Page 11 of Sending Love Letters to Animals

“Right.”

“I just…that sucks.”

“A big one.”

“Ew. Mom.”

“What?”

“Don’t phrase it like that,” I said with a grimace.

She laughed. “Well, I’ll still call her tonight and make sure they’re all doing okay. I’ll make sure she doesn’t say anything to Davud.”

I gave her a look.

“Promise.”

“Okay. Ms. Tabatabai took me off of Student Council and politics and put me on extracurriculars.”

Mom groaned comically. “Second semester of senior year? What a biiiiitch.”

I laughed. “Right?”

Most parents, especially those who work full time jobs like my mom and dad wouldn’t understand their kids’ problems so easily. My parents always kept up with the goings-on in mine and Juno’s lives. Even when I got annoyed with my parents, I knew how much effort they put into knowing me as a person.

“Want me to fight her?” Mom started to stand.

“No,” I said, so she slid back into her chair. “I just, well, you know, I kind of enjoyed being low-key this year. I thought she’d let me get away with that until graduation. You know?”

With a nod, Mom spun in her chair to dig in her wallet on her desk. For a few seconds, I watched as she fished around, then she spun back to face me and held her hand out.

“Here.” She pushed her credit card at me. “Order us dinner from GrubHub. Your choice. You’ve had a hard day and I don’t want to cook anyway.”

“What about Dad?” I asked as I took the card from her.

“He texted me at lunch. He’s not going to want to cook, either. Hard day for him, too. Unless you want to cook?”

“Pass.”

“Juno can eat whatever you decide, but don’t do her wrong when you order. You hear me?”

An evil grin came to my face at the idea, but I agreed with a nod.

“Good,” Mom said. “I have to finish up here, so why don’t you have them deliver around seven? Dad will be home then.”

“Okay,” I said as I stood. “I have some pizza rolls and homework waiting anyway.”

“Mystery meat day?” Mom asked.

I grinned. Mom knew me inside and out.

“Close enough. Hot dish.”

“Bitches everywhere, bro.”

She winked at me, eliciting another laugh. Mom spun back to her desk, and I reached for the door. A thought stopped me.

“Hey,” I said, turning back to face her. “Friday, well, Jules wants me to do a horror movie marathon with her.”