Wings From Ashes Trilogy

by Linda Nelson

  Darcy’s mom said, “It is all right with me if it is all right with your Dad.

  “It is..,” Karla replied. Her dad had no idea Karla was taking off, and she wasn’t about to tell him either.

  The car almost didn’t start, and it was freezing in the back seat, but Karla tried to pretend that she wasn’t cold. It was a slow ride to the garage. The roads were horrible. They only needed to go to the other side of town and down a side street to find Conner’s Garage.

  Conner had Darcy’s mom drive the car into the garage. The girls sat in the waiting room while Conner had a look at the car to see what the problem was. It turned out to be the starter was going, and it was going to be an hour wait while he rebuilt the starter and put it back in the car.

  A stack of magazines decorated a small table in the waiting room that was part of the garage office. Karla and Darcy looked through them. The collection was mostly for guys. Darcy latched onto the one and only family magazine and Darcy’s mom took the Vanity Fair. The only magazine Karla found to her interest was the catalogue of baseball card trading. She had always wondered about the worth of baseball cards. While she flipped through some of the pages of the magazine, she was surprised to see how valuable some of the cards happened to be.

  Her dad had given her a few baseball cards he had saved from when he was a kid. She had kept them in a box of junk, not knowing they were of any real value. Now she knew better. Maybe she should dig them out and have them checked.

  A large figure in a ski jacket and hood came through the door to the office making a small bell ring that hung from the ceiling and they also let a stream of snow and cold wind in with them. The storm was getting worse. All Karla was wearing was a hooded sweatshirt for added warmth.

  Karla couldn’t help but look up to see that this person was Neil. She was a bit surprised when she saw the hood removed.

  “Hey Karla, what are you doing here?” Neil asked. He also looked surprised to see someone unexpectedly.

  “I’m here with Darcy and her mom. Her mom’s car keeps stalling. What are you doing here?”

  Neil smiled. He couldn’t help but smile. Just seeing Karla at that moment made his insides feel funny. “This is my Uncle’s garage. I work here after school, and on the weekends helping him repair cars.”

  “That’s pretty cool.” Darcy said. “Is your uncle looking for any more help? I need to find a job too.”

  “Unfortunately he does not. I am not just working for him. I’m apprenticing with him to be an auto mechanic,” Neil quickly explained.

  “Oh foo…”

  Darcy elbowed Karla in her side. She had been sitting with her mouth slightly open – dumb struck for words. The pool table lesson was rerunning itself over and over again in her head. Maybe she should say the hell with Max. It had been months since she had heard from him. Should she ask Neil out?

  Neil broke the silence. “Do you trade baseball cards?” He asked in reference to the magazine Karla had in her hand.

  “Oh,” she looked at the book in her hand. “This, I was just curious. My dad gave me some cards years ago. I almost threw them out, but now that I see this I may have to check them out.”

  “I collect and trade cards. Do you know off hand which ones they are?”

  Karla shook her head – No.

  “Well, if you find them, bring them into school, and I’ll take a look at them and let you know if they are of any value.”

  “Neil, you made it.” Conner said. He was wiping his hands on a rag while he took his place at his desk and began jotting figures down on a slip of paper. It was the bill for the service done to Darcy’s mom’s car. “Barbara, your car is ready. I rebuilt your starter. You shouldn’t have any more problems with it. But if you do, give me a call.”

  “Drive careful. It is getting wicked out there. There are cars off the road everywhere.”

  Neil watched the girls leave, especially Karla. He was almost in a dream world, but it came to a complete stop when Ashley stepped through the door passing Karla on the way. She gave Karla a suspicious look as she passed her. The look did not go unnoticed by Darcy or Karla.

  “What was she doing here?” Ashley demanded an explanation from Neil.

  Neil rolled his eyes. He couldn’t believe this chick had tracked him down so easily.

  “You need a bit. I’ll get the next car in the garage. You have ten minutes to talk.” Conner could tell that Neil was not thrilled to see the new visitor. But he was at the age when all the girl trouble began to emerge. He remembered his days just like they were yesterday even thought they were a good thirty years ago from when he was in high school.

  Ten minutes with Ashley was almost too much time to spend with the girl. He had never known a girl who could become so jealous so easily.

  As soon as Conner left the two of them alone he answered her. “She was here with Darcy and Darcy’s mom Barbara. Barbara’s car was there to have its starter rebuilt.

  What are you doing here?”

  “I figured that since you didn’t have time to see me I would come by and see you.” She held up a bag. “I made you lunch in case you got hungry.”

  Neil didn’t know what to say. Her surprise visit didn’t sit well with him, and he wasn’t about to make a scene with her. He didn’t even actually know her. What he did know was that she wasn’t scoring any points with him at this moment. How she found out where his uncle’s garage was located, was beyond him. What bothered him most of all, was the fact that she went through such effort to find him during a snow storm.

  “Thanks…” What else was he to say to her? “Look I would like to stand and chat with you but I do need to get to work.”

  Ashley’s lower lip trembled a little. She looked like she was ready to cry.

  “Look, I swear I will call you when I get home. Okay?” He reached out and brushed a strand of her hair from in front of her eyes.

  He began to lean forward to give her a little kiss, but his uncle stepped into the door way of the office, “Neil, time to get to work.”

  Neil pulled away without giving her a kiss. “I got to go.” He turned his back on her and went with his uncle into the garage leaving Ashley standing there alone. There was nothing else she could do but leave the bag of food on the desk and let herself out into the blowing snow.

  They were to work on another car with starting problems, only this time it was the alternator that was the problem. Neil observed Conner while he went about removing the part from the engine. “So it seems like you have girl problems.”

  Neil sighed. “You could tell, huh?”

  “Yup – It was written all over your face when that last girl showed up. What’s up with her?”

  “She asked me to go out with her on Friday. I said yes even though I even don’t know a thing about her. I don’t even know if I like her.”

  “You looked like, to me that you liked her. You were about to kiss her before I interrupted you.”

  “That’s the problem. I think I like her, but I’m not quite sure that I like her and I don’t know what to do about it. How long do you go out with someone before you decide they are not right for you?”

  “Gee, I don’t know. What do you actually mean when you say you are going out with her?”

  Neil had to stop and think about it. What did that actually mean? Wasn’t that the moment when you liked someone, but you weren’t actually involved with them? He wasn’t quite sure.

  “I guess I honestly don’t know. I haven’t had a lot of girlfriends. I kind of kept it that way because dad is always getting transferred.”

  “I see. Well maybe. That is, if I was you, I might give her a week or two and see how she is. Actions always speak louder than words, so if you don’t like the way she is then I would say move on.”

  Neil knew his uncle was right. It was one of the many reasons why Neil trusted him. He always gave out pretty decent advice like learning how to fight. The wrestling part was what kept the bullies at bay especially at his fo
rmer school when he began training to enter competitions. He just had to get his mom and dad on board for the wrestling matches at Brantwood High before they came up in the next month. It would be so much easier for him if they gave him their go ahead for the meets.

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  Ashley took an hour to walk home. It didn’t seem like such a long walk on the way there, but the driving snow hitting her face made it difficult to see.

  Neil had almost kissed her. That had sort of made her day. Maggie had been the one who suggested this morning to her on the phone that she should find out what garage was Neil’s uncle’s garage and give him a surprise visit. Maybe she should bring him some food. It was said that was the way to a guy’s heart was through his stomach.

  That was why she had packed him a thick turkey sandwich with all the fixings a bag of chips and Oreo cookies. Every one she knew loved Oreo cookies, she was almost certain he did too. So she had made sure she gave him extra cookies.

  When she got there, she wasn’t happy to see that Karla the skank was already there with him. She had never counted on her being a problem, but now she knew that Maggie had been right from the start. Karla as likely to be a problem, she kept showing up and getting in the way.

  “Maggie, she was there when I got there.” Ashley said into the phone. She had called Maggie as soon as she got home. The snow whipped across her face making her not bother calling her friend on her cellphone. She decided it would have to wait until she got home.

  “What do you mean she was there when you got there? Who was there?”

  “Karla…”

  “That bitch. What was she doing there?”

  “Neil said she was there with Darcy and her mom, getting her mom’s car fixed. I don’t know why Karla went with them, except like you said, so she could try and steal my boyfriend away from me.”

  “I told you that bitch was going to do that didn’t I?”

  “You did, I should have listened. Now what do I do?”

  “I don’t know, but we will figure out something. I promise. There has to be something we can do to make Neil, not like her.”

  Chapter 9

  Monday morning before Homeroom, Karla was standing in the hallway in front of her locker talking to Darcy and Heath when Maggie appeared and started shoving her.

  This time Karla decided she wasn’t going to take it from her. She didn’t care what the consequences were there was just so much a person could take before the fought back. She whipped her hand around smacking Maggie’s hands away from her.

  “Cut the crap bitch. Leave me alone.” Karla shouted at her drawing the attention of students and staff in the hallway.

  Karla only made Maggie angrier. She pounced on her and started slapping at her face. Karla had to raise her hands to prevent Maggie’s from making a connection. “I said cut the crap.”

  Karla gave Maggie a push away from her pushing her into a teacher who was about to stop the fight.

  Maggie pulled out of the teachers hold and flew at Karla once more. This time she was swinging with her fists clenched. One fist caught Karla in the nose, drawing a small stream of blood to her mouth. The other fist hit her in the side of the head above her left eye brow before the teacher was able to grab onto Maggie’s flailing arms. It was Miss Brangton, Karla’s history teacher.

  Miss Brangton held onto Maggie’s wrists behind her back and directed her down the hallway. “You too, Miss Centon.” The teacher said to Karla over her shoulder making Karla follow them to the Principal’s office. She seated them in chairs in the office across from each other while they waited to be seen.

  Their parents were called. Maggie’s parents were the first ones to arrive, so Maggie saw the Principal first. As soon as Maggie left with her folks Karla was next.

  Karla’s dad didn’t seem happy to be there in support of Karla. He didn’t have her mother with him either. He had Carrie with him instead. He had some nerve bringing her here with him.

  Karla eyed everyone in the room. This was her first time being sent to the Principal’s office. She hoped it would be her last.

  Principal Caldwell wore a yellow oxford shirt with gray slacks. His desk belonged to a well-organized person or someone with an OCD disorder. He had a student file in front of him along with a paper with a written statement from the previous student.

  “Miss Centon, it has been brought to my attention that you were involved in an fight this morning. I just heard the other student’s account. Now I want to hear yours.”

  Karla looked toward her dad but refused to look at Carrie. This was not happening to her. She had been in enough trouble in the past few months, her dad was sure to ground her even more. If only they had never left Medham, everything wouldn’t have turned out this way.

  “Karla, answer the man.” Brian Centon demanded.

  She spoke with a tremble. “I was minding my own business, talking to Darcy and Heath when Maggie came along and began shoving me. I told her to stop, but she wouldn’t so I couldn’t help it. I hate being bullied, so I pushed her back.

  Next thing I knew she began punching and slapping me. She even gave me a bloody nose.” Karla pulled the clenched paper towel away from her nose showing the blood stain. Her nose had stopped bleeding, and she no longer had to hold the towel to her nose, but she felt better for doing it, so she put it back to make sure it didn’t start bleeding again.

  “That isn’t what the other student said. She stated that you called her names while she was walking by, and that you instigated the fight, calling her a, quote – Nut Job. Now if that doesn’t get someone riled up than I don’t know what would.”

  Karla’s face turned beet red. First off she was embarrassed for having to be in the Office for such a thing. Second, she was furious that someone would claim that she had done such a thing. Lastly, she was mad because apparently the Principal was buying Maggie’s statement.

  “I did not do such a thing. You can ask everyone else who was in the hallway at the time. They will all tell you I was minding my own business when she came up to me and began shoving me.

  I don’t know what her problem is, but it isn’t the first time she has done that to me either. She was shoving me around just last week for no apparent reason, calling me a skank.”

  Brian Centon was horrified to hear such a word come out of his daughter’s mouth. “Don’t be saying words like that.”

  “Miss Centon, you leave no choice. You are to be suspended for the rest of the day. If you have a problem with another student, you don’t take it upon yourself to settle the score. You go to a facility member to take care of the problem. Understood?”

  Karla’s jaw dropped. She was being suspended. Even though it was just for the day, she was being suspended none the less. How could this be happening to her? Her life had turned to crap ever since they had moved to Brantwood.

  “But…” Karla tried to protest.

  “Enough Karla – let’s go.” Karla’s dad said. He was just short of grabbing Karla by the collar and dragging her out of the school.

  “That’s not fair. He won’t even bother to check out my side of the story. I was the victim here not her.” Karla fumed on the way to the car.

  “I don’t want to hear another word out of your mouth young miss. We will decide your punishment when we get home.”

  Karla felt her blood boil. Now even her own dad didn’t believe her, and his girlfriend Carrie wasn’t saying a word.

  When they got home, Karla went straight to her room. Once again her life was taking a turn for the worse. She started to close her bedroom door when she stopped short to listen to her dad and Carrie talk.

  “I think you should believe her. She does not seem like the type of person who would say such things about someone.”

  “Carrie, you don’t know my daughter. I do – I used to think the same way as you until she became friends with this girl at school. Ever since then she has gotten into trouble time after time.”

  “How many fight
s has she been in?” Carrie asked.

  Brian thought before answering her. “None that I can recall.”

  “Then why now? How could someone be compelled to start a fight over being called a nut job unless it was likely true?”

  When Karla peeked out her door, she saw her dad’s arms wrapped about Carrie. The sight turned her stomach even though the woman was desperately trying to defend Karla’s actions.

  “There has been too much bullying going on in the schools. I’m one for a person to stand up for themselves if they are in the right.”

  “But we don’t know if Karla was in the right.”

  “I think she was, and you shouldn’t be so hard on her.”

  Karla shut her door. Seeing her dad kiss Carrie was more than she could take. There was nothing else she could do but crawl into her bed and hide.

  That’s what she did.

  Ashley waited by Maggie’s locker for her just before lunch. She never appeared. It wasn’t like her. Maybe something happened, and she had to go home, maybe she was sick or something. She wasn’t going to wait any longer, or she would miss lunch.

  Now if Maggie wasn’t there, then who was she going to eat lunch with? She could mosey on over and take a seat at Darcy’s table, but that might not be such a good thing since she was kind of the reason why the fight had happened this morning between Maggie and Karla.

  Maggie had been outraged to learn how Karla had just shown up at Neil’s Uncle’s garage. She said she was going to put a stop to Karla once and for all. She just never said how she was going to do it.

  Hmm – no Karla either. Maybe Maggie’s plan had worked after all.

  Ashley scanned the cafeteria one more time before deciding where she was going to sit. There he was. Neil was sitting at a table on the other side of the room with the – geeky guys – Oh my God! He wasn’t one of those guys, was he? She would have to put a stop to that too. She wasn’t the type to go out with a geek.