Watch Your Step Read Free

right. My face matches them perfectly.
    â€œEverything’s fine.” I flip up the visor.
    â€œShe must be special.”
    â€œShe? Who said anything about  . . .” My voice trails off. If hewere anyone else, I’d totally deny his assumption. But he’s Dad. So, “Yeah. She is.”
    His eyes are hidden behind the enormous black sunglasses, but I know he winks at me. Then he returns his attention to the road, cranks up the radio, and starts whistling.
    I return my attention to Elinor’s note. My eyes stick on “I miss you” and “I’d love to hear from you.” Since leaving Kilter, an hour hasn’t gone by that I haven’t wanted to write her, but I’ve been waiting. After Lemon, Abe, Gabby, and I rescued her from her mother’s strange secret school in Arizona and brought her back to Kilter last semester, Elinor and I hung out a lot. Usually in a group, but sometimes just us. By the end of the semester we were really good friends. So checking in after saying good-bye for the summer probably wouldn’t have seemed like a big deal. But I didn’t want to be pushy, just in case. Also, I wanted to see if she’d write me if I didn’t write her.
    And she did. Which makes a great day even better.
    My K-Pak buzzes again. I open the new message.
    TO: [email protected]
    FROM: [email protected]
    SUBJECT: Nice work!
    Hey, Seamus!
    After your impressive first-year performance we shouldn’t be surprised by your stellar summer shenanigans—but we are! That trick with the laundry basket this morning? When you hid behind the vacuum and chucked in dirty socks every time your mom turned to the washing machine, so that the basket never emptied? Priceless!
    Know what’s not priceless? The Kilter Bubble Blaster 3000.
    A movie-reel icon appears. I make sure the K-Pak’s on mute, then tap the icon. A video starts. In the demo clip, a kid my age empties a bottle of laundry detergent, then refills it with purple liquid. He takes a long, thin tube and places one end into the bottle. The other end holds a small wand that looks like the ones that come with toy bubbles, except it’s silver. The kid raises the wand near his mouth, smiles at the camera, and purses his lips. He puffs once, like the wand’s a birthday candle on a cupcake, and disappears. So does the entire room he’s standing in. Everything in the camera’s shot is swallowed by a thick cloud of white foam. In the next instant, the foam gives way to thousands ofclear bubbles. The bubbles pop all at once, and the kid reappears. The room looks as it did before he blew into the wand.
    The video ends. I return to the e-mail.
    With a 25-foot firing range and an automatic cleanup feature, the Kilter Bubble Blaster is the best in its class. If your mom thought doing the wash was a chore before, she’ll wear the same skirt forever to avoid it now!
    This one-of-a-kind toy can be yours for 200 credits. Your dirty-sock toss this morning earned you 150 credits. Add that to the other ones you’ve earned since being home, and you have more than enough credits to make the KBB 3000 your own!
    And don’t worry—shipping’s on us. If you place an order, we’ll overnight the KBB 3000 free of charge!
    Keep up the good work!
    At Your Service,
    The Kommissary Krew
    P.S. To make sure you keep making trouble athome, starting today you’ll earn 50 gold stars a day, no matter what! And we don’t have to remind you that you get 1 credit for every demerit you earn—and lose 1 credit for every gold star you earn!
    When I finish reading, a thought occurs to me.
    At Kilter, the school store’s always e-mailing with credit updates and weapons suggestions. But that’s because Annika, teachers, and even other students are always watching and reporting our troublemaking tactics. It’s how they monitor our progress and keep us on our toes.
    But