by D. G. Driver
I was so glad Dad didn’t see how she rolled her eyes. He’d have come undone. I was pretty close to it myself, but I was afraid she’d shoot poison barbs from her hair at me.
I couldn’t hear my dad on the other line, but I got the gist of what he said when Mrs. Slater replied, “Yes, I’m sure your work is very important, to you, but school is more important for Juniper.”
“More important than saving the entire West Coast from being destroyed?” I asked.
She shushed me. Like I was a three-year-old. She put her finger to her mouth and went “Shh!” Into the phone she continued her ridiculousness, “I will allow her to make up the work she missed this morning, but not in the future.”
“I wouldn’t have missed fourth period if you hadn’t made me stay in here.”
She pinched up those tiny eyebrows and then turned her back to me. “This is the last time your missions can take priority over her studies.”
I know my dad didn’t cuss her out on the phone, but I know he wanted to. I wanted to. The restraint I felt was intense. So were the canker sores I was creating by biting the insides of my lips to keep them shut.
However, when the bell rang for lunch and I was still sitting there in the hard chair in her cramped office usually saved for the behavioral bottom feeders of the school, I muttered a small four-letter word.
I was now late meeting Haley and getting to the Student Council presentation. The only reason I showed up at school at all, thank you very much.
The Mistress of Detention spun around, hung up the phone, and glared at me. She was about to condemn me to a lifetime of after school study because of my foul mouth. I saw her hand reaching for that dreaded pad of yellow papers.
Except my phone rang. Haley calling, wondering where the heck I was. And then that got confiscated because we’re not supposed to have our phones at school. Well, truth be told, everyone has a phone. Everyone. We just aren’t supposed to use them at school. So, we use them under stealth in the bathrooms between classes and at lunchtime. And that’s never really been a problem.
Until now.
After robbing me of my ability to communicate and of my patience, the Office Nazis let me go. I ran through the building to meet Haley, breaking yet another rule: no running through the school. Oddly, I got away with the first actual rule that I broke on purpose.
The Student Council meets in an office near the cafeteria. Haley stood in the hallway outside the room, cell phone in hand, and started shouting at me as soon as she saw me dodging people with trays of bean burritos and cheesy nachos to get to her.
“Where have you been? Why didn’t you answer your phone? They’re waiting for us!” Then, noting my oversized boy clothes, “And what are you wearing?”
“I know,” I said, breathing hard. “I’ll explain later. You look really cute though.”
And she did. Haley had on this really neat combination of pale green and brown. Khaki pants, green turtleneck, with a chocolate brown knit poncho over it. I really liked it, even though I would never have thought of putting those two colors together because I would look like an Andes mint. She even had her hair down and curled, instead of up in her usual ponytail.
She smiled at the compliment, and before the smile could fade, I grabbed her hand, took in one more big breath and opened the door to the tiny classroom usually reserved for tutoring or small group lessons. The four members of Student Council raised their heads to us as we burst into the room. I could see that each of them was about to say something about how it was too late and lunch was nearly over. However, my momentum was way up and my patience way thin, so I didn’t even wait for the Council to say anything before I started speaking my piece. Once my mouth opened, I kind of couldn’t stop it.
“Hi guys,” I said. “Sorry I’m late, I was at the beach all morning rescuing sea animals hurt by an oil spill. It was slightly more important to me than American History and Chemistry, because, you know, these are living, breathing creatures that are dying. A lot of them were dead already, and it took time to walk through all of that and search for the still-living ones. It had to be done because you never know what you’re going to find. There could be something really important out there that needs help, something that needs to be discovered and saved. The Founding Fathers are dead and can’t help, really. Memorizing what elements make superglue stick is also not going to help.”
Everyone looked very puzzled, including Haley. I didn’t care. I went on.
“Another thing more important to me than colonists and chemicals is getting to live past forty, which won’t happen if the environment collapses on all of us because we aren’t taking care of it. Our oil spills kill animals; our trash is killing ourselves. Now, that may not matter to all of you, but it does me, and Haley, and several other people in this school who would like to be in our Recycling Club.
“What is this club about, you ask?” I went on before anyone actually could ask. “We just want to get some trash cans specifically marked for recycling. We want to gather the recyclables once a week and take them to a recycling center. We will keep an eye out for containers littering our campus that could be recycled, and we will put out information to let the students know how to participate in our club and mission.
“What do I need from you?” I went on again, seeing them itchy to interrupt. “Nothing. I mean, it would be nice if you occasionally put your Aquafina bottles or Red Bull cans in the recyclable bin. That would be cool of you. Otherwise, all we really need is for you to give us the big Okay. Because, really, our club is nothing that interferes with your other plans around this place and is only going to help you and the school in the long run.”
I stopped.
Haley stared at me for a moment in shock. I’m not sure her expression had flipped over to totally upset or angry, although it wasn’t exactly “Way to go, June” either. I hadn’t done the presentation as we had planned. She had handouts and a Power Point document with bullet points. She was supposed to be the one talking—not me. I had skipped all that. After another beat, I turned my attention to the four seniors in front of us to see what would happen next.
The four of them sat in chairs behind one long table. Marlee Gephalt, our school treasurer, wasn’t looking at us. She was busy picking all the raisins out of her salad. Ted Cowley, the group secretary, didn’t have a pen out to record any of this. Don’t think I saw paper either. He did have a phone in his hand though and seemed to be endlessly texting somebody. Gary Donnelly, the vice president, had his feet up on the desk in front of him and was leaning so far back in his chair he had to be seeing only his size eleven Jordans and not our faces.
Then there was Regina Williams, class president and royal B. Her Blonde Highness leaned way forward and rested her chin in her hands like a little schoolgirl, pretending to be amazed and awed by us. She stayed this way for almost a full minute after I had finished speaking as though she hadn’t noticed I stopped.
Finally she asked, “Is that it?”
Haley cleared her throat and answered hesitantly. “No.” Regina’s eyes cut over to my friend like she was an irritating bug. “I mean that we have some charts and... stuff.” Her voice dwindled off as she noticed Regina was no longer looking at her and was focused on me again.
Regina raised her hand like she was addressing a teacher with her question. I nodded uncomfortably, and she asked, “So, do you guys mean that you’re going to be digging in the trash to get the cans out?”
Marlee glanced up from her salad. “Ew!” Finally not looking at a raisin, she took in my appearance. “Whose clothes are you wearing? A boy’s?” She got up and sauntered over to me in her khaki mini-skirt that tested the school rule of being “fingertip length”, peeked at the label of my oversized sweatshirt, and then sniffed really hard. “And are you wearing Axe cologne?”
I sighed. “Yes. I borrowed some clothes and showered after leaving the beach this morning. This was all he had.”
“He?” Regina asked. She winked at the
others and high-fived Marlee as her friend came back to the table. Ted and Gary started chuckling at some private joke.
I didn’t get it at first.
“Yeah, this guy who works at the Marine Rescue Center in Aberdeen,” I said. “He let me clean up at his house.” They all laughed some more. “I mean it’s better than smelling like fish, isn’t it? You wouldn’t have wanted to see me like I was this morning.”
“I don’t know,” Ted said in this nasty, teasing voice. “Maybe I would have.”
Gary laughed so hard he fell out of his seat, his giant shoes taking out his soda can on the way down. Luckily for him it was empty.
Regina smacked Ted hard on the shoulder. “No you wouldn’t have.” He stopped laughing and rubbed his shoulder. I guess they were a couple? I should have known that, but I didn’t follow the popular crowd’s comings and goings like most people did.
Haley started edging backwards toward the door. I grabbed her hand and stopped her.
“So, are we getting approval to start the club or not?” I asked firmly.
Ted shrugged. Marlee shook her head. Gary was still laughing. Regina offered a wicked smile she probably perfected in the mirror. “Sure, start your trashy club. It’s only fitting.” I thought Gary would explode if he laughed any harder. Ted snickered again, trying to hold it in with a hand over his mouth.
“It’s a recycling club,” Haley said quietly. “Not a trash club.”
“Whatever,” Regina said.
Gary sputtered, “Does that mean they get used over and over again?” and then started guffawing harder than before. Ted joined in, and Regina cracked a smile.
Okay, I got it.
Did I care? Not really.
Did I care that Haley had her lips shut so tight that they were turning white instead of saying something in my defense? Yeah. A little bit.
I was done with them and their teasing and wanted to say something nasty and walk out. Only I still needed their stupid signatures on our form. Without saying anything, I slapped the paper down on the table. Through their sputtering fits, they each put their scribble on it.
“Are we done then?” I asked, taking back the paper.
“Sure,” Ted said. “Thanks for fitting us in and coming to see us.”
More laughter.
Haley and I headed for the door.
Regina’s voice followed us out. “Now go do your walk of shame where we don’t have to see you.” She shut the door behind us. The laughter in that room was so loud I could hear it out in the corridor and over the bell ringing to end lunch.
Haley took off toward the cafeteria without saying anything to me. I chased after her.
“Haley, slow down,” I shouted. “What’s the matter?”
“Are you serious?” she asked. “You just embarrassed me so much.”
“They’re just being jerks,” I said.
“Don’t you get it?” Haley said. “They think you’re a slut and slept with that guy this morning.”
“Oh, they’re just joking around. Mean joking, but nothing serious.” I reached out an arm and stopped her. “You don’t think I skipped school to sleep with some guy do you?”
She started to say something, caught herself and stopped. “No,” she mumbled. “Of course not.”
She did. She really did think I’d been with some guy all morning and not at the beach rescuing sea animals. How could she think that? I tried hard not to accept that she’d take the insinuations of some preppy social club over what she knew about me. Haley and I had been next-door neighbors for ten years. She’d seen my family rush after every conceivable natural disaster during that time.
“Then what’s the problem, really?” I asked. “We got their signatures. Our club is approved. We got what we wanted.”
“Sort of,” she said. “We’ll see.”
“Are you mad that I did all the talking?”
“Kind of.”
“And that I was late?”
“Yes.”
“I couldn’t help that,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
Haley sighed really hard. She glanced around, trying not to look right at me. The cafeteria was nearly empty of students now and we were late for class. “I’ve got to go. Meet me after school?”
At that moment I was ready to call Carter and tell him not to pick me up after school. I probably needed to be with Haley to reassure her that our friendship was okay. I could go home with her and spend the afternoon eating pizza rolls and bashing the Student Council. I could tell her all about Carter, and she’d be so excited about the possibility of one of us finally hooking up with someone.
Except there was a mermaid dying in a tank in Aberdeen.
And my cell phone with Carter’s number on it had been confiscated.
So, I shifted my eyes to the ground and said, “I’m being picked up by Carter, the guy who helped us this morning, to head back to the beach and assist my dad some more.”
Haley nodded. “Fine.” Then she snatched the club permission form out of my hands. “I’ll turn this in.” She was out of sight before I noticed the sting of the paper cut on my right forefinger.
I sucked on my finger for a second, adjusted my backpack and turned around to head for class. That’s when I noticed Vice Principal Devil-Hair staring at me with her hands on her hips and tapping her toe impatiently.
Chapter Seven
So after missing another class to sit in the Vice Principal’s office again, I only had one period left until the end of the day. It was English and we were reading Moby Dick. That’s a put-you-straight-to-sleep book if there ever was one, and I knocked right out after two paragraphs. I dreamed about Ahab pouring buckets of boiling whale blubber over the side of his ship and throwing harpoons at all the green mermaid tails flipping up out of the water. Maybe he thought they were tiny whales. I jumped off the ship to swim after the mermaids, because I have that thing about swimming while I sleep. Anyway, the dream was so darn exciting that I slipped right out of my skinny desk and fell on the floor.
“Miss Sawfeather?” Mr. Robles checked, “are you all right?”
“Yes, sir,” I said, scrambling back up into my seat to the sound of my classmates stifling their laughter. I thought for a second I’d sprained my ankle on the tray under my seat, but after rotating it a couple times I decided it would be fine.
Mr. Robles raised his eyebrows. “Please believe me, Miss Sawfeather, you are hardly the first student who has drifted off while reading this extraordinary book. It takes a special person to fully appreciate the literary genius of Melville and stay rapt with attention. And it certainly doesn’t help that Mr. Garrison’s reading style, while riveting to the few students who enjoy monotone delivery devoid of any comprehension as to what punctuation is for, does make one feel as though the walls are closing in on us.” I saw Bobby Garrison in the back corner sink back into his chair. Apparently it had been his turn to read aloud. Poor guy.
Mr. Robles snapped his hardcover copy of the book shut dramatically. Very fitting for an English teacher who spends his summers acting with the Washington Shakespeare Festival and liked to remind us of that stunning fact every day. “So, let’s take a break, shall we? There’s only so much one can handle when it comes to reading about how to extract the blubber from a whale. Yes?” We all closed our used paperback copies. “Read the rest of the chapter tonight at home, and we’ll do what would have been your homework right now.”
For the rest of the class we were allowed to create our own crossword puzzles with our vocabulary word list from the chapter. Focusing on this was much easier, and I was glad to have one less assignment to have to do that night because I wasn’t sure when I’d get home or be able to even think about doing homework.
Finally the bell rang and I dashed to the front parking lot. Carter was there in his beat up old car waiting for me. He had the motor running, and I could see him inside leaning across the passenger seat to unlock the door and roll down the window. No power windows on that old thi
ng. I headed right for him.
But then I saw Haley, too, headed for her car.
“Haley!” I shouted out to her. “Haley, come here! Come meet Carter! He can explain about this morning! Then you’ll...”
If she heard me, she didn’t show it. She just kept walking across the parking lot and got in her car. I thought about running after her, but I didn’t do it. I knew she had to have heard me because several other people walking near her had turned their heads. She was avoiding me on purpose.
I tried not to worry about it. We’d talk later. I’d make a point of it, even if it meant climbing in her bedroom window and forcing her to acknowledge me. I really didn’t want her to feel hurt or ignored or whatever she was feeling. I imagine it was probably confusing that I let her down because of an oil spill warning. After griping about not wanting to be part of my parents’ craziness anymore, I almost missed our meeting. I could see why that made no sense to her. She just needed to understand that what was going on out at Aberdeen was different than the usual events my dad dragged me to. Once I filled her in on the discovery of the mermaids, she’d get why I was late to school and bungled our presentation.
Sure she would.
I hoped so.
I watched her back her car out of the spot and drive away. Carter tapped his horn.
“You coming?” he asked through the passenger window.
“Yeah,” I said distantly, still watching Haley’s car as it turned out of the parking lot into the street. I opened the door. As I shifted to toss my backpack in the back seat, I noticed through the back window how many people had gathered on the school’s front steps to watch me. Among the looky-loos were Marlee and Regina. My lip-reading skills aren’t great, but I’m pretty sure I saw Regina say, “I told you,” and several of her friends laughed. One of them gave me a thumbs-up and a wink. Then they all laughed again.
