Ruby Reinvented Read Online Free Page A

time to get to Maine before Dad and I have to get back on the road,” Mom says.
    â€œCan’t Ellie go with me?” I know my parents have total trust in Ellie.
    Mom and Dad look at each other, and I can tell they’re having another one of their psychic conversations.
    â€œI suppose she could,” Mom says. “But we need to ask her.”
    I break out in a smile and fling open the French doors leading into the house. “Ellie! Ellie!” I run into the kitchen and find her sitting at the desk in front of the computer. “Can you come onto the deck? We want to ask you something.”
    â€œWhat is it, Bea?” Ellie asks as I grab her by the hand and pull her outside.
    Mom and Dad are both standing now, talking to each other quietly.
    â€œWhat is it, Bea?” Ellie asks again, pieces of her gray hair falling out of her bun.
    â€œWell,” Mom begins. “It seems Ruby is interested in attending a boarding school in Maine.”
    â€œMaine?” Ellie asks. “So far away, Bea?”
    â€œI want to experience new things,” I say in my most grown-up voice.
    â€œI see,” Ellie says, smoothing her bun with her hands.
    â€œEllie, would it be too much to ask of you to visit the school with Ruby? Zack has three games on the road, and I’m in the middle of a ten-city audition tour for the show. Ruby is very anxious to learn more about this place.” Mom is talking to Ellie but looking at me, her eyebrows furrowed yet again.
    â€œOf course, Ms. Celestine,” Ellie says. “Of course I will go with her.”
    I jump up and down and throw my arms around Ellie. “Thank you! Thank you!”
    â€œCan you ask Kathy to make the call and set up the visit?” Mom asks Ellie.
    Ellie jots something down in a notebook she pulls out of her pocket and goes back inside. Mom and Dad are staring at me.
    â€œAre you sure this is what you want, Bea?” Dad asks.
    â€œI’m sure.” I nod so hard I think my head might fall off.
    â€œOkay,” Dad says. “But if you like it, and if Ellie givesus the thumbs-up, there will be some rules you’ll have to follow.”
    â€œAnything,” I say.
    â€œYou’ll have to keep up with your grades,” Mom says. “And FaceTime us every night, same as now.”
    â€œOf course,” I say. “Of course I will.”
    â€œAnd one more thing.” Dad’s lips form a straight, thin line. “Don’t come home talking funny. Remember to say your r ’s.”
    I stare at him blankly, and he cracks up. I laugh too, even though I have no idea why.
    Ellie opens the door to the deck and steps outside, notebook in hand. “We’re all set, Bea. We leave tomorrow afternoon, and we’ll tour the school on Friday.”
    I bounce up and down for at least a minute, hug my parents, then Ellie, then my parents again—then fly upstairs to my room to pack.

Chapter
 5 
    J IMMY BRINGS US to the Airport. Mom and Dad join us for the ride, and we have a family good-bye hug on the sidewalk outside the terminal. It has to be quick before someone recognizes us.
    There are no tears. This is normal for my family. A series of comings and goings. Even when I used to go on the road with them, we didn’t spend much time together. They were busy, and I hung out with Ellie. They probably would have rathered Ellie and I stayed home, but I insisted on going with them. It wasn’t until I started middle school that I decided I wanted to go to school instead of being tutored on the road.
    Ellie and I board our plane and settle into our first-class seats. Ellie orders a glass of wine the minute we sit down, like she does every time we fly. I must have fallen asleepimmediately, because the next thing I realize, I’m waking up to the sound of the captain’s voice.
    â€œWe have begun our initial descent into the Portland area, and will be arriving at the Portland