#Chapter16
/"I know! I'll be back by dinner!/"
I quickly pull on my jacket and shrug my backpack up my shoulders. Grandma comes into the front room with an umbrella and hands it to me.
/"Thanks,/" I smile and take it.
/"Always forgetting. Been here a month and—how many times has it been—caught in the rain maybe ten? Fifteen times?/"
My brows furrow. /"No way. No more than ten./"
/"Alright. Alright. Remember to say goodbye to your mother./"
/"Out on the porch?/" I double-check and grandma nods.
I find my Mom with a blanket tossed over her shoulders and her laptop on her lap, the screen and its many colors nearly religious at this point. The door closes behind me—she doesn't even notice. Amused, I make my way over.
/"Hello? Mom?/"
Her eyes flash up at me, then return down. /"Not now, Kid. I love you, but not right now. I'm so close, so incredibly close and—/"
/"Okay, I'm off to school. I'll be back before dinner./"
