They absorbed this terrible pronouncement with wide eyes.
Then Matt asked, “What about TV? Like, you know, watching shows?”
“We only watch shows and movies together, here in the family room, on Saturday nights,” Kiersten said. “And we have to agree on the show. If we don’t all agree, we don’t watch anything.”
She’d gone too far. A chorus of outrage met this pronouncement.
“Mom. This iswrong.”
“This isuncivilized.”
“This is, like, how ...cave peoplelived.”
“Do we have to do this?” Matt asked.
“No.” Kiersten shrugged. “We do not have to do this. That’s the purpose of this meeting. We’d like to try it, but ultimately it’s up to you guys. It’s your childhood and it’s your decision.”
“So we really get to be the ones who decide?” Luke crossed his arms, his voice heavy with suspicion.
“Yes,” Kiersten said. “I’d like to see if we’re happier when we aren’t running around like crazy people. But this won’t work if Dad and I are leading and you guys aren’t following. You have to want this, too, or the Experiment will fail. So it really is up to you.”
A deep line appeared on Matt’s forehead, and Johnny looked the way he did when he attempted to write in cursive, the tip of his tongue protruding, completely absorbed in thinking hard. She could see they were taking the proposal seriously, weighing the pros and cons.
Finally, Luke spoke. “I’m in,” he said, sitting up in his chair. “You can take my phone. I don’t even care as long as I don’t have to sit in school all day long, bored out of my mind, listening to teachers go on and on about stuff I don’t care about.”
Matt looked at his brother with a thoughtful expression. “If we were back in Minnesota, I’d say no, ’cause I’d miss my friends. But I haven’treally made any friends here yet, so I don’t have anyone to miss. And maybe if I take a break from baseball, my shoulder will stop hurting.”
“James? Johnny?” Garrett asked.
“I want to try it,” James said. “But I don’t want to do school withgirls.”
Kiersten stifled a smile. “I’m sorry to hear that, but the girls next door are part of the package.”
“Why can’t we just do it by ourselves?” James asked.
“’Cause Mom can’t teach us math,” Luke pointed out.
Unfortunately, this was true. “Mrs. Mondello will teach math and science. Ms. Hensler will do English and history.”
“I’ll do it,” Johnny said. “’Cause then I can be with Mommy all day.” Her heart melted. “Even if she doesn’t know anything about how to be a teacher.”
“Thank you, Johnny. Your confidence is heartwarming.”
“I guess I’ll do it too,” James said.
Garrett gave him a nod of approval. “Glad to hear it.”
“So we don’t have to go to school in the morning?” Luke asked hopefully. “Can I skip my homework?”
“You stay in school for one more week. We’ll get everything ready, and then we’ll stop going to school and we’ll start the Experiment.”
“What’s an experiment?” Johnny asked.
“An experiment is when you do something to see how something works, even if you aren’t sure how it’s going to turn out,” Matt said.
His brothers nodded gravely, and Kiersten’s chest tingled. They had so much faith in her. Even though she had absolutely no idea what she was doing.
“Thank you, Mom,” Luke said.
