Page 6 of Rules for Rule Breaking

Winter had only recently learned thatbaeactually stood for something. It was an acronym that meant either “before anyone else” or “before anything else.” But she couldn’t imagine putting Bobby Bae before anything except a speeding bus.

“Aren’t you going to say hello to my grandmother?” Winter asked, ignoring his request.

Bobby reddened. “Yes, I’m so sorry.” He turned to Halmeoni and bowed low. “Hello, Halmeoni. How are you?”

“Did you just bow?” Winter laughed.

Halmeoni swatted Winter with the back of her hand. “I’m fine, Dae-seong. How are your parents?” she asked, still speaking Korean.

“English, Halmeoni. Bobby doesn’t speak Korean,” Winter reminded her.

Bobby’s posture was rigid. Halmeoni, who spoke English almost as perfectly as she spoke Korean, though with an accent, repeated her question. Bobby relaxed slightly.

“They’re fine. Thank you for asking, Halmeoni,” he replied.

“And how is business?”

“Uh... fine, I think.”

Halmeoni nodded approvingly, and Winter laughed. After several years of her grandmother asking this question, it became clear to Winter that Bobby Bae had no idea what his parents did for a living.

“What do you want to talk about, Robert?” Winter interrupted.

“Can we speak privately?” he asked, taking Winter by the arm.

Winter looked down at Bobby’s hand and raised an eyebrow at him. He immediately let go. She turned to her grandmother. “We’re going to talk outside for a minute. I’ll be right back. Ignore any screaming or police sirens you may hear.”

Halmeoni nodded, and the two went out to the courtyard behind the senior center. There were bright pink azalea bushes and the smell of freshly cut grass. Winter inhaled deeply as the two of them walked down the stone path to where there was a little bridge over a creek, which was more like a trickle of murky water passing over a few stones. Winter leaned her back against the railing of the bridge and looked at Bobby expectantly.

“So, no offense, Winter, but I don’t want to go on a road trip with you,” Bobby said plainly.

Winter folded her arms. “Well, full offense, Robert, but I don’t want to go with you either.”

He sucked his teeth. “Please stop calling me that,Soon-hee.”

Winter glared. “Ew. Only my family calls me that.”

“Do you realize how far Boston is from here? We’ll be trapped in a car together, sharing hotels, being forced to... talk. It goes against all our rules. Maybe you can fake sick or something,” Bobby said. “How good of an actor are you?”

“The worst. Do you remember my audition forFiddler on the Roofin ninth grade?”

“I remember you tripping during your musical number and then eating almost a gallon of fudge brownie ice cream.”

“Exactly.”

“My girlfriend won’t like this,” Bobby said, biting his lip and swaying from side to side.

Winter rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe your girlfriend likesyou. How is Jacqueline anyway?”

She didn’t understand how it was that Bobby had a girlfriend. He was tall, sure. Smart, fine. His hair was bouncy. She would give him that. But the way he craved everyone’s approval was exhausting, and the temper tantrums he threw when he came second to her didn’t exactly steam her dumplings.

Bobby shot Winter a dirty look. “Jacqueline is fine. We spoke a couple days ago.”

“A couple days ago?” Winter’s smile grew. “You guys don’t talk every day?”

“No.”

“When was the last time you saw her?”