When the World Turned Upside Down: Chapters 11–21

Ben flushed with embarrassment. He felt heat on the back of his neck where he imagined Shayla and Ai were staring at him.

“Go to your room and write down why it was irresponsible of you and your friends to go into Mrs. Connor’s apartment, then write an apology to me and your mother.”

Then she ruffled his hair and smiled at him.

Without a word, even while they were stuck in two different apartments, Ai had managed to bring fun into Shayla’s isolation—and make Daisy’s life better too.

Before quarantine, any time he heard their voices rise, tight and spiky with anger, he could put on his shoes and go to the park, visit friends, even roam the hallways—do anything but listen to their love unraveling.

The sheets cascaded down from his tower and puddled down to the floor.

He rested Bucky on the floor and settled down on the pillows to enjoy his hideaway. For twenty blissful minutes, he watched Bucky crawl around and read comics using the flashlight on his phone.

When she turned back, Ben finally looked at her—really looked at her, his eyes pleading for her to tell him the truth.

He slept, softly snoring underneath the huge tapestry hanging on the wall above the couch.

The colorful embroidery on the tapestry showed the tree of life blossoming with leaves and beautiful flowers.

“After you went renegade? That’s not how quarantine works.”

She had drawn the swirling ocean with a mix of bright and dark blues. The sandy beach with speckles of peach and brown and yellow.

Her boredom had transformed into anticipation as she hunkered down in her bedroom and stared at her phone. What will happen now? she wondered.

Ai was so excited, he could practically hear her bouncing around as she talked.

He had never been the first person invited to anything. A rush of giddiness suddenly took over his body.

How could it be true that she could be casually killed and her murder would mean less than the death of one of her friends?

“Well?” she asked in a voice that was as crabby as the frown on her face.

She was pushing a rickety orange cart with a huge clunky laptop on top of it.

“Is it too much work for you?” Ai asked in a mocking tone. “I would have thought you would have loads of free time now that you’re not running after Megan and Gemma anymore.”

He tried to imagine the logistics of the super’s work. There were fifteen floors in the building. How could one person take care of everything?

“The aliens have invaded. Height: Smaller than one inch. Powers: Can eat through concrete and metal. Weapon: Special alien-melting potion. Mission: Clear bunker of aliens. End of message. Message self-destruct set for five, four, three, two, one.” “Boom,” they all said together, mimicking the sound of the message exploding.

“Aliens neutralized on top floor. I repeat, aliens neutralized on top floor,” he said.

She grabbed the dolly from the hallway and helped as everyone else wrestled the box onto it.

With that kind of jazz, Shayla never knew what she would hear. The horn might blare like a freight train or squeal like a cat.

Mr. Grove cued Ben to join in and he started hopping up and down, shaking a big gourd that was covered with beads.