time Mom says He feels like family Feels like family is not the same as being family and anyway he doesn’t feel like family to me He feels like a fake Mom lets out a sigh Well Quinn she says Your utterly real and not at all fake brother went to Max’s to get some extra study time in There’s no evidence that Zack is actually my brother either I say My eyes slide to Madeline and I give her a little smile In a split second Madeline glances at Mom to make sure she isn’t looking at her and then she smiles back Oh but there is evidence Mom tells me Quite a bit of it Birth certificates and hospital bracelets not to mention the fact that there were several eyewitnesses including me Whatever I say We’re already late for the call Why don’t you put the phone away Madeline Mom says I’ll go over the fractions with you two right now 6
Madeline is clutching the phone not putting it away She doesn’t have to say a word to tell me what she’s thinking It’s totally uncool for Mrs Cooley to expect us not to talk to Bella like we do every day Here’s another difference between Zack and me He has no friends and I have lots of them So I know it’s important for people to think I’m cool That’s how you get to keep them Madeline’s phone begins to ring in her hand and Bella’s face flashes on the screen We’ll talk to Bella about fractions I tell Mom as Madeline slides her finger across the screen to answer the call She props the phone up against the cereal box Hey I call to my best friend Hi Bella says I was beginning to think you guys forgot about me Never Madeline assures her The three of us start out talking about regular things like whether Bella should get bangs and what Madeline should name her new goldfish 7
Right now she’s calling it Swimmy Number Three but Bella thinks it should have its own name and I agree though she thinks it should be Sushi and I don’t think that’s a good name Poor fish might be afraid it’ll end up as food Goldilocks is a good name or Pumpkin I’m about to suggest them but Mom clears her throat and says Excuse me girls Isn’t there something else you’re supposed to be talking about I look at Madeline and roll my eyes which is code for I’m sorry my mom is being uncool We have a fractions test I tell Bella My mom thinks we need to study I had a fractions test last week Bella says I can help That’s what we hoped you’d say Madeline tells her and she smiles at me which means It’s okay that your mom was uncool because it all worked out Phew First Bella quizzes me What is a half times 8
a third Easy I say A sixth Correct Bella says Now Madeline what is a half divided by a third Um says Madeline Two-thirds Errr Bella says making the wrong sound It’s one and a half That doesn’t make any sense Madeline tells her Yes it does Bella replies When you divide fractions you have to flip the divisor so you’re really multiplying one times three over two times one Mom walks over from the counter Maybe it’s easier if we write it down she says She has a scrap of paper and she writes it out 1 2 1 3 1 2 x 3 1 I’m going to be an actress when I grow 9
