Page 24 of Rules for Rule Breaking

“Let’s adjust the itinerary,” Bobby said, taking his notebook from his back pocket and opening it to a page. “We can move everything except our tour appointment.” Bobby handed Winter a pen.

“I’m surprised you even wanted to see GW. Doesn’t seem like your thing.”

“Mything?”

“It’s not an Ivy.”

“People grow.”

Winter shrugged, considering Bobby’s extremely low standard for growth.

They both looked over the itinerary, to make sure the pancake break wouldn’t disrupt Bobby’s schedule. He still had to drop location pins every time they made a stop. If it was too far off, their parents, who had printed copies of the itinerary, would be concerned.

The original itinerary for day one was as follows:

0530:Shower and get dressed.

0550:Have coffee. Start oatmeal.

0600:Wake-up text Winter. Eat oatmeal. Review itinerary.

0615:Call Winter if no response to text. Fill water. Load car and drive to Winter’s house.

0630: Arrive at Winter’s house. Review driving routes while Winter is late 15 mins. If 30 mins. late, review brochures again. If later than that, leave.

0700–0715:Get on the road.

0830:Stop for Winter’s tiny baby bladder.

1030:Stop again for Winter’s microscopic bladder and for gas.

1230:George Washington campus tour. Procure meal vouchers and study campus map.

1430:Have lunch at the campus dining hall. Tell Winter to pee before we leave.

1530:Head back to car. (Note to self: Take out cash in case parking garage does not accept cards or machine is down.)

1545–1600:Depart for hotel whether Winter has to pee or not.

1630:Hotel check-in, unpack, wash up, and independent leisure time.

1800:Dinner at the hotel restaurant.

1900:Winter-free leisure time. Call parents, light reading, and wind-down time before bed.

2100:Skincare and nighttime routine.

2130:Sleep.

Winter’s first bathroom stop would have to be sacrificed if breakfast ran long, but the rest of the day would go as expected as long as there were no more deviations.

“You have the handwriting of a serial killer. Look how narrow your letters are,” Winter taunted. “And what are youri’s dotted with?”

Bobby glared at Winter over the brim of his juice cup. “Dots.”

“And why’d you schedule dinner?” Winter asked, licking homemade whipped cream off her knife. “We have nothing to do after we leave George Washington. We can eat when we want.”

“It’s habit. I’ve had dinner at six o’clock every night for basically my whole life.”