The night went by fast. When Ruby woke up, it was still early. She hadn't slept well on the couch. Everything felt new—the place, the smell of the house, and the town.
She walked to the room she had chosen the night before without even arguing with Lucas.
Last night, her mom and dad had cleaned the whole house, so the floors looked shiny and almost brand new. They had also brought in a lot of furniture and placed Ruby's things in her room. The house didn't look empty anymore.
Ruby's room was filled with boxes and boxes of her stuff. She knelt down and started opening them. The first box was filled with her clothes. The second box was filled with her school supplies.
When she started opening the third box, her mom called from downstairs.
"Ruby!! Come downstairs!"
"Okay!" Ruby yelled back.
She went to the first box and started looking for her favorite blue shirt and jeans. After finding her clothes, Ruby went to the bathroom right outside the hallway and changed.
When she was done, Ruby sprinted down the stairs.
"Yes?" she asked.
Her mom was still cleaning the kitchen counter.
"Let's go grocery shopping. We have nothing to eat."
"Sure, I'm ready," Ruby said.
"Okay then, let's go!" Mom replied.
Ruby and her mom walked to the door, put on their shoes, and got in the car.
Ruby and her mom drove to the grocery store. The morning air was cool and fresh. Ruby looked around at the quiet street as her mom drove.
After a few minutes, they arrived. The parking lot was busy with people pushing carts and carrying bags. Ruby and her mom grabbed a cart and walked inside.
The store was bright and full of shelves stacked with food. Ruby pushed the cart while her mom looked at the shopping list.
"Let's start with fruits and vegetables," Mom said.
Ruby nodded and pushed the cart toward the produce section. She picked up some apples and placed them carefully in the cart.
"Ooo, can we have some chips?" Ruby asked.
Mom looked at the list. "Yes, but only one."
Ruby added the bananas to the cart, and they continued walking through the store, picking up milk, bread, eggs, and cereal.
Soon the cart was almost full.
"I think that's everything," Mom said.
Ruby smiled. "Good, I'm getting hungry."
They walked to the checkout line, paid for the groceries, and carried the bags back to the car
When they got home, Ruby and her mom got out of the car and started walking toward the house with their grocery bags.
Suddenly, they heard a voice behind them.
"Grace!"
Ruby and her mom both turned around. A woman was walking toward them with a big smile, and beside her stood a boy around Ruby's age.
Her mom smiled right away. "Hey! I was wondering when I'd see you."
The woman laughed. "I saw your car and figured you were finally back from shopping."
Then she looked at Ruby. "You must be Ruby. I've heard so much about you."
Ruby gave a small smile. "Hi."The woman nodded toward the boy next to her. "And this is my son."
The boy noticed the grocery bags in their hands. "Do you want help with those?" he asked.
Before Ruby's mom could answer, he picked up a couple of the heavier bags.
"Thanks, that's really nice of you!" her mom said.
They started walking toward the house together.
Halfway there, Ruby looked at him. "How old are you?"
"Oh, right—sorry. I'm Max. I'm fourteen," he said.
"I'm Ruby. Nice to meet you, Max. I'm the same age as you!"
"Really? What school do you go to?" Max asked. His British accent slipped out a little when he talked.
"I just moved here, so I don't really know yet," Ruby said.
Just then, her mom called from the door.
"Ruby! I have good news! You and Max are going to the same school!" she said excitedly.
Max laughed a little. "Well, that kind of sucks for you. Our school uniforms are terrible."
"Do you guys have school uniforms?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah. They're blue and super uncomfortable,"
Suddenly Max stopped in front of the door, like something was blocking him
"Uhm… you can come in."
After Ruby said that his face was relieved and came into the house.
"Anyways, how far is school?"
" It's about ten minutes," Max said. He had already started putting the groceries in the fridge without anyone even asking.
Ruby was too busy asking questions about the school.
A moment later, Ruby's mom and Max's mom came inside too.
They were still talking about things like how kids spend too much time on their phones and how expensive groceries were.
"I'm telling you, one bag of chips is four dollars!" her mom said.
"Oh my god, you won't believe what happened at Max's school," Max's mom said, like she was sharing some huge secret.
"One of Max's friends went missing after school, and he was found in the janitor's closet… unconscious. They think the suspect might be the janitor."
She tried to whisper, but Ruby heard everything.
She tried to stay still and pretend she wasn't listening, but Max noticed.
"Mom, don't scare her about her new school," Max whispered.
Ruby quickly pretended she hadn't heard anything.
Her mom must have noticed the awkward silence because she quickly changed the subject.
"Well… Ruby, your school starts next week. So you better wake up early,"
her mom said.
Max's mom's eyes lit up as she spoke, like she had just thought of something.
She looked at Max and said,
"Max, you can help Ruby at school. I think Max is in the same class."
"That would be so nice of Max,"
Ruby's mom said, like she expected Max to be happy about it.
Ruby went near Max, still looking at her mom, and said quietly,
"Don't do it, Max. Don't do it."
Max ignored her and said,
"Of course, don't worry about it."
Ruby's eyes opened wide.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING," she whispered.
"Don't worry,"
he whispered back.
"Good, good. Max's mom and I are going to the cafe.
Max, if you want to stay, you can stay,"
her mom said, already at the door.
"I think I'll go home, I have homework to do."
Said Max
Before he left he turned around and said
"It was nice to meet you."
"It was nice meeting you too Max."
Ruby answered.