Clean Getaway

They park at the Bonita Lakes RV Park, and Scoob overhears G’ma talking to his dad while he’s in the bathroom. They go back and forth, and Scoob hears her say, “Did she now? I’ll let him know—oh, I shouldn’t let him know—?” (64). He wonders what they’re talking about.

They change into matching camo overalls and head out into the woods. They start off the path, and Scoob nervously follows along. They find a clearing and build a fire. Scoob thinks about climbing a tree with Shenice, reflecting about how they “always had each other’s backs” (72). He recently started feeling differently about her, which played a factor in his decision to hit Bryce.

Scoob asked if his dad was mad when he called, and G’ma responds that he always is. Scoob vents about how hard James is on him and how feels like he isn’t good enough.

They sit down and G’ma hands him a photo of a man leaning against a car. It’s G’ma’s dad, and he’d given her the photo before he left when she was nine. She never learned where he ran off to, though she suspected it was Kent, Texas. She did, however, find out he was a “crook,” learning “some things about my daddy I’d’ve been better off not knowing” (76). She explains that James is often upset because he knows too much about Scoob’s mom and G’pop. When Scoob points out how different she is, she says that she isn’t perfect, “[b]ut unlike my dad, I’m gonna make things right before it’s too late” (77).

Before Scoob can ask about that, she decides to put out the fire and move on.

That night, as Scoob lays awake in his bunk, he hears G’ma talking to someone, saying that she’s failed in the past but she’s going to fix it. He feels so overwhelmed and begins to wish that his dad was there. Wanting something mindless to do, he gets down and grabs G’ma’s phone to play a game. There are 17 missed calls and seven voicemails from his dad. Afraid she’ll realize that he listened to one, he doesn’t know what do, but he isn’t sure why his dad keeps calling if he spoke to G’ma earlier. He puts the phone down and goes to bed.

When he wakes up, the RV is on the move. They’re in Meridian, Mississippi. She tells him to come down, calling him “Jimmy”—his father and grandfather’s shared name. It makes him uncomfortable, and he corrects her.

He then asks, “what made you marry a criminal?” (83). Shocked, G’ma replies that her husband didn’t like to steal and that he made some bad decisions but he wasn’t the only one. She made poor choices too, and Scoob’s dad is angry with his father, but there’s also information he doesn’t know. When Scoob makes a joke about his father feeling like he knows everything, G’ma comments that he has a similar sense of humor. It makes Scoob think about his father always says that Scoob doesn’t have the self-discipline his father does.

G’ma comments that James will “come around […] And if not, who cares? You and me’ll be on a beach in Mexico living our best lives” (86). Worried, Scoob asks if she’s talked to him this morning. She lies and says that he hasn’t called.

Scoob feels nervous all through lunch at Cracker Barrel. When she takes his picture, she says the phone was turned off (even though Scoob doesn’t remember leaving it that way the night before), and turning it back on, adds that James called. However, she deflects when Scoob asks what he said.

They stop at a jewelry store, and Scoob tries asking again about his dad’s messages. G’ma continues to avoid the topic, though she begins whistling. Scoob knows that this is her tell. However, she changes the subject to ask about his and his dad’s issues over Scoob’s using the computer to cheat.

Scoob tries to avoid by asking about what she was like when she was his age. G’ma reveals that she used to pickpocket, saying that there’s a lot about her he doesn’t know. This makes her curious about the trouble he’s been in lately.

Finally, he explains that he was in computer science class—one in which he excels. Two weeks before spring break, he accidentally clicked the wrong answer on a quiz, which he’d never done before in that class. Making that mistake, he thought about how his dad was always talking about his “careless mistakes” (95). His teacher didn’t seem to like him very much, so he didn’t feel like he could talk to him about the missed question. Instead, he decided to look at the coding behind the digital quiz. He adds that he wasn’t even going to change the grade, he just wanted to know if it was possible. When his teacher came around to look at everyone’s grade, he made a comment about “how Scoob’s ‘boastful lack of attention during class’ was ‘finally making its mark’” (99). This made Scoob so mad that, when another student who noticed what Scoob had been doing asked how to change his grade, Scoob showed him. Then, that student showed several others, making the teacher suspicious. When he officially realized what was happening, a student blamed it all on Scoob, even though Scoob’s computer showed that he hadn’t been changing his grades. This led to a five-day suspension.

As Scoob has been talking, G’ma has been asking the salesclerk to let her try on a variety of jewelry. When he finishes his story, G’ma thanks him, saying that she can’t afford any of it, “[t]hough I appreciate you letting an old gal dream big for a bit” (102). As they leave, Scoob points out that she forgot to take a red ring off, and the clerk hears him. G’ma appears like she’s been caught but pretends that she just forgot and gives the ring back. When they get back in the RV, Scoob notices that the plate now reads “Tennessee” instead of Vermont.

G’ma asks Scoob why he helped people cheat in class. He explains that it was nice to feel liked, especially after he was in the fight with Bryce. G’ma replies that it’s “[w]ild […] how easy it can be to do the wrong thing” (105).

As they drive, G’ma begins to look sadder, saying she misses Jimmy so much and that she made so many mistakes. They ride down a street with all the buildings boarded up. G’ma pulls over and cries. However, Scoob is also starting to feel mad at her for putting him in this position. He comforts her, but then she calls him Jimmy again.

She goes to the bathroom to collect herself. As she does, Scoob’s dad calls. It stops ringing, only for him to call back. G’ma comes out of the bathroom and declines the call. She grabs her box from his bag, and he notices a pair of earrings on the table, earrings he last saw at the jewelry store.