53

Mia had woken up earlier than usual. If she was going to pull this off, she had to be one of the first people in school.

When she appeared at the breakfast table 30 minutes before the usual time, her mom raised her eyebrow.

“Are you okay? You’re never down here this early.”

Mia grabbed a piece of toast and coated it with a quick swipe of butter from the dish before taking a chunk out of the corner. “Yeah,” she said through a mouthful of crumbs. “Good. I need to get in early this morning. No time to stop.”

Carla followed her daughter to the hallway, watching Mia place the bit of toast in her mouth so she could use both hands to pull on her shoes.

“Does this have anything to do with the grand gesture you’re planning?”

Mia grinned. “Maybe. Anyway. Gotta go.”

Carla waved her off and hoped that whatever Mia was planning, it wasn’t going to get her into too much t