Operation: Normal Read Online Free Page A

my dad for some
reason, and I didn't talk about Seth. I did fix hamburgers for everyone over nine months old and
tried out the baby meat I'd bought for Kayly, who seemed to like it okay, even though it smelled
a little funky.
    Since we had about fifteen minutes before Buffy started, I channel surfed, pausing when
I got to MTV and saw the music news was on. Not sixty seconds into the broadcast, they
switched to a scene of total chaos involving angry mobs, policemen, and, you guessed it, Blak
Magyk, as they arrived at their scheduled venue in London earlier today.
    "Holy shit!" Heath exclaimed, an oath that earned him a slap on the back of the head
from Minka. "Ow!" He glared at her. "It's not like Ally can't see this for herself."
    "Have you spotted Mom?" I ignored their bickering and reached for the remote to turn
up the volume.
    "No."
    "There she is!" Heath exclaimed even as I zoned in on her, myself. Horrified, I watched
the surging crowd jostle my parent, who was trying to film the whole thing.
    The news commentator said, "This was the scene earlier today in London when Blak
Magyk arrived for their first show. I was able to speak with Rosanna Dawson, lead singer, who
assured me this was no worse than expected, the reason they've hired extra bodyguards for this
particular tour."
    Oh, yeah? Where are they?
    "Ms. Dawson also said that band members receive frequent death threats and consider
them proof of a job well done. The controversial group will be touring in the UK for three
weeks."
    I'd heard enough, so I switched to the Sci Fi channel, even though Buffy wouldn't be on
for another ten minutes. Looking up, I found Heath, Minka, and Sylvie all watching me
intently.
    "What?" I demanded irritably.
    "I-- It's just...er, nothing," Heath said, flushing.
    "I'm sure she'll be okay," said Minka scooting closer and putting an arm around me.
"They've got extra security, after all."
    I wouldn't even look at her.
    "That's right," Heath belatedly blurted. "And the London police are super. Best in the
world, probably."
    Was that supposed to make me feel better? It didn't. If anything, I felt worse. But it
wasn't my friends' fault. "It sounds like the band knew this would happen, doesn't it?"
    "Yes, and they're obviously prepared," Minka said.
    So why hadn't my mother said something? I couldn't believe she hadn't understood the
risks. Mom made it her business to stay in the know. So was she trying to protect me? I suddenly
realized her motives didn't matter. She'd as good as lied, and I felt betrayed.
    Sylvie took Kayly to Mom's room so they could play while my friends and I watched
our show in peace. Even seeing Buffy kick vampire butt didn't lift my mood, and by the time
Heath and Minka left around nine, I was way upset with my mother.
    I went straight to my room, shut the door and retrieved the file I'd always known existed,
but only found the day before in Mom's cabinet. The one with mine and Kayly's birth stuff in it.
The one she'd labeled Insurance Policies .
    Sitting cross-legged on my bed, I pulled out the papers and began to go through them
again. I barely glanced at Kayly's birth certificate with Z. Seth Thomas typed in the father blank.
That piece of the puzzle had been solved. I didn't linger on mine, either, since I already knew
there wasn't any helpful information on it.
    I did pick up the contract I'd shown Seth last night and reread it for the zillionth time
from beginning to end, no easy feat, thanks to the legal jargon. I cringed as I always did when I
got to the part about Mom paying him twenty-thousand dollars. Once again, I tried to come up
with a scenario in which Mom would pay out that kind of money to Kayly's father. Because
twenty-thousand dollars was a lot, even though she had a knack for investing well, and we had
some CDs and stuff.
    It wasn't like Seth had medical expenses or anything. She had those, right? So why
would Mom pay Kayly's dad one cent? I'd thought about it long and hard all day yesterday