7

Audrey woke the next morning to the familiar tune of her phone alarm.

It was 6:10 a.m. What the heck? She knew she’d turned it off. There was no point in setting the alarm so early when she didn’t have school.

She rolled over and almost landed on her laptop. Audrey jerked up in her bed.

How did her laptop get there? She had been known to fall asleep while watching shows, but she hadn’t seen her laptop since Monday when her dad took it away. She looked around and spotted her car keys on her desk.

It looked like her dad had ended the punishments during the night. But why would he do that? Audrey wondered. There was no way he was that impressed with her work on the basement and the fence. She was glad he was starting to ease up, but she couldn’t understand why.

She set the phone back down and closed her eyes again. The rest of the day, the rest of her life, could wait. Melicia and Bryant still hated her—that could definitely wait. She’d finish painting the fence after her dad went off to work. Until then, she’d just continue to hide in her room. She kinda thought he preferred it that way, too.

Then, a half hour later, there was a rap at her door.

“Audrey?” It was her dad. “You up?”

Audrey scowled at the door. Guess the punishments aren’t ending after all. He wanted her back to work ASAP. “Yeah,” she said. “I’ll be right out.” She dressed for painting, an old t-shirt and her worst jeans, and went downstairs.

Her father was getting ready for the day. It was the usual routine she’d seen a thousand times. “There’s a look.” He grimaced, then smiled over his coffee. “You really are running late today.”

Audrey moved quietly into the kitchen. She thought she’d grab a bowl of cereal and use the time to gauge her dad’s mood. Getting her laptop and car keys back were a definite step in the right direction. If she could achieve peace at home, that’d be a great start. Next, no matter how hard it was, she’d focus on her friends. Then eventually, maybe, she could even make amends with the Barcombs. Somehow.

There were two brown bags on the counter. Most days, her dad was up before six and made lunch for both of them. In return, she usually took care of their dinners. Her dad winked. “We both get egg salad for today.”

Audrey stared at the two bags.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “You love egg salad.”

“Yeah, I do,” Audrey said, confused. “Where—where are we going?”

Her dad laughed. “You better grab something for breakfast fast. You have another five minutes before traffic gets really bad, and then you’ll be late to school again. And I don’t want to be called down to see the principal.”

Audrey felt like the whole room was spinning. “But . . .”

“You okay?” her dad asked. Then, before she had a chance to answer, he added, “Hurry up!” He left her alone in the kitchen.

She moved to the window and looked outside. The backyard fence was faded, and in need of a good paint job.

She grabbed hold of the sink.

“Audrey!” Her dad called.

“I’m going!” she called, but instead of heading toward the door she turned down the hall to the basement door. She opened it slowly like she was opening an old crypt. Terrified of what was lurking just behind.

She flicked on the light and looked down the steps.

The basement was a disaster. It was dusty and cluttered with paint cans and old empty boxes everywhere. It looked as if no one had cleaned it in years. Had her dad gone down in the middle of the night and made it dirty again or—

Reply yes for a free do-over.

Audrey pulled out her phone and looked at her texts.

The message was gone, along with the reply she’d sent

Yes.

Her most recent text had come from Melicia on Thursday night.

She opened her internet app and went to her favorites.

The blog appeared. It was back up!

But not the Dean Barcomb post. The last post was one of Mel’s movie reviews.

She checked her phone calendar for the date. It was Friday.

Last Friday!

No, that’s impossible. How could it be? Audrey thought to herself.

Had the last week just been some nightmare, or was she in a nightmare now? Either way, it made no sense. This was crazy.

Audrey blew out a long breath. She had to figure out what was going on. Focus on the facts.

Facts: The blog was up and active again. She had her laptop and keys back. Her dad was yelling at her to go to school, and he was in a good mood. The date on her phone said it was the previous Friday. The fence wasn’t painted. The basement wasn’t clean.

With trembling fingers, she pulled up her internet app again and typed in Barcomb’s name and the school. Then blinked.

Facts: The news article was still there. Dean Barcomb had been suspended. The investigation was ongoing.

This wasn’t some magical “do-over.” Nothing had changed at all!

Well, nothing but the fence and basement and the rest of her punishments. It made no sense.

Audrey buried her whole face in her hands, trying to work it out.

“You’re going to be late!” her dad shouted again from upstairs.

Audrey screamed into her hands, then ran back to her room for her car keys and her backpack. Maybe there would be more answers at school. Maybe something would make sense. Or maybe this was all a silly dream and she’d wake up on the way there.

She didn’t.