Rita Morse and the Sinister Shadow

Chapter Five

  My mom figured out that I’d done the toilet paper prank.

  Jerry didn’t call and tell her or anything, (since the Shadow Regime was screening his calls) but she saw the toilet paper dangling from the Kool Spot while driving to the store. That, and I was out last night. She’d put the dots together. I knew because she exploded at me as soon as she got through the door with some groceries.

  “Why are you like that, Rita?” She opened the fridge and started cramming vegetables in after very accurately accusing me of the deed. “I never would’ve done something like that when I was younger. When I was a kid, we accepted the rules and followed them.”

  “What did she do now, Beverly?” My dad strolled into the kitchen, cramming his square glasses farther up on his face.

  My mom told him. With almost every word she slapped her Celebrity Buzz tabloid down on the counter. She finished by facing me and saying, “Oh, I’ll make sure you stay too busy to get in trouble this school year. We’ll make sure you participate in a few after-school activities of our choosing.”

  Great. How had I known?

  I sighed and leaned against the counter. There was no way I could deny my guilt, and if she made me try out for cheerleading, I’d be sure to fail. I faced my parents. “What would you have done if you saw that sign when you were younger?”

  My dad pulled out one of the dining room chairs. Translation: sit down so we can tell you how much trouble you’re in. “We didn’t have that stuff when we were kids. We didn’t have city curfews and the driving restrictions that are out now. Malls didn’t kick us out on weekend nights. That’s because we didn’t need that kind of stuff.” He looked over to my mom, who nodded at him. “You have to understand that rules are rules.”

  My grip tightened on the counter. I couldn’t help it. It was more than just a rule I hated, so much more. “So you’re saying that even if they aren’t fair, I shouldn’t stand up for myself?”

  My mom whirled around and ran her hand through the curls in her hair. “You’ve always been so stubborn, Rita. Why can’t you be more like other girls?”