“What’s this?”
“My card. Everyone has one. Your aunt will probably have some made for you.”
“Card?”
It read “Melina Forest,” with her address, phone number, and email.
“Allez,” she said. “Mr. Denning gives demerits for lateness, ten a second.”
I hurried to keep up with her long strides, clutching her card in my right hand, wondering even more where the train from Hurley had taken me.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Karen was waiting for me in front of the school, looking as if she had been waiting for hours, her arms crossed, her face full of huffs and puffs of impatience. Two of the girls from her class were standing beside her, all turning with similar expressions on their faces as I hurried along. Melina had kept me for a few minutes, explaining more about the school campus and describing the teachers I had yet to meet. She wasn’t rushing to go home because she was staying to do some work in the library and watch Tommy in basketball practice. I pretty much concluded that they were really just good friends. She had invited me to join her, but I thought I’d better not do too much this first day. And I sensed how jealous Karen would be.
“I have to show my face at practice,” she explained. “I’m his lucky charm. Not that he needs one. You’ll see when you come to a game. Call me tonight if you have any questions. You have my number on my card.”
I thanked her for helping me and started away. Two other girls in our class, Vikki Summers and Liona Wesley, had given me their cards as well. Even one of the boys, Bradley Kadinsky, gave me a card, too. Did everyone really have one? I wondered why Karen never mentioned having one or why Ava didn’t mention that she would get one made for me. It couldn’t be that she didn’t know about them.
“Lucky for you that my father’s never on time,” Karen said as I approached. The girls with her smiled. “You’d have to walk home.”
“Sorry. I couldn’t help it. Melina had some more things to tell me, and some of the other students in the class wanted to give me their cards, like business cards. Do you have one, too?”
“No. If someone here doesn’t know who I am, too bad,” she said.
“Well, Melina told me—”
“Melina.” Karen interrupted as if it was profanity. She raised her eyes toward the other two, who nodded. “She thinks she’s student government president or something. She’ll twist her ears over, telling you about herself. She’d keep the president waiting until she’s finished.”
The other two laughed.
“I was also on the other side of the building,” I said.
Karen shrugged. I looked at her friends. I was about to introduce myself when Karen finally spoke up.
“This is Adele Scholefield and this is Margaret Toby, whose party you’re going to Saturday night.”
“Hi,” I said. “Thanks for inviting me.”
“Glad you’re coming. New kids are always a headline,” Margaret said.
“Believe me, I’d rather not be a headline.”
Karen groaned, maybe afraid that I would dramatize my life the way she dramatized hers and become the center of attention.
“Karen says your mother died recently, and she was her father’s sister,” Adele said. There was a pause when I didn’t say anything. “We’re sorry,” she said.
“Thank you.”
I looked at Karen, wondering how much more she had told them. Did she explain why I had come here and why she never had known me? Other kids my age would have the most questions to ask, especially at a party, and that was only two days away. Daddy and I should talk about this, I thought, as well as about what he had told Dr. Stewart. The problem was, it was difficult for us to have private talks at the house.
“We’ll see you at my party,” Margaret said as a Mercedes sedan was pulling up.
“It’s not too soon for you to party, is it?” Adele suddenly asked me.
“Yeah, maybe it’s too soon,” Karen said, and looked at me hopefully.
“Everything’s too soon for me. One more thing won’t matter,” I said. I looked at Karen. “Besides, Karen wanted me to meet all her friends.”
“Huh?” Karen said.
Her two friends laughed.
“Love your hairdo,” Adele called.
“Me too,” Margaret said. They shouted goodbye and hurried to the Mercedes. The moment they were too far to hear us, I turned to Karen.
“What else did you tell them about me?” I asked.
She shrugged. “What else could I tell them except your mother died and you showed up unexpectedly? You don’t share secrets yet.” Before I could respond, she cried, “There’s my father!”
We watched our father drive up. Karen quickly got into the front seat, and I got into the rear.
“Your hair’s very nice, Saffron.”
“Thank you… Uncle Derick.”
“I should get my hair done for the party, too,” Karen said.
“Talk to your mother. How was school?” Daddy asked me as he started driving off.
“She only had two classes, Daddy,” Karen answered for me.
He ignored her and waited for my response.
“It’s great,” I said. “How lucky everyone is to have a school like this. It’s beautiful, and the two teachers I met were very nice. So is Dr. Stewart, who told me she gets to know every student,” I emphasized. He glanced at me quickly in the rearview mirror.
Karen turned to me and widened her eyes as if I had said something that betrayed her and every other student.
“Dr. Stewart is very nice?” she asked, her eyebrows raised.
“She was to me.”
“Because you’re new. Wait until you’re here a week,” she said, and turned back around quickly.
“Don’t discourage her, Karen. I’m glad to hear you had a good start, Saffron,” Daddy said, and started away. “Don’t forget to mention that to Ava’s father, Amos Saddlebrook, when you see him Sunday night.”
“I told my grandfather that lots of times,” Karen said.
“He never hears it enough,” Daddy said.
“You’d better not just give him compliments to get him to like you,” Karen warned me. “Mommy says he has a built-in bullshit detector.”
“Karen. Watch your language.”
“I’m sure she’s heard worse, haven’t you, Saffron?”
“And seen worse, too,” I added, glaring back at her.
Her smile quickly faded. “Well, don’t describe anything disgusting about where you’ve been and what you’ve done when you’re with my friends at the party. They all gossip and exaggerate. It’s like that game you told me about, right, Daddy?”
“It’s known as telephone. A message is passed along through a group and usually is quite changed when the last one repeats it.”
“Exactly. Especially things you might describe,” Karen told me.
I might describe? I thought. Oh, there is plenty to tell that you won’t want to hear. I caught Daddy’s eyes in the rearview mirror. Shut up was written across them.
I looked away. To have to sit quietly and listen to Karen basically tell me to avoid talking to people about myself while Daddy sat silently was shredding my heart. Maybe he was thinking it was better to ignore Karen’s snide remarks than to come to my defense. The more he did protect me, the more suspicious she would become. He and I would never stop tiptoeing on the thin ice.
“And what about you, Karen?” Daddy asked her, obviously eager to change the topic. “How was your day at school?”
“Pretty good. I got an eighty-five on my English test today,” Karen said. “And I hardly studied for it.”
“Really? Well, now that you have an AP student living with us, maybe she’ll help you get a ninety-five,” he said.
Karen’s shoulders rose as if she had felt a chill run through her body.
“Right, Saffron?” Daddy asked, looking at me in the rearview mirror.
“We’ll help each other, Uncle Derick,” I said. “
Going to school isn’t just taking tests. There’s a lot else to learn, and I’m sure Karen can teach it,” I said, making it sound like what there was to learn was unspeakable and she was the expert when it came to any of that.
Karen spun around to look at me. Maybe she thought I was joking or making fun of her. I was, but the expression on my face was enough to convince her I wasn’t. Ironically, she looked pleased.
“That’s great,” Daddy said. “You can help your mother shop for Saffron on Saturday. Mom might not be up on what’s cool now and what isn’t.”
“Won’t Saffron know that herself? She’s from California. I’m from Sandburg Creek.”
“Fashion wasn’t at the top of my list,” I muttered.
She looked at me suspiciously. “Still, you saw what other girls were wearing in school, didn’t you?”
“Why look in the windows of jewelry stores if you can’t afford any? You’re just torturing yourself.”
“Huh? What’s that mean?”
Neither Daddy nor I answered.
She sighed deeply. “Oh, I’ll go shopping with them. I need some new things,” she whined. “Mother hasn’t bought me anything new since my birthday.”
“Well, lucky for you that Saffron needs some new things,” Daddy said, and laughed.
I knew he was trying to be funny, but I couldn’t even smile, watching and listening to him being so kind and loving to another daughter. I never wanted to face a crisis in which he had to choose between us. Karen would always come first. After all, I was only his niece.
Besides, when it came to him choosing me over his own happiness, my success record was not too good.
In a real sense, I felt trapped now that I was really here. I had to avoid serious conflicts with Karen at all cost, with anyone, for that matter, and I feared there were plenty of possibilities for conflicts here at this school for privileged kids. The more spoiled someone was, the less compassion she had for others. Karen was climbing to the top of that list every passing moment we were together, most likely out of jealousy and fear that I would steal whatever spotlight she lived in at this school.
Would I, could I, ever get to like her or get her to like me? Did I really want that?
“Yeah,” Karen said. “You mean how fortunate for her that I’m here to help her get the right stuff,” she said.
We were both waiting for Daddy to say something, but he just looked forward and drove. I had been hoping he’d turn to her and at least say something like She’s really far from lucky, Karen. She lost her mother and has had a very difficult time of it. We should all help her as best we can. I longed for him to say something like that, but it was clear in the silence that he wouldn’t. My orders were just as clear: stay away from bringing up my past because of the danger that I would confuse things. The safest option was to pretend I was just reborn here. I had no history beyond yesterday.
We drove in that uncomfortable silence all the remaining way. When we reached our street, Daddy slowed down to almost a crawl. I saw a police car in front of his house.
“What’s that?” Karen asked. “Why are the police here?”
Daddy said nothing. We pulled into the garage. When we all got out, Daddy looked at me and spoke so low that he was practically only mouthing the words. “Don’t say anything. I’ll do the talking.”
Ava called to us from the fancy living room the moment we had entered from the garage.
“In here,” she said.
Karen looked at me with an impish smile. “Did you rob a store or something on the way here?”
“No,” I said. “I robbed it here.”
“Karen,” Daddy said sharply, the worry written in capital letters all over his face. “Maybe you should go upstairs and start your schoolwork.”
“After I say hello,” she said defiantly. She was obviously very curious about why the police were here. “Mother doesn’t like me dissing guests, you know. Besides, why didn’t you tell Saffron to go up to her room, too?”
“Just behave your… selves,” he said.
We entered the elegant living room. Ava was seated across from a policeman whose highly decorated uniform loudly announced he was the chief of police. He had his hat in his lap. His golden-brown hair was cropped military-short. To me, he looked quite young for a chief of police, maybe thirty. He had wide shoulders, but he was a bit chubby, with soft round cheeks nearly swallowing up his jawline. He stood up immediately and was clearly over six feet tall, with bright hazel eyes. I was sure that the mature and commanding look he sought was compromised by the freckles on the crests of his cheeks.
“Hello, Chief,” my father said, and smiled.
“Mr. Anders. Karen,” he said, nodding at her. “How’s school?”
“Long,” Karen replied, and he laughed.
Then he looked at me. “You must be Saffron, then.”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
“Chief Siegler was cruising our neighborhood when I came home,” Ava said. “I invited him in for a cool drink. He wanted to see Garson, too.”
“Going to be a big guy,” Chief Siegler said.
“Once he gets those teeth,” Daddy said. “Sit, Sam. Girls?” Daddy looked at us both. He looked very nervous, but maybe only to me.
“I’m going up to take a shower,” Karen said. Fortunately, she was bored already.
“You might stay a while, Saffron,” Ava said pointedly. “The chief was asking about you, how you were fitting in. It’s better if you speak for yourself.”
Karen grimaced.
More talk about me? Boring.
She left after looking at Ava and saying, “Nice to see you, Chief.”
Daddy nodded at the sofa Ava was on, so I moved to it. Chief Siegler looked at Daddy and sat. Daddy didn’t move. The chief turned to me.
“Everything working out all right for you? I know it’s only been a little while, but I know how hard these things can be for kids your age, going to a new school, making new friends, and learning the ropes. And that’s without the unfortunate circumstances that brought you here.”
“Yes, sir,” I said. “Everything is fine. It’s a beautiful school.”
“Quite a trip you took to get here?”
“Yes, it was.”
“How was your flight?”
“It was my first, but I thought it was okay. I slept most of the way, even on the bus.”
He nodded but looked keenly at Daddy, who smiled. Was it all going to collapse right now in front of Ava? Would the police chief ask me more detailed questions, like the name of the airline, or when exactly the flight left?
“She’s an AP student, you know,” Daddy said quickly. “She’ll graduate early.”
“No kidding? Did you fly out of LAX?” he asked. Before I could reply, he added, “My wife and I have always wanted to go to Los Angeles? You lived close to L.A.?”
“Yes,” I said. I was glad he had said “Los Angeles.” I didn’t know where LAX was or what it was.
“You ever been to Hollywood?”
“No, sir.”
He laughed. “It’s like people in New York City who’ve never been to the Statue of Liberty.”
“I’ve never been,” Daddy said.
Ava looked sharply at him and at me.
“It’s a big country and lots to see, especially for a hometown boy,” the chief said. “The only time I left Sandburg Creek was to join the army. My wife and I are always talking about doing a cross-country trip, too. I hear a train might be fun,” he added, looking at me. “You ever go on a train?”
For a moment, I thought the lie would choke me. I didn’t try to swallow.
“No, sir. I never traveled anywhere, any way, for enjoyment,” I said, trying not to sound surly.
“I see.” He held his gaze on me for just a beat too long. I had to look away and then back at him. “Sure. I understand.” He looked at Daddy. “Anything in particular you need for Saffron, Mr. Anders?”
Why would a police chief ask that? I wondered.
“We’re okay. I think we’ve made a good start. As you said, Chief, a change, under her circumstances, is not easy, but she’s doing fine. Proud of her.”
“Glad to hear it. Well,” he said, standing. “They got me checking out some potholes in the neighborhood. Someone on the street is quite persistent about it. I think you know who I mean.”
“Shouldn’t that go to the highway department?” Daddy asked suspiciously. He glanced at Ava, too.
Chief Siegler nodded. “You know how it is. Everyone looks to someone else. Everyone’s too busy. Thanks again for the chat and the Coke, Mrs. Anders.” He put on his hat.
“I’ll walk you out,” Daddy said. He looked at me with a bit of concern. I knew the warning in his eyes. Don’t offer up any information. Just answer questions directly. It was the mantra that greeted me in the morning and that I feared would follow me forever here.
As soon as Daddy left with the police chief, Ava turned to me.
“And really, how is school so far? Did anyone give you any trouble? Any of Karen’s so-called friends?”
“Oh, no. Just the opposite.”
I described everything about my half day that I could. I told her how nice Dr. Stewart was and how a girl named Melina Forest had been assigned to help me adjust. I even brought up the business cards.
“A stupid affectation. I won’t permit Karen to do that, nor will I allow you.”
“Not anything I care about having, Aunt Ava.”
I laughed to myself recalling how Karen had defended herself for not having one, claiming to be above all that, when the truth was, her mother wouldn’t permit it.
“Good.” She looked toward the front of the house. I could see out the window, too. Daddy was in an intense conversation with the chief. Of course, I knew exactly why. The question tormenting my stomach was what had the chief of police told Ava? As part of the fabrication Daddy had given her, the police supposedly had informed him I was on my way. Did Ava ask him, and did the chief deny that?
“You can go up and change, Saffron. Do you have much homework?”
“Yes. Melina Forest had my other textbooks from the earlier classes I missed and marked where the classes were up to in the books. She was quite helpful. I have a lot of catching up to do. Some of the subjects are brand-new for me.”
Out of the Rain Page 12
