’t know, Mom. It’s just…people talking.”
She glanced at the phone and saw someone reference the name Coach How. That was their volleyball coach, Delia Howington. ShelovedEmma. She’d never…
Or would she?
Something had these girls chatting hard.
“Hey, Dad needs help with the grill,” Matt said quickly, making her wonder if Jeffrey really did need help or if her son wanted an escape. “Gotta go. Say hi to everyone.”
“Okay, but…” She sighed. “You’re sure you’re good, honey?”
“Mom, I’m fine. Happy here. Don’t worry about me, really.”
The implication was clear in his voice.Worry about Emma, not me.
But what could she do if they kicked Emma off the team?
“All right. I love you, Matt.”
“Love you, too, Mom. Bye.”
