Joan the Made (Throwbacks Series, Book 1)

Chapter 35

Harriet meets me outside the theater, and my phone pings to alert me that my parents have sent the autonomous car to pick me up. Harriet and I both hurry to our dorm rooms to grab our bags, and when we make it back outside, the car is waiting for us.

Inside, it smells like Mom's lotion and Dad's chewing gum, and I admit to myself that I'm excited to go home. It's possible that I miss my parents almost as much as Addie.

"Don't you need to call your parents and let them know I'm coming?" Harriet asks, and I can tell by the way her foot is tapping that she's nervous.

"No need. They think you're a good influence on me. Besides, they love company."

"Okay. Then tell me why you look like you just walked off the red carpet," Harriet says, gesturing to my fancy dress.

I fill Harriet in on my midterm exam with Lady Cleo as I take out the gold contacts. We both try to analyze what Lady Cleo meant by her cryptic farewell, but neither of us has any guesses.

We pull up to my house, and it seems smaller than it was a few weeks ago. My parents are standing in the doorway with huge smiles on their faces.

"Your home . . . it's incredible," Harriet says softly.

For the first time, I consider all this from her perspective. A nice house in a good neighborhood with two parents eagerly waiting for their beloved daughter to return home.

My dad opens the car door and wraps me up in a bear hug.

"Welcome!" Mom exclaims, giving Harriet and me each a tight hug. "Joan, you're positively transformed. You're a goddess, like I always knew you would be! You've embraced your destiny."

"No, Mom," I tell her. "I'm the same. This is a costume, one that I intend to take off as soon as possible."

"Of course, sweetie," Mom says, but her wide smile remains. I've finally turned into the girlie daughter she's always wanted. "I hope you're in the mood for some homemade chocolate chip cookies."

"Addie's here?" I ask, excited, and brush aside a pang of guilt as the smile on Mom's face slips.

"She's in the kitchen," Dad says.

I run inside and crash into Addie on my way to the kitchen. We're still hugging when my parents and Harriet join us inside.

The rest of the day plays out like a scene from a Christmas vid, as we eat dinner, demolish Addie's cookies, and play with the new interior decorating software Dad installed in our walls so that we can instantly change their color and pattern.

Addie leaves in our autonomous car before curfew, and Harriet and I finally head upstairs. Harriet stops short when she sees my bedroom, and for the first time, it doesn't seem tiny to me. It smells like clean sheets and a hint of Addie's perfume.

Harriet walks to my window and gently touches the lace on the curtains. "Your life is straight out of a storybook."

"It's more complicated than that. Everything is picture-perfect now, but my parents were Amp addicts for most of my childhood."

"But they love you a lot. When I was in trouble, they helped me for your sake without hesitation," Harriet says. "You're not alone."

"I'm sorry, Harriet. You're right. I ought to be more grateful."

"Seeing all this abundance makes me hopeful," Harriet says. "I want every Throwback to have a chance at this kind of life."

"We'll get there, eventually."

When I take my clothes out of my bag, Jo's tablet falls onto my bed.

"This is Jo's tablet that you told me about?" Harriet asks, picking it up and turning it over.