Another day of school was over, and Katrina was on the bus, heading home, when suddenly the bus slowed down and stopped.

She looked up over her seat, and saw a lineup of cars ahead through Cindy's front window. Traffic jam. Great. They were probably going to be stuck for a while.

"So did you hear that Janet Bernard is going out with Jackson Rivers now?" Claire asked.

"No," said Katrina. "Good for them." She pulled out her phone to text her father.

Katrina sent: We're stuck in traffic (3:04 pm)


At home, Joe was starting to get a little anxious. Katrina's school got out at three o'clock, and her bus always dropped her off at the end of the driveway at 3:10 pm. But today, they weren't there.

They probably just got stuck in traffic. No need to worry.

…But then, he hadn't gotten any messages from her.

No, of course not, his phone was dead.

…So how could she reach him in case there was an emergency?

Oh god. What if she was in trouble?! His phone wouldn't be charged enough to use for another few minutes.

His heart surged and ached as he stumbled back onto the couch. What if it was already too late?! What if she was hurt?!

What if Katrina was never coming home?


Katrina wrung her hands. They'd been stuck in traffic for a while now. Surely Dad was worried about her?

"I heard that Kira Yang started a fantasy book blog," said Claire in a disdainful tone. "Can you believe her? We had a book report on The Sisters Grimm in October, and now it's her whole life."

Uncomfortable and not wanting to continue that conversation, Katrina turned around to Reese Williams. "How long do you think we're gonna be here?"

"Who knows?" Reese shrugged. "There are cars everywhere."

"Daisy's lucky," said Claire as Katrina sat back down. "She doesn't have to take the bus at all."

Katrina sighed and looked back out the window. "Dad's probably gonna be upset with me for being late."

"Are you kidding?" Claire asked. "Your dad practically worships the ground you walk on. If anything, he's probably in a conniption because his little princess isn't home exactly on time."

Katrina was taken aback. She had never heard Claire say that about anyone, much less Dad. She mumbled a small "okay" and looked at the ground. Is that what Claire really thought about Dad?


Finally, finally, the bus made it through to home. Katrina scrambled out and ran down the driveway.

"Dad!" Katrina hung her coat and bookbag. "Dad, my bus was late, there's so much traffic, I-"

Katrina entered the living room, where she found her father trembling on the couch, hyperventilating. His eyes looked like they would pop out of his head.

"Dad?"

Joe looked up, and all that fear in his eyes melted when he saw his daughter.

"Katrina."

Katrina went to her father's side. "What's wrong?"

Joe pulled his daughter in close and held her. "Tu étais tellement tard, et j'avais peur que quelque chose se passe." (You were so late, and I was afraid something had happened.)

"Dad," said Katrina, "if something did happen, Cindy would have radioed the school, and they would have sent an email out."

Joe admittedly felt a little silly. He had been so worked up over something so small. But, you know, he couldn't help it. He loved his daughter, and he would never forgive himself if something happened to her and he couldn't do anything to help her.

"Dad, you have to trust Cindy" said Katrina.

"Je sais, mais…" Joe sighed. "Cette année de l'école c'était difficile pour moi, parce que tu n'es pas encore seulement dix minutes loin." He looked down for a moment, then back up at Katrina. "J'suppose qu'il y a un partie de moi qui va jamais accepter que tu n'es pas un petite fille non plus." (I know, but…this school year has been hard for me, because you're not just ten minutes away anymore. I guess there's a part of me that will never accept that you're not a little girl anymore.)

Katrina laid her head down. She would love to be back in kindergarten, where the only thing that mattered to her was whether or not today was a Storytime day or a Block Tower day. But that just simply wasn't how time worked.

Joe sighed and picked up his phone, which was now charged. He had to distract himself somehow; whether he liked it or not, Katrina was in middle school now. There were going to be days where she wasn't home right on time, and worrying so much wasn't going to change that.


A few hours later, it was dinnertime. Since neither Joe nor Katrina were in cooking moods, they had ordered a pizza.

"Dad…" Katrina sighed as she picked all the toppings off her pizza. "I don't think Claire is really my friend anymore."

Joe looked up from his food. "Pourquoi, qu'est ce qui se passe?" (Why, what happened?)

Katrina relayed to him the comment Claire had made. Joe was appalled, and quite frankly, a little offended. Claire has said that? Of course he loved his daughter, and he was very worried when she didn't come home; what was wrong with that? "Katrina, ca c'était tellement impoli pour Claire a déclaré." (Katrina, that was very rude of Claire to say.)

"I know," griped Katrina. "And she's been saying a lot more of that stuff recently. It's like a judgmental switch went off in her brain."

"Eh bien," said Joe firmly, "je pense que Claire ne va pas être invitée ici pour quelque temps." (Well. I don't think Claire is getting invited over for some time.)

He had expected Katrina to be upset over that, but instead, she just looked accepting. "Fine. I think Annie deserves my attention more, anyway."

Joe sighed contently, and finished off his slice of green pepper pizza.