Free Katie Sprinkles and Surprises by Coco Simon Page A

true that your mom is dating Mr. Green?” Sophie asked.
    â€œWell, yeah,” I said. There was no point in denying it, not after Olivia’s outburst. “But it’s not serious or anything.” (Okay, that was kind of a lie, but if I wasn’t ready for the truth yet, I didn’t think the population of Park Street Middle School would be either.)
    Lucy got a dreamy look in her eyes. “She’s so lucky. He’s so cute!”
    â€œYeah, people seem to think so,” I said, suddenly feeling awkward again. “Okay, gotta get to class!”
    I was pretty glad when the day was over. Mom wasn’t there yet when I got home from school, so I did my homework until I heard her car in the driveway. I greeted her at the door with my A math paper in front of my face.
    â€œTa-da!” I announced.
    â€œOh, Katie, good for you!” Mom said, and Ilowered the paper, so I could see her face. “I’m so proud of you!”
    â€œThanks,” I said. “Can you believe it? I got a ninety-four!”
    Mom hugged me. “You have to tell Jeff!” she said. “He’ll be so excited!”
    Why in the world would Jeff be excited? I wondered. It was like Mom wanted Jeff to be part of everything we did. Although he did help me study, so maybe that’s why.
    Mom was already dialing his number. I could hear it ring a few times on the other side, and then Mom frowned a little. “Oh, that’s right, he’s out to dinner with Emily tonight.”
    That made sense. “You mean like how Mia goes to see her dad every other weekend?”
    Mom nodded. “Jeff sees her just about every other weekend, and also one night a week, since he and Emily’s mom live in the same town,” she explained.
    I was starting to get more and more curious about Emily. “I wonder what she’s like,” I mused, following Mom into her office as she dropped her briefcase on her desk.
    â€œOh, you’ll love her when you meet her,” Mom said, looking at me. “She’s a lot like you.”
    I frowned. “How do you know?”
    â€œWell, I’ve met her,” Mom replied.
    I let this sink in for a second. “You’ve met her?” I couldn’t quite believe it.
    â€œWell, yes,” Mom said as if it was no big deal. “She’s such a lovely girl, so polite, and she likes to run just like we all do, and she was telling us about how she wants to try out for the cross-country team in middle school, and—”
    â€œYOU MET HER WITHOUT ME? AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME?” I screamed.
    I was having a major freak-out. First, Mom told Jeff about me, but I didn’t know about him. And second, now she’s met Emily? It’s hard to explain why I felt so angry, but to me it felt like Mom was keeping secrets from me. That I wasn’t part of this big new thing in her life. And that hurt.
    â€œKatie, lower your voice,” Mom said.
    I ignored her. “WHAT ELSE ARE YOU HIDING FROM ME?” I shrieked.
    Mom sighed, and her voice got firm. “Katie, I know there’s a lot of new stuff here, and I know you are upset, but that’s no excuse to yell. Please go to your room and calm down, and we’ll talk about it when we’ve both had a chance to cool off.”
    I stormed up to my room, stomping hard oneach step on my way up. What does Mom have to cool off about? I fumed. She’s the one who’s messing things up, not me.
    I slammed the door behind me and flopped onto my bed. I didn’t feel like texting Mia or even putting on my headphones and listening to music. I just lay there like a log, staring at the tiny little flowers on my bedspread.
    I guess I’m really good at doing nothing, because when Mom finally knocked on my door, I looked at my clock and saw that a half hour had passed. I didn’t say “Come in,” but Mom came in anyway.
    â€œCan we talk now?” Mom asked.
    I nodded,