Over It (The Kiss Off #2) Read Free

Bay Fest? He wasn't even into music. Or people.
    "Hamish has a car," Mom said.
    Oh crap. "No."
    "And he's-"
    "Mom, no !"
    "This is what I'm offering, Poppy. Take it or leave it."
    We sat there staring at each other for a couple of seconds before I broke eye contact, closed my eyes and whimpered. "Argh, fine. Tell me."
    "One: Hamish has a car. He'll drive you and your friends – just Vanya and Mads – to Tallulah Bay. He will drive, Poppy.
    "Two: Hamish will stay with you and supervise you at all times."
    "What? I don’t need a babysitter."
    "Three: You will text me once every two hours during the day, and provide photographic evidence that you are behaving yourself at night."
    "This is stupid, I won't-"
    "Four: You will get your father the Debutante Dolls autographs."
    I snorted in surprise. "What?"
    Mom smiled at me wryly and glanced toward the door. "You can probably tell that wasn’t part of the original list."
    "I don’t think they’re even at the festival,” I said, “but whatever, I can try."
    "If you accept these conditions – Hamish driving you there; checking in; and Debutante Dolls, then okay. You can go to Bay Fest," she said. "Oh! And one more thing. And this one's really important, Poppy."
    "What is it?"
    She watched me closely for a moment. "Are you listening?"
    "Yes Mom, I'm listening. What is it?"
    "When you are around Ty or around the media or – heaven forbid – around both at the same time, I need you to think about this." She paused, then said, "What would Jesus do?"
    I blinked at her. "Excuse me?"
    "What would Jesus do."
    "You can't be serious."
    "W–W–J–D, Poppy. Keep it at the front of your mind."
    "You aren’t even religious."
    She stiffened. “I am so,” she said. “I’m just a little lapsed, is all.”
    I snorted. “Whatever you say.”
    She ignored me and pressed on. "Would Jesus flash his panties at the paparazzi? I don't think so," she said. "Would Jesus get into a cat fight with a girl who flirted with his boyfriend?"
    I tried not to laugh. "Jesus’s boyfriend?"
    "No, he would not."
    "Mom, this is-"
    "What would Jesus do, Poppy," she said. "Don't think I don't mean it."
    "Fine," I said. "Got it."
    "Do you accept my conditions?"
    I groaned, threw my head back and spun a slow circle in my desk chair. "Why does it have to be Hamish? He sucks the fun out of everything ."
    "He's responsible. He's going to be an astro–physicist when he finishes college."
    "And that makes him a safe driver, how?"
    "It's Hamish or Great Aunt Aggie," Mom said. "Her seniors' group is going on a bus trip to the aquarium out there. You could always ride with them."
    Great Aunt Aggie? Oh hell, no. At ninety–one–years–old, not only was it possible that a sneeze would break her hip, but the woman was the biggest klepto I’d ever met. You can't go shopping with her; she always gets caught with stuff she didn't pay for. It would be alright if it was like, earrings or a DVD or something, but no. Most of the time it was Mylanta or tins of tuna. There were a couple of times Dad had to scrounge up money for bail... I don't really want to think about it.
    But the good thing about Aunt Aggie was that I wouldn't have her trailing around the festival with me, following me from stage to stage because strangers gave her the willies. Strangers don't give Great Aunt Aggie the willies. If people bug her, she hits them with her walking stick. But no. There was no way I was taking Aunt Aggie to Bay Fest and my stupid mother knew it.
    "Fine," I said, "I accept your conditions."
    "Excellent."
    “Except the texting every two hours. That’s a little excessive don’t you think?”
    “Fine. But you will call every day.”
    “Fine,” I said. “I’ll only be gone four days.”
    “Fine.” Mom stuck out her hand and, with a scowl on my face, I shook it. She scooted off the bed and with a spring of achievement in her step, she left the room. "Don't make me regret it, Poppy," she said.
    I got up, slammed the door