Free Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin

seemed to want to do.
    The more she heard, the more Phoebe understood that her initial reaction of astonishment and anger at how Ryland had been away for the past four years had been misplaced. She hadn’t understood. Ryland’s father was not Mallory’s father, for one thing, and there was apparently some divided loyalty on Ryland’s part about that. “Long stupid story,” Mallory said. And then Mrs. Tolliver at a different stage of instability had told Ryland she never wanted to see him again and he wasn’t welcome in her house. Also, Mallory had been too proud to ask Ryland for help with their mother, which, Mallory said, was entirely her own fault. The bottom line was that Ryland was not to blame for having been absent.
    But on the other hand, it wasn’t like Mallory praised her brother all the time, either. Ryland was a complex individual, not some idealized figure of a perfect older brother.
    â€œI’m so angry at him,” Mallory said one evening. She had come home with Phoebe after school to study and stay over for the night, and they settled down in the library at the big worktable there, with their laptops. “Wednesday night, he just never came home.”
    â€œOh,” said Phoebe neutrally. Did Ryland have a girlfriend? So fast? Or maybe he had just hooked up with someone? He was so attractive—
    She looked down at her laptop. “Do you know where he was?”
    â€œNo idea,” Mallory said.
    â€œDid you ask him?”
    â€œDo you think I should?”
    â€œI don’t know,” said Phoebe. “I guess not. I—did you call him? Or text?”
    â€œYes, I did, but that’s no good. He likes to turn his phone off. And then he forgets to turn it back on. For hours. I mean, is that responsible? Shouldn’t you at least check messages every so often? Or maybe he is checking, and he’s just ignoring me. Either way, I don’t like it.”
    â€œYes,” said Phoebe. “You’re right. What if there were an emergency and you couldn’t reach him?”
    â€œI know.” Mallory, who was enviably good at multitasking, squinted at her laptop for a minute, and then sighed deeply. “But he won’t listen to me. In his mind, I’m still twelve. Sometimes I feel like I need someone to be a go-between. Someone who will explain to him that I’m a grown-up now.”
    Phoebe’s stomach fluttered. “Do you want me to do that?”
    Mallory was gratifyingly open to the idea. “Do you think you could, Phoebe? You wouldn’t feel funny doing it?”
    â€œMaybe a little. But I could try. I’m willing.”
    â€œWell, it’s up to you. I’ll send you his phone number.” Mallory lapsed into silence and focused again on her laptop.
    Phoebe chewed on the inside of her cheek. She had permission from Mallory to call Ryland! But did she dare? She didn’t know. Maybe. After all, she had practically promised Mallory she would. She wouldn’t want to let Mallory down.
    Phoebe forced herself to work on her essay for English for a while. Eventually, though, she sighed and said, “Five whole pages on The Great Gatsby . I don’t know if I can do it.”
    Mallory didn’t answer for a minute, and Phoebe had to repeat herself.
    â€œOf course you can,” Mallory said. “You’re great at that stuff. What’s your topic?”
    â€œI don’t have one yet. Got any ideas?”
    Mallory frowned. Then, slowly, she nodded. “ The Great Gatsby. Actually, I do. Write about the significance of Daisy Fay’s name.”
    â€œWhat is the significance of her name?”
    â€œYou tell me.”
    â€œDaisy. That’s a flower. She’s little and pretty and—oh, only blooms in the summer. Maybe that means she requires wealth and privilege to exist. No wait, a daisy is actually pretty tough, almost a weed, which is even more interesting. You know,