Free Totally Toxic by Zoe Quinn Page A

there right after the guard caught me.”
    “Good thing the guard didn't frisk you.”
    Howie nodded.
    Ten minutes later, the door of the office opened. My father had arrived.
    And he
didn't
look happy.

we dropped off Josh and Howie, Dad headed for our street.
    I sat in the backseat, silent. Dad didn't say anything, but I could tell he was fuming, finally he pulled into our driveway and we trooped indoors, still in silence. Mom was waiting in the living room.
    I sat down on the sofa, folded my hands in my lap, and waited for the explosion.
    “What in the
world
were you thinking, young lady?”
    “Do have any idea how
dangerous
that little stunt was?”
    “You were trespassing on private property…”

    “… completely irresponsible …”
    “… reckless…”
    “… not to mention
illegal.”
    The words came at me so fast it was hard to tell who was saying what.
    Not that it mattered; it all amounted to the same thing:
    “You're grounded, Zoe Richards….”
    “Do you understand?”
    “Grounded!”
    Yeah. I understood, all right. “I'm sorry,” I said in a tiny voice.
    Mom and Dad were quiet for a long moment. I kept my head down while Dad paced back and forth in front of the fireplace and my mother folded her arms and tapped her foot. When they'd had enough of that, they sat down on the couch, one parent on either side of me. When I finally got up the guts to look my mom in the eyes, I realized that she didn't look angry anymore.
    She looked… guilty.
    “I'm sorry, too,” she said.
    This floored me. Dad looked just as surprised.
    “What do you have to be sorry for?” I asked.
    “I'm afraid I didn't set a very good example the other day,” she admitted. “When we were at the factory and I went walking over by the river…”
    “You did
what?”
Dad's eyes went wide.
    “She snooped,” I clarified. “But she didn't trespass, honest. She
…we…
stayed outside the gate.”
    That got Dad pacing again.
    “Maria, a rally with hundreds of people and police protection is one thing. But wandering around by yourselves—”
    “I know it was a foolish thing to do,” said Mom. “Zoe, you and Howie and Josh should never even have entertained such an idea. What if something had happened to the three of you wayout there? No one would have had the slightest idea you were in trouble.”
    That was true, and if Howie and Josh had gone without me, then I'd have agreed with my mother completely. But what Mom didn't know was that there were probably not too many situations I couldn't have handled. Probation or not, I knew I wouldn't have let anything bad happen to me or my friends.
    “You understand that we're only angry because we love you,” Mom was saying.
    “You're grounded for the next four days,” Dad added. “I will allow you to attend the rally on Saturday because it is such an important issue. But if you ever pull another stunt like this, you'll be grounded indefinitely”
    “So basically, I'm on probation,” I said. This was getting to be a habit.
    “In a manner of speaking,” said Dad. He sat down next to me again and gave me stern look. “You know we hate punishing you like this, Zoe, but given what you got up to tonight, I think we're being more than fair.”
    They were, actually. And even though it sucked, I just hoped that when creepy George Mitchell finally got his punishment, the courts would be a lot harder on him than my parents were on me.

    The next night, Mom and Dad went to the movies. It was something we usually did as a family, but since I was grounded, I couldn't join them. Grandpa Zack was positively glad to hear I'd had my social privileges temporarily revoked—since I'd be staying with him and Gran while my parents went out,it would be the perfect opportunity for me to take my superhero test.
    As soon as Mom and Dad turned the corner of Grandpa's street, Grandpa and I hopped into Gran's little blue convertible, backed out of the driveway, and took off in the opposite