The Upside of Falling

The next day, Brett returns to Becca’s apartment to pick her up. Brett is still upset that his father didn’t make the game and isn’t responding to his text messages. Brett drives them to the old arcade where he used to work. Brett explains that when he was 15, the arcade owner got sick with cancer, and while he was in the hospital, Brett kept the arcade going until the owner got better. As they play a game of Skee-Ball, Becca and Brett take turns throwing the balls and asking each other questions. Brett explains that he always loved the arcade because it was “the only real time [Brett’s] dad and [Brett] spent together that didn’t involve a football” (76). Becca tells Brett that she and her mom are close, and she comments that Brett is surprisingly easy to talk to and very kind. Brett acknowledges that he enjoys spending time with Becca more than expected. They cash in the tickets from their games and choose their prizes. Becca shares her favorite treat from her mom’s bakery, “jelly bells,” and when Brett tries one, he claims that it’s “one of the best things [he’s] ever eaten” (80). When Brett takes Becca home, she tells him he’s lucky to have two parents there for him. She urges him not to be too mad at his dad for missing his game because Brett should think about “all those times [his dad] put in the effort to support [Brett]” instead of “the one time he failed” (81). Becca leaves, and Brett sits in his car, thinking about how great Becca is.

When Becca returns home, her mother asks about her day. Becca told her mother that she was spending time with Cassie, but when Becca’s mom called Cassie’s mom, she discovered that her daughter wasn’t there. Becca admits that she spent the day with Brett, and her mother’s face goes from “upset to unbelievably happy in under one second” (83). Her mom is thrilled and promises to make Becca more jelly bells to share with Brett if Becca helps in the bakery over the weekend. The next morning, Becca helps open the bakery, and she is surprised when Jenny arrives to pick up an order. Business has been slow, so Becca’s mom is handing out flyers to spread the word and offer free samples. Jenny takes an entire stack of flyers and leaves with her order. When Becca’s shift ends, she walks to her father’s house instead of her apartment. She finds a sign on her father’s lawn announcing the birth of Becca’s half-sister, Penelope. Becca trips and scrapes her knee in front of her dad’s house, and his new wife offers her a Band-Aid. She invites Becca to come inside, and Becca sees photos of her father’s new family “covering nearly every inch of empty space,” like a “shrine to his new life” (92-93). There are no photos of Becca or any evidence that he had another family, and as Becca talks to his father’s new wife, she starts to feel “weird and dirty” (93) for being there. Finally, she excuses herself and runs home. Becca cannot understand why her father would replace her and her mother, and she scolds herself for going into his house. She decides to console herself by turning to her books, escaping from reality by turning to fiction.