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Everything you should need for the quiz should be there, and I can bring you our work on Monday too. You know, if you want.” Link saved me from the silence once again.
    I cleared my throat before answering this time. “Thanks.”
    A door slammed upstairs, seconds before footsteps creaked across the landing. “Oh, Callie, you have company!” My mother called over the banister. When I shifted to look over my shoulder, she was rushing down the stairs toward us. She must have just woken up. Her pale pink, cotton pajamas were wrinkled , and her hair was a grey-brown nest of curls and tangles. Yesterday’s mascara was smeared under one eye, and she had a trace of bright red lip-gloss smeared across the opposite cheek.
    Yeah, this wasn’t about to get embarrassing, or anything. I cringed when she reached the bottom and rounded the banister, coming to stand behind Dad’s chair. She rested her hands on the back of the recliner and smiled brightly at Link.
    “Callie, you didn’t tell me you were having a friend over. Not that I mind or anything. I’m happy you have friends coming around. I don’t think you’ve ever brought a friend home. Especially not such a cute one!”
    “Mom!” At that point, part of me wished I was the one taking a dirt nap instead of my father.
    And then Corrine was there, swooping in like my little guardian angel to save me from further humiliation. “Mom, knock it off.” She must have been listening in from the kitchen, but right at that moment, I couldn’t be anything but grateful. Corrine gently grabbed hold of my mother’s elbow and turned her around, steering her toward the kitchen.
    To his credit, Link acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, like he was used to seeing pajama-clad, middle-aged women embarrass their daughters. “I should probably get going. I’ve got a lot of chores to do before my mom gets home.” He stood and reached for his backpack, slipping a strap over one shoulder.
    “Oh, okay. Thanks for this.” I held the notes up in the air, only just stopping myself from waving them nervously at him. Instead, I dropped them onto the coffee table and got up to follow him to the door.
    He reached for the knob, but faced me before he turned it. “Are you like, grounded or anything?” he asked, holding me hostage with the intensity in his sea-green eyes.
    I shook my head. “No, not really. I mean, my mom didn’t say anything.”
    “Cool. Maybe we can hang out or something this weekend?” He was looking at his sneakers again and shuffling the toe of his left one in a semicircle around the right.
    I bit back a dorky grin that threatened to take over my face. “Yeah, that would be cool. Let me know.”
    He nodded and opened the door, stepping out a heartbeat later. As he took the handful of porch steps to the front walk, he threw a “see ya” over his shoulder and headed for his place across the street.
    I closed the door and leaned back against it with my eyes closed. When I opened them, my mother and Corrine were standing in front of me, grinning like loons.
    “Did I hear that right? Lincoln asked you out on a date?” Corrine clasped her hands to her chest in an image of mock feminine wilting.
    “Shut up. He didn’t ask me out on a date; he asked if I wanted to hang out.” I brushed past them both and made for the stairs.
    I had one foot on the bottom step when my mother gushed, “You should invite him to hang out here. It’s so nice to see you with a friend. Maybe even a boyfriend?”
    Her enthusiasm struck a nerve I hadn’t known was tender. I spun to face her. “Why do you care? Aren’t you a little late to the butt-in-on-Callie’s-life party?” Guilt crept up on me as the words were coming out of my mouth, and was even worse when her cheery look crumbled into a mask of hurt.
    For some inexplicable reason, I didn’t stop there. I couldn’t stop the words from pouring out of my mouth at her. “ All you’ve ever cared about is yourself. You