Mimi snaps. “I don’t care! This is nothing to do with her. This is about me, okay? I know how I study best”

AS

soon as Shoshana leaves, Mimi goes to find her mother. Ma is sitting at the kitchen table, working on her computer. She looks up when Mimi comes in, opens her mouth to speak.

Mimi gets in first. “No,” she says. “No, I don’t want my younger sister to tutor me. Thank you very much.”

Ma closes her mouth, takes a long, deep breath, tries for a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, Mimi. I didn’t mean for her to go in while you were studying with your friend. I just figured, Kayla’s tutoring a whole bunch of your classmates. They all seem to be doing so well. And she’s so happy to study with you, so why not?”

“Because. I’m not interested,” Mimi says tightly. The images flash through her mind: Kayla acing test after test, her classmates begging for Kayla’s help with their work. Kayla the social outcast, Kayla the awkward one, Kayla the genius. “I’ll study with friends. Or a real tutor. Not — not—”

Ma holds out a hand, motions to the doorway. “Kayla’s right there,” she mouths.

Mimi snaps. “I don’t care! This is nothing to do with her. This is about me, okay? I know how I study best.”