Grape Bubblegum

by Beth Bowland

  So here it was, Monday morning. I reached over and shut off my alarm, even though it hadn’t gone off yet. Yes, I’d awakened early. I felt gypped. After the party last Saturday, I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere for three days, which was no big deal because my entire body ached. However, I made out better than the other members of the fight club. Mitzie had a black eye and swollen lip. Shannan, on the other hand, had several braids yanked out and scratches on her face. We were all an ugly sight.

  Slowly, I made my way out of bed and began getting ready. Before stepping in the shower, I surveyed my face. The scratches were fading but still visible. Staying in the shower a little longer than normal, I thought about what the day would have in store for me.

  Craig walked into the classroom and everyone stopped talking. Talk about an awkward moment. No one had seen him since the incident. He took his usual seat across from me. Quickly glancing over at him, I noticed he still looked pretty bad. His hair was not combed, and his clothes looked like he’d been sleeping in them for several days straight.

  Mr. Webster walked into the classroom a few moments later. “All right, class, let’s review what we were talking about before the break. I hope everyone had a nice vacation.” He then noticed Craig. “Welcome back, Mr. Bradley.”

  Craig didn’t respond.

  After class was over, I walked out. Craig was right behind me, but neither of us spoke. I wanted to ask him where he’d been and how the counseling was coming along, but I knew I’d be the last person he’d want to talk to.

  Things were a lot more relaxed in Mrs. Freutenstein’s class. Since it was the first day back, she was kind to us and only did a little review, allowing us to have the remainder of class as a study hall.

  Tammy Wong tossed a wad of paper at me. “How are you doing since the rumble?”

  “Rumble?” I laughed. “I’m healing all right. Still got some battle wounds.”

  “I saw Craig this morning. He looked like crap.”

  “Really?”

  “Did he say anything to you?”

  “Nah, I really didn’t expect him to. I know he still hates me. I wonder what happened to Francis.”

  “Didn’t you hear? She’s back in juvie hall for now until her court date in a few weeks. They found drugs on both of them. I heard the Carmichaels were trying to send Francis back to Boston, but her parents don’t want her.”

  “We have a detention center?”

  “No, they sent her over to Chester County. It’s a good thing she’s still seventeen, or else she would’ve been placed in jail.”

  “That’s such a waste. I hope Craig is able to stop his huffing and whatever else he’s doing. It’s still hard for me to believe kids do that stuff. How crazy is that?”

  “Craig clearly has some issues. I’m sure he’ll do fine as long as he stays away from that crowd. He can spend a week at my house.” The corner of her mouth pulled back in a smirk. “My mom will have him drinking shots of wheatgrass and noni juice sprinkled with flaxseed. He’ll be fixed in no time.”

  I threw the wad of paper back at her.

  Mom and Auntie were huddled in the kitchen. When I walked in, Auntie raised her hand to give me a high five. I gave her a kiss instead.

  “Beatrice, you haven’t mentioned anything about your birthday, and it’s only a couple weeks away,” Mom said.

  “Usually by now you’ve already thrown at least a dozen hints about what you want for presents,” Auntie added.

  I sat down and began eating a Rice Krispies treat. “Yeah, you’re right. I think there’s just been too much going on for me to think about my birthday.” I paused to take a bite. “I can’t believe this school year is almost over.”

  “How was your first day back? Anyone giving you a hard time?” Mom asked.

  “Craig was there. He looked bad. He didn’t say anything to me nor I to him.”

  “He’s probably scared of ya. Word’s gotten back to him that you kicked his girlfriend’s butt.” Auntie started smiling.

  “Abbey, you know I don’t approve of violence. Stop it,” Mom said.

  “Millie, you know as well as I do that the Robinsons have been kicking butt since time began. We ain’t about to stop now. I do believe that’s one of our family blessings. It’s been passed down through the generations.” Auntie nodded at me.

  Mom sighed and shook her head.

  “Don’t pay your mom no attention, Bea. She was just like you when she was your age,” Auntie said.

  Auntie now had my full attention.

  “Oh, really?” I looked at Mom.

  “Yep. Once we were all visiting relatives in Georgia. There was this little ol’ skinny gal that lived down the street. She’d pick on your momma every day. One thing about your mom, she used to hate to get dirty. If her clothes got dirty, she went in and changed. We used to call her ‘Pretty Prissy.’ Well that ol’ skinny gal pushed her too far one day, shoved her down in the dirt. Wasn’t ordinary dirt either, but that red dirt they have in Georgia. I tell you, Millie took one look at her smock and saw that red stuff smeared all across the bottom of it. Woowee! She lit into that gal like a tornado. All you saw were arms spinning around like one of them propellers on an airplane.”

  “Oh, Abbey,” Mom said.

  I looked at my mother and started laughing.

  Mom winked at me. “Well, it was my favorite dress.”

  Chapter 23

  THE NEXT DAY as I walked down the hallway, laughter erupted behind me. I turned around to see what was so funny. I realized it was me. Mitzie and her cronies were clearly laughing at me. I’d not spoken to Mitzie since that night sitting in the squad car. Deep down inside, I really thought Mitzie and I had bonded and things would be different between us. Silly me.

  “Are you going to clue me in on the joke?” I asked, directing my question towards Mitzie. She and the cronies continued walking towards me. I wondered if they ever made decisions on their own. They were like puppets, and Mitzie was the puppeteer.

  “When are you going to do something about that hair, Peppercorn?” Mitzie said, as she approached me then continued walking, not waiting for a response.

  My immediate thought was to lash back at her, but decided against it. She’d just given me an idea of what I wanted for my birthday.

  Once seated in Mr. Dodd’s class, I pulled out my wallet and started counting my dollars and change. I had seven dollars and some pennies. I was going to stop by the drugstore on the way home and purchase one of those hairstyle magazines.

  Spencer was waiting for me in front of Mr. Webster’s class. “Hey,” he said grinning.

  “Hey back at ya.”

  “I’ve been thinking. We haven’t been to the movies in a while. Interested in going this weekend?”

  Surely he jested. Interested? Heck yeah! “Sure. That sounds like a lot of fun.”

  “Cool. I’ll catch up with ya later.”

  Taking my seat, I noticed Craig was already in the classroom. His clothes were neatly ironed, and his hair was combed. He caught me staring at him, but strangely, he didn’t sneer or yell.

  “How’s it going, Beatrice?” Craig asked.

  I almost swallowed my gum. Did he just speak to me? Was this some type of cruel joke?

  “I’m fine,” I said slowly.

  He smiled at me, but it wasn’t what I would call warm. More like mischievous.

  “How are your counseling sessions coming along?” I asked, not sure if I’d crossed the line.

  “I’m having a grand time in counseling. Now be sure and tell your mom that, okay?” he replied, still giving me that goofy smile.

  “We just want you to be all right.”

  “I can take care of myself. It doesn’t matter how long they try to keep me in counseling. I’m still going to do what I want to do.”

  Mr. Webster walked into the classroom. “Take out your notebooks and write down these notes.” He started scribbling some stuff on the board.

  “Craig, you’re playing a dan
gerous game. That stuff can hurt you really bad,” I whispered to him.

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be out of here soon enough. We’ve got big plans.”

  “What?” I whispered back.

  “Beatrice, you’re not exempt from writing notes,” Mr. Webster said.

  Where was he going? Plans…what sort of plans and with whom? I hoped he wasn’t talking about that harebrained plan of running away with Francis.

  Craig left immediately after class, and he wouldn’t answer any more of my questions.

  “I need to stop by the drugstore,” I said to Shannan as we headed towards home.

  “Okay, what are you buying?”

  “Hairstyle magazine,” I answered.

  “Uh, oh!”

  “No ‘uh oh!’ I’m not going to do it myself. I’m going to ask my mother if she’d send me to the salon for my birthday present.”

  “That’s sounds like so much fun! I’ll ask Michelle if she would recommend someone for you.”

  “Hello…Where is everybody?” The kitchen was empty. “Auntie…” I knocked on her door. “Are you in there?” I cracked the door and peeked. Not there. I went upstairs and dropped my book bag off then went back down to rummage around the kitchen for a snack.

  A few moments later, I heard Mom’s car pulling into the garage and went out to see if my help was needed bringing in groceries.

  “Hey, what’d cha buy me?” I asked, snooping around the back seat.

  “Nothing for you today,” Mom said, handing me a large bag.

  “I went and bought a new comforter set for my bed. Big sale at the mall,” Auntie said. We took everything and dropped it on Auntie’s bed.

  “I’ve decided what I want to do for my birthday,” I announced.

  Mom and Auntie were all ears.

  “I’d like to go to the salon and get a haircut. And maybe some color.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s about time to get rid of that crazy color that you put in it,” Auntie said.

  My jaw dropped. “You noticed it?”

  “When did you color your hair?” Mom asked. She got up off the bed to take a closer look.

  “For heaven’s sake, Millie, sometimes I think you’re older than I am. She did it at the beginning of the school year,” Auntie said to her.

  I stood there, totally shocked. “Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked Auntie.

  “Yes, Abbey. Why didn’t you mention it to me?” Mom said.

  Auntie started laughing. “Lord, Millie, I wanted to see how long it’d take you and Dean to notice it.”

  “Well, Mom?” I said, putting on my puppy-dog eyes. “Please…that’s all I want.”

  “Hmm, maybe,” Mom answered.

  “Mom, I’ll be fourteen, and Michelle can recommend someone really good,” I pressed.

  “Let me know how much it’ll cost. I’ll discuss it with your father,” Mom said. She turned to Auntie. “I can’t believe you noticed and I didn’t.” Auntie only laughed some more.

  “Oh and another thing…Is it all right if I go to the movies on Saturday?” I asked.

  “Sure. That’s fine,” Mom answered.

  Giving them both kisses, I headed up to my room to call Shannan.

  Chapter 24

  LOOKING AROUND SEEING ALL THE KIDS at the theater, I figured someone must’ve announced this was movie weekend. Mom dropped Shannan and me off in front of the theater. I thought back on my last experience at the movies with Spencer and my stomach problems. No dairy products today. Hopefully no drama either.

  “There they are,” Shannan said, pointing toward Spencer and Joel. I waved at them to get their attention.

  Shannan nudged me. “Look who else is here.” It was Craig. He was with several other kids, and they all looked older than we did, but only by a year or so. I didn’t recognize any of them from our school.

  “S’up, Craig?” Joel said as he approached us.

  “How’s it going?” Craig answered, but he kept walking past us. The group continued down the sidewalk before disappearing around the corner of the building. We made our way into the theater just as the movie started.

  I must admit I wasn’t paying much attention to the movie. After the first monster attacked the woman, it got pretty cheesy. However, since I was sitting with Spencer, I played up the whole, Eek! I’m so scared role. In fact, I played it so well I could’ve won an Oscar. Spencer stayed snuggled up against me the entire time. I was sad when it was over.

  “Let’s walk down to the gaming store,” Spencer said.

  It was really nice out tonight. It’d be a little while before Mom arrived.

  As we made our way out, several guys ran out from the back of the theater.

  “Aren’t those the guys that Craig was with earlier?” Shannan asked.

  “Yeah, it looks like it. They looked scared,” Joel said.

  Shortly thereafter, a couple more came from around the corner. They scattered into the parking lot.

  “What are they running from?” Spencer asked, as we went around the corner of the building to see where they were coming from. Another kid came barging out a side door. His face was pale, and he was really shook up.

  Joel reached out, almost tackling him, trying to stop him.

  “Lemme go,” he yelled at Joel.

  Spencer went over and grabbed the kid, turning him around. “Where’s Craig?” Spencer demanded.

  “Dude, I didn’t have anything to do with it. We tried to get him to stop.” The kid broke away and started running. Spencer and Joel looked at each other.

  “You guys stay here,” Spencer said to Shannan and me.

  Reaching over, I grabbed Shannan’s hand to try to stop mine from shaking. Something bad had happened.

  “No way. We’re going with you,” Shannan said.

  Spencer and Joel went down the narrow alley between the back of the theater and another building. There was a door, swinging slightly. The guys tiptoed towards the door. We inched our way behind them but not too close. It looked like an old storage facility.

  Spencer reached the door and pulled it open. “Craig…” he called. I didn’t hear a response. Slowly they went inside. Shannan and I stopped outside the door.

  Joel and Spencer disappeared inside. Then I heard Joel yell. Spencer came back out, his face full of panic.

  “Call 9-1-1,” he yelled.

  Shannan pulled out her cell and called. I walked in the door and saw Craig lying against the wall. His head was slumped. His hand twitched in an odd way.

  Within what seemed like minutes, the area was lit up with flashing lights and sirens blaring. The police ushered us out of the room and into the parking lot. A few moments later, I spotted my mother coming towards me. I couldn’t stop crying. I heard someone say Craig was dead. My chest tightened up. I felt as if I were choking.

  “Calm down, Beatrice,” I heard my mother say to me. I felt her stroking my hair, but it was so hard for me to breathe.

  “She’s having trouble breathing,” a man’s voice said. Something was placed over my face. I kept trying to pull it off.

  “Sweetie, breathe. It’s just oxygen,” Mom whispered in my ear, as she continued to cradle me in her arms.

  After a few deep breaths, I felt normal again. I looked around for Shannan. She was with Joel, and they were talking to the police. Spencer came over, sat next to me, and held my hand.

  “They’re still working on him,” he said.

  I looked up and saw Craig being rolled on the stretcher. An EMT was riding on the side of it, giving him chest compressions. Another compressed a bag that attached to an oxygen mask on his face. I put my head down and prayed for Craig.

  We spent most of that night up at the hospital with Miss McGinnis. Craig’s heart had gone into cardiac arrest due to the huffing. He regained consciousness the next day, then spent the next several days in the hospital. After his release, he went to rehab. According to my mother, the court made it mandatory that he enter some type of treatment
program. Miss McGinnis decided on a place in Utah. It was some sort of outdoor camping place that specialized in helping troubled teens.

  I thought I’d never hear from him again, but after he’d been gone for a month, I received a five-page letter from him. His counselor said he’d been doing really well and would come home in a couple of weeks. He apologized for the way he had treated me and said he now realized that I was only trying to be a friend. Through rehab, he learned how to communicate his feelings instead of hiding them. He said he knew how lucky he was to be alive, and he was thankful for his second chance. He no longer talked to Francis but did admit to missing her. He said he’d heard through the grapevine that Francis tried to run away from the juvenile center but was recaptured a few days later. Now she was in jail.

  Chapter 25

  I FELT MY CHAIR SPIN AROUND. “Okay. Open your eyes.”

  Slowly, I looked in the mirror. “Wow! I. Love. It!”

  Today was my fourteenth birthday, and my parents had granted my request.

  Juan clapped his hands and started prancing around. “Oh, I’m so happy. You look awesome, my little princess.”

  Michelle had highly recommended Juan as a hairstylist, and the salon was way cool. Each wall was decorated with pictures of actresses from the old Hollywood era. I felt sophisticated and oh so chic, like a young Audrey Hepburn.

  My hair was just too cute. Mom allowed me to get color and highlights, and although subtle, very hot. Juan said the color had no name, only numbers, however, I would call it “chocolate syrup cranberry glaze with sprinkles of walnuts.” It had a very warm look to it. I couldn’t wait to show it off on Monday. The cut was layered and flat-ironed straight.