The Truth According to Ginny Moon, Benjamin Ludwig [good books for high schoolers .txt] 📗

milk in your backpack. It sounds like you were going on a trip. Where was Gloria going to bring you?”

I don’t want to answer the question. Because where Gloria was going to bring me is the same as where Gloria went.

“Ginny?”

“What?” I say. When she says Ginny it sounds different like it isn’t my name anymore. I am still (-Ginny) because I’m on the wrong side of Forever. I’m still not nine like I’m supposed to be.

“I asked you a question.”

“Can you ask it again, please?”

“Where was Gloria going?”

“We were going to drive away with my—with Krystal with a K.”

When I think about Krystal with a K my belly hurts.

“It’s great to hear you use her real name. But Gloria was going to bring the two of you someplace. Do you remember where it was?”

I stop nodding. I shut my mouth tight, tight, tight and shake my head no.

“That’s all right,” says Patrice. “That’s all right. She’ll turn up at some point. But we really need to know so that the social workers can help her out. Remember, they went to visit Gloria a few times to help her take care of Krystal with a K.”

“They were going to take her away,” I say.

Patrice nods. “Yes, they were. But remember, that’s only because they knew she wasn’t safe with Gloria. You don’t want Krystal with a K to be unsafe, do you?”

I don’t. But I know Gloria will get caught soon and I really, really don’t want to help make it happen. But that wasn’t what Patrice asked so I say, “No, I don’t.”

“Are you sure you don’t know where they were going?”

I make sure my mouth is shut tight and shake my head no.

“All right, then,” says Patrice. “So let’s get back to the argument you had with Gloria. After you finally understood that the Other Ginny was Krystal with a K, the two of you got into an argument. Is that right?”

I nod my head yes but in my brain the girl who told Gloria not to yell at her feels like someone else. Someone stronger than me.

“What was the argument about?”

So I say, “I told her how we do things at the Blue House because she was yelling. Then I told her her head was still the same and the only reason I wanted to get kidnapped was to keep my Baby Doll safe. From her. Then she tried to grab me and I yelled.”

Patrice smiles. “It sounds as though you really surprised her. You told her some things she wasn’t ready to hear,” she says. “You’ve come a long way since you were with her, you know. You’re learning how to self-advocate and how to express what you want.”

“But I wanted to be nine years old again,” I say.

Patrice looks at me funny. “Nine years old? Why would you want to be nine years old? A big girl like you can do a lot more than a nine-year-old can.”

“Because if I was nine I could still take care of my Ba—”

I stop talking and rub my knees together and pick at my hands. Agamemnon shifts and stops purring.

“Ah,” says Patrice. “Now I’m starting to see. That explains a lot. We’ve known for a while that you were locked into the role of parenting—parentified is the word—ever since we learned that Krystal with a K wasn’t a doll, but now we’re dealing with something a lot more complicated. You feel like you don’t have a purpose anymore. Before, you were anxious all the time because you thought your sister was still a baby and needed your help. Now that you know she’s not, it’s almost like your job was taken away. So this is the aftermath, for you. It’s a little like being unemployed, I think.”

The word aftermath sounds really, really scary. So I say, “Is that why nothing adds up? Because I don’t have a job?”

“I think so,” says Patrice. “If we’re understanding each other. And believe it or not, I can help with that. It’s a really easy fix, too, as far as psychology goes. But let me talk with Maura first. It’ll be a pretty big step for both of you. For her, especially.”

I don’t know what Patrice is talking about. I don’t want a job. I want to get out of the Aftermath. I am more confused than ever so I make a frowning face.

“Listen, Ginny. By now you know that you aren’t going to live with Gloria and Krystal with a K. You tried and it didn’t work. Gloria wanted you back, but the truth is that she wasn’t ready for you, and she probably won’t ever be. And that’s the sad part. She wanted to be capable, but she knows she isn’t. So you need to stay with your Forever Family. They like you, Ginny, and believe me, it’s hard to find people like that. It’s much easier to love someone than it is to like them. So please, stay put!”

I still don’t want to be where I am. I don’t understand what Patrice is saying. It’s too many words and I am still thinking about how I used to know where I belonged. Because I am still stuck on the wrong side of Forever in the Aftermath and I’m still (-Ginny).

“Ginny?”

“What?” I say.

“What do you think about staying put?”

“I don’t understand what it means.”

“It means you need to keep living at the Blue House with your parents. They want you to stay. So you should stay with them. Because, trust me, the Blue House is a lot better than living with Gloria or at Saint Genevieve’s.”

By parents she means Brian and Maura.

“And you’ve got to stop stealing, but I don’t think that will be a problem if you aren’t trying to get kidnapped. Right?”

“Right,” I say because when someone says Right? they always want you to say the same thing right back to them. But Patrice is a smart cookie.

“Right what?” she says.

“Right now,” I say.

“Ginny, what do I want