“OMG. This better be a joke. I didn’t have a PSAT tutor as a freshman to get into the best boarding school so I could end up in a small-town school in Texas. Please don’t tell me it’s a public school. And what about Sweetbread? Won’t it be hot in Texas for her? She’s used to Connecticut weather. I am going to count down from ten, and before I get to one you guys will let me know that this is a joke.”
I push my chair out, and it makes a loud screeching noise. Tripp plugs his ears.
“Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . . seven . . . six . . . five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . .” I count, then pause for a long time. My parents’ faces haven’t changed except they are now looking at me with raised eyebrows and tired eyes. I don’t even bother saying “one.” This isn’t a joke. This is a nightmare.
“Corrinne, Sweetbread’s going to stay at the riding club in Connecticut. I called them. They were nice enough to cut us a deal and we won’t have to sell her,” Dad says. “We worked hard to let you keep her.”
“Not that there’s a good market for overpriced thoroughbreds anyway,” my mom says softly but loud enough for me to hear.
“Sweetbread’s a Trakehner horse, Mom. They are rare purebreds, not that you’ve ever really paid attention to my riding. I am out of here. Wait, any more bad news, anyone? Is the world ending tomorrow? Actually, that would be great news right about now.”
Leaving my uneaten food, I storm to my room and text Waverly.
Corrinne: SOS. Coming to you. Don’t drink all the wine. I need it for inspiration to figure out how 2 save my life.
Outside the apartment, I temporarily debate taking the subway since we are apparently now almost bankrupt, but I don’t have the energy. I flag down a cab, get in, rest my head against the window, and cry.
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About the Author
GWENDOLYN HEASLEY is a graduate of Davidson College and earned master’s degrees from the University of Missouri–Columbia and the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Gwendolyn lives in Naples, Florida, but still misses New York City. She is the author of three novels for teens, Don’t Call Me Baby, Where I Belong, and A Long Way from You.
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Copyright
THE ART OF GOODBYE. Copyright © 2014 by Gwendolyn Heasley
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks.
EPub Edition © FEBRUARY 2014 ISBN: 9780062271020
ISBN: 978-0-06-227102-0
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