lips.
âBedave,â Molly said, turning to Natasha. A grin stretched across her face.
âDalinda,â Natasha said.
Molly held up her palm. Natasha gave her a high five.
    Â
            I wish Klara wasnât so sad.
            I wish I could make her feel better.
            â E LENA K OVROV, AGE THIRTEEN
CHAPTER TEN
A week passed. Natasha didnât receive any more notes.
Another week passed, and on Friday, Natashaâs English teacher talked to the class about âthe ides of March.â Natasha already knew what the ides of March were. It was a fancy way of saying March fifteenth, which was tomorrow, and which was Avaâs birthday.
Tomorrow, Ava would turn twelve, which meant that sheâd be the same age as Darya. She and Darya would both be twelve until Daryaâs birthday in August, when Darya would turn thirteen. Then Darya and Natasha would both be thirteen until Natashaâsbirthday rolled around again in November.
It wasnât a normal family configuration, Natasha knew. Papa and Mama had popped out three baby girls in quick succession, bam bam bam . But it was normal for Natasha. She was used to it. She knew nothing else, since Darya had come along before Natasha was a year old, and Ava had joined the pack less than a year after that.
âAva came earlyâ was her autopilot response when kids asked how the three sisters could be so close in age. Early and teensy and perfect, twelve years ago tomorrow.
As Natasha walked from English class to her locker, she thought about her birthday present for Ava. It was a gold necklace with a crystal-encrusted heart dangling from the middle. It glittered and sparkled, just right for Ava.
The hall was packed with kids. The air smelled like books and Pop-Tarts. Outside, the weather was gloomy, but inside, everything was bright and cozy. Everyone was cheerful, including Natasha.
She reached her locker, twisted the lock, and pulled on the latch. It didnât open. She banged it with her fist. It still didnât open. Benton saw her struggling with it,and he strode over and banged on it himself. The door sprang open.
âThanks,â Natasha said.
âNo problem,â Benton said. He turned to go.
âBut I banged on it too,â she said, casting about for a way to keep him there longer. âWhy did it work for you and not for me?â
Benton turned back. âYou have to hit it in the right spot.â
âI did!â
âWell, and you kind of have to be me. I am pretty awesome.â
â Ohhhhh , of course,â Natasha said, fizzy with delight. They were flirting , maybe-possibly-practically. She fought not to smile too widely. âWhat was I thinking?â
Benton grinned. Then he looked worried. âYou do know Iâm kidding, right?â
âWaitâyouâre not awesome?â
âNo, I am, but . . .â
He floundered. Natasha kept her expression innocent, but on the inside, she was buzzing.
He crossed his arms over his chest, leaned back on his heels, and said, âAh- ha . Pretty tricky, Natasha Blok.â
The way he spaced out the syllables was adorable: prih-tee trih-kee .
The way he said her name made her skin tingle.
âThat was funny,â Benton said, nodding. âThat was good.â He looked at her in a new way. âThereâs more to you than people think, isnât there?â
âBenton!â a guy called from down the hall. âDude, youâre holding us up!â
âDude, chill,â Benton called back. Then he said, âAll right, well, see you around, Natasha,â and he loped off to join his friends.
That afternoon, Natasha lay on her bed and re-played the moment. She tried to decide what it meant, if it had meant anything at all.
She wanted it to have meant something, very much. But
Sharon Kleve, Jennifer Conner, Danica Winters, Casey Dawes