ALLI

Friday night, it was strange, but both Miss Porter and Mr. Porter were home, playing Scrabble in the living room. Didn’t invite me to play, though. It was a running feud between them. Over the years, Mr. Porter had won 430 times to Miss Porter’s 417 times.

I glanced over her shoulder and realized she’d misspelled “asault.” (Assault. A sudden, violent attack. Origin: French. A-s-s-a-u-l-t. The double-s is what made this a hard word.)

They only let me play Scrabble twice.

“Alli, you’re a professional speller,” Mr. Porter had said. “It wouldn’t be fair.”

I didn’t tell him now about Miss Porter’s mistake. And while their attention was on shuffling wooden letters around, I quietly sat at the computer desk in the living room and pulled up the Baby Payne blog:

 

Yes! We’re on the way to the hospital. Baby is coming tonight or early tomorrow morning. Pics as soon as I can.

Ted, the new father-to-be.

 

Oh. I caught my breath.

Then quickly looked to see if the Porters had noticed. But they were still busy with Scrabble. Ted had posted that message at three that afternoon. Baby could already be here!

So. Tonight was the night. My heart pounded with excitement, and I was afraid they’d hear even that.

Finally, I went upstairs and pretended to sleep. It was eleven before the Scrabble game finished, and Miss Porter peeked in my room to make sure I was asleep. It was midnight, before I slipped my feet out the window and sat on the sill of the second floor of the historic home that the Porters called home. Stepped to the tree limb and dropped lower. Lower. To the ground.

I sat with my back against the tree trunk, knees pulled up, trying to stay warm. For a while, I just sat, not thinking, just watching the moonlight flicker through the leaves. Smiling. But it was cold. I stood and hoisted my backpack and started walking.

I had everything in my pack that I wanted from the Porter’s house. Left the school uniforms and schoolbooks. Just took my street clothes, my red picture album, my few books and my stash of $78. I knew that I wouldn’t be back, that this would end with Miss Brodie-Rock. But I was going to the hospital to see Baby! My sister.