The Disconnect Read online

  It’s all good except for my missing £1,000, I think.

  But then I think about all the things I got from The Disconnect. Better grades. New friends. More confidence. A better friendship with Natalie. Time for reading. A new appreciation of my dad, my family here and there. Maybe all that was worth doing without the reward. New York will have to wait.

  Avi’s here to take the order. He leans down to speak to Maura and River. “You guys, make sure you come back here at five o’clock. We’re going to have a small celebration for Esther’s birthday.”

  “My birthday isn’t until Tuesday!” I say.

  But Avi winks and says, “Tuesday’s for school. Let’s celebrate while you’re on holiday.”

  I don’t think Maura and River will really come back at five, but they both do. And Natalie, Shaquilla and Sophie come too. Natalie’s invited a few more people, and River’s called some of the Disconnect kids, and I’m sitting in the middle of a crowd of friends.

  Someone takes a picture, and I don’t worry at all about them putting it on social media. If I look bad, so what? I won’t be looking at any of the snarky comments. I’m never going to measure my worth in likes again.

  “I’ve decided to have one day a week completely phone‑free,” I tell everyone. “And if I feel my phone is taking over my life again, I’ll do a mini Disconnect for a week or so. I mean, there are lots of good things about having a phone. It’s just keeping it all in balance.”

  As I speak, my phone buzzes. Rosa! She’s calling me. “Look up,” she says when I answer the call. “Look at the door.”

  “You what?” I say, but I look. At the door … there’s a girl with long curly hair and a baby.

  I gasp – could it be? But there she is. My sister, with little Zack in her arms, all the way from New York.

  I can’t run across the room – stupid boot and crutches – but Rosa runs to me. And we’re laughing and crying and hugging and—

  “Hey, Essie,” a voice says. “I’m here too.”

  And it’s really him. My dad. In the flesh, in London.

  “I’ve got news,” Dad says, after we’ve hugged so tight that I think my ribs might break. “I’ve got a job. In London. A show in the West End. My agent’s sorting the details, but I’m going to be here for a while. I can hardly believe it. We can just hang out. We can be normal for once.”

  “Oh well,” I say. “What’s normal?”

  I’m so happy, I feel like I’m going to burst.

  I grab my phone.

  “Dad, Rosa, let me hold Zack …”

  It’s time to take a selfie.

  Acknowledgements

  Thanks to Phoebe and Judah, my digital natives.