Chapter 1 Saturday, October 4, Belletoona, Pennsylvania: Cloudy with a chance of showers. Kate Sommers had been kidnapped. Yesterday she was hustled onto a plane against her will and flown practically across the entire country. She was forced to stay the night in an ugly motel and eat greasy scrambled eggs for breakfast. Now she was strapped into the backseat of a big car driven by a paunchy man in a dark suit. And where were her parents? Her parents, who were supposed to love her and protect her? That was the worst part. It was her parents who had kidnapped her. "Snow? Oh sure, we get some. Wish it was more," Mr. Douglas, the man in the dark suit was saying to Kate's dad. "I love the white stuff. Can't get enough." As he spoke, Mr. Douglas pulled his car into the driveway of another house that looked like a two-story shoe box. He was a real estate agent. This was the sixth house they had seen that morning, and Kate didn't need to leave the backseat to know what this one looked like inside: flowered wallpaper, brick fireplace, family room in the basement. "Come on, girls," said Kate's dad. "This could be the one!" Kate buttoned the collar of her jacket and stayed put. Danielle, her six-year-old sister, flung herself out of the car, shouting, "I want to see my room! I want to see my room!" The little kiss-up, Kate thought. Mr. Douglas opened the front door, and Kate's dad and sister disappeared inside. Mom, still in the driveway, signaled for Kate to roll down the window. "Sitting this one out?" she asked. "I will never look at another house as -- "Kate began. "Okay, okay." Mom had been listening to Kate gripe all morning. "Let me tell you something, honey. I'm a California girl, same as you. Until we pulled out the map, I thought Pennsylvania was someplace around Maine. I've got a job I like, then there's my mother, my friends..." Her voice trailed off. "But this is important to your dad," she finally said, "and it's only fair that we --" "Angela!" Dad's head popped out of an upstairs window. "Come on in, sweetheart! You've got to see this fantastic laundry room!" Mom looked at the sky as if silently counting to ten. Then she squared her shoulders and looked back at Kate. "I am going to make the best of things," she said. "And so are you. Now, excuse me while I look at a fantastic laundry room." Kate shook her head. What had gotten into her parents? Why were they determined to ruin her life? Sure, she knew her dad was always talking about his happy childhood in the East. She knew his company had closed its lawn mower factory in southern California and offered him a better job managing a snow shovel factory here. Still, who in their right mind would trade a sunny beach for this cold, gray, rain-soaked place? Back at the motel that afternoon, Danielle read a magazine she had found on the TV set, Pennsylvania Today . Dad and Mom shuffled photos of the houses they'd looked at. Kate was channel surfing and stopped at a local weather report. Yesterday had been a perfect beach day at home in Isla Nada -- before she was kidnapped. "...unseasonably cold the rest of the week," said the weatherman. He was wearing a red-and-green-plaid jacket, like he was ready for Christmas. "The long-range weather models show a pattern that could give us snow by Thanksgiving." Kate didn't see why he sounded so cheerful about it. Kate's dad pointed to one of the photos. "I think we have a winner," he said. "Do you agree, Angela?" "It's a darling house, Coldwell. But are you sure about that furnace? I thought those old furnaces --" "Same as we had when I was a boy. Never gave us a moment's trouble," Dad said. "Well, if you're sure..." Kate's mom didn't sound a bit sure, and Kate could almost see her thinking: Make the best of things. "If you're sure, then so am I," Mom said firmly. "Let's make an offer." Kate had no intention of moving to Belletoona, Pennsylvania. She didn't know how she was going to get out of it, but if she and her best friend, Molly, put their heads together, they'd come up with some kind of scheme. They always did, right? While Dad was talking to Mr. Douglas on the phone, Kate picked up a picture of the house. This one was different from the others -- old, made of stone, small bedrooms. The dining room had this disgusting pink polka-dot wallpaper. There was no family room in the basement either, just the furnace that worried her mom, and a lot of cobwebby pipes. "This one's yours." Mom pointed to an upstairs window. "The guest room, you mean," said Kate. Mom's look was like a yellow caution light. "Kate, I've been as patient as I know how to be," she said. "But this little game has got to end." Danielle looked up from her magazine when she sensed Kate might be in trouble. "Did you know Pennsylvania produces more chocolate than any other state?" she asked. "I want to move to Belletoona, Mother. I'm going to make new friends and go to a brand-new school." Kate wondered how bad the punishment was for strangling a total pest. "Aren't we the little angel?" she snarled. "Kate Sommers," said Mom, and now the light flashed red. "That is enough . I know it's hard to move at your age. But the family is moving. End of discussion." Mom was being totally unreasonable. No point arguing now. So Kate fumed while Mom explained things for the zillionth time: This had been a scouting mission so that the girls could see the town. The family would fly back to California tomorrow, and in two weeks -- only two weeks -- Dad would start work here in Pennsylvania. "You and I and Danielle will stay longer in California to pack up and say good-bye," Mom went on. "If the house sells, we'll be back here before Christmas." Kate wouldn't help it. "What have I done to deserve this?" she wailed. "It's so unfair!" Mom didn't say anything for a minute, just looked out the window at the rain. When she spoke, she seemed to be talking to herself. "Don't think of it as unfair. Think of it as character-building." My character's built already, Kate thought. In Isla Nada, California, I'm president of the sixth-grade class, girlfriend of an awesomely gorgeous thirteen-year-old surfer, best friend of Molly Blossom, the class secretary. In Belletoona, Pennsylvania, who am I? Nobody. Kate was a planner. She already had the rest of her sixth-grade year figured out: Josh was going to take her to the Valentine's dance, just like she planned. She was going to play volleyball for the Isla Nada Stingrays this spring, just like she planned. And she was going to learn to skate vert next summer, just like she planned. If her family really moved, she would miss them -- even the total pest. But for Kate Sommers, life anyplace other than Isla Nada, California, was unthinkable. Excerpted from The Year My Parents Ruined My Life by Martha Freeman All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
