Page 21 of Rules for Rule Breaking

“It’s dope. I just read all day and draw the people who walk by,” Kai replied.

Winter laughed politely. “I’ll stop in one day, but please don’t draw me.”

“She’d sully your collection,” Bobby interjected.

He could tell Winter wanted to give him a good smack, but his parents came up the driveway before she could. They took turns giving her hugs, following up with the necessary niceties. Bobbycouldn’t escape small talk, and it annoyed him how good at it Winter was.

“Diana!” Mrs. Park cried as she came bounding out of the house to hug Bobby’s mother.

“Soon-ja! How are you?”

Winter and Bobby rolled their eyes. Every time their mothers saw each other, it was like years had gone by, when actually it hadn’t been more than two weeks since their last meeting.

Mr. Park came out to shake Robert Sr.’s hand, and then all four parents broke into the catch-up game. Apparently a lot had gone down in the twelve hours they hadn’t spoken.

“Y’all ready for your trip?” Kai asked. “My parents would never let me do shit like this.”

“Perks of not having a life, I guess,” Winter said.

“Look,” Kai said, taking his vape pen from his pocket, “I’m mad I can’t come with you guys, but I want you both to take this and think of me, all right?”

Bobby snatched the vape from him, looking back nervously at his parents. He stuffed it in his pocket and said, “Thanks, but way to be discreet.”

Winter snorted. “Since when do you smoke?”

“Since you started minding your own business.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

Bobby huffed. “Let’s get in the car and drive off while they’re talking. How long do you think it’d take for them to notice?”

“Probably an hour or so.”

Kai looked at both of them and shook his head. “You guys lack imagination.”

“Why do people keep saying that to us?” Bobby and Winter asked in unison.

“Probably because y’all do stuff like that,” Kai said, and he ran up the lawn and cut into their parents’ conversation. “Hey, I’m so sorry to interrupt, but I got a severe weather warning for later this afternoon. Winter and Bobby should really leave now if they’re going to do their first tour and make it to their hotel before it hits.”

All four of the adults’ mouths formed an O, and they followed Kai back over to the two eager teenagers.

“He’s a genius,” Winter whispered to Bobby. “You’re lucky to have a friend like him.” She sounded uncharacteristically earnest.

“Where’s Emmy?”

Winter shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “She’s packing.”

Bobby found it odd Emmy would choose packing over seeing her best friend off, but he chose not to press the matter.

Mrs. Park pulled out her phone and demanded the two pose for pictures. They stood next to each other awkwardly, and Bobby smiled with as many teeth as he could manage.

“Get closer, dear,” Diana urged. “Pretend you like each other for a minute.”

“This isn’t prom,” he retorted.

“Just do it.”

Bobby took a step closer and put his arm around Winter for the briefest of seconds. He changed his mind and let his gangly arms hang loosely at his sides instead.