“Were the problems just too hard, or do you not get them at all?” he probed.
I hesitated to answer, but he sat silently, waiting for a response.
“I didn’t have a clue,” I finally answered as students I didn’t recognize began to stagger into the room.
“I see,” he said.
I kept my eyes glued to him, not daring to see if anyone was following our conversation. He was going to send me to the office and demand I get demoted. I imagined the embarrassment of facing Max and my new friends when I returned to class to gather my things.
“Well, it’s actually no surprise,” he said, startling me as he hopped off the desk.
“It’s not?” I asked confused.
“Not at all. The office passed out copies of the information your mother provided this morning and I see that in the past two years you’ve attended six schools. How is that possible?”
“Um, we just move around a lot,” I answered, puzzled where he was going with this.
“How many schools did you attend before that?” he asked, clearly interested.
“I’ve lost count. I guess maybe twenty or so since fifth grade,” I said, trying to recall all the schools I’d attended.
“Is your father in the military?” he asked, sounding confused.
“No sir. My mom just likes to move,” I said, trying to make the situation appear normal.
“That’s insanity. How does she expect you to keep up if she keeps moving you around?”
“I always manage,” I said, trying to cover for Lucinda.
He looked at me skeptically, obviously not believing me.
“I’m sure you do,” he said quietly, studying me intently. I flushed slightly at his focused stare. Fooling the teachers here was already becoming a trial. “Well, it’s clear we have our work cut out for us. Do you know how long you’ll be here?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “We never know,” I said, delving out more information than I normally would have.
“Okay, well, first we need to get a gauge of your math skills. I see you took basic math last year. Have you ever taken any kind of algebra class?” he asked as the noise level in the classroom rose.
“No sir.”
“I see. Hmmmm—well, I’m going to send home this assessment so we can get a better idea of exactly where you are,” he said, rummaging through his desk drawers. “Here we go. This one should give us a rough idea.”
“I’ll do it as soon as I get home,” I said, relieved he wasn’t ready to set me back yet.
“Well, relax and take a little breather, then you can work on it.”
“Okay,” I said, clutching my books to my chest as I fled from the room before he could change his mind about me.
“Hey, what took so long?” Max asked, startling me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked a little defensively as I tried to slide the assessment in between the pages of my text without him noticing.
“I told Mr. Graves maybe I should check on you, in case you got lost,” he said, shooting me a mischievous smile.
“Seriously, and he fell for that line?” I asked, unable to resist laughing. “I’m pretty sure you told me earlier that the school’s layout was a piece of cake.”
“He doesn’t know that,” he said, trying to appear innocent.
“Well, I know I’m new, but even I realize our class is only two doors down,” I said, still laughing.
“So, what did Hanson want?” He asked, changing the subject.
“He wants me to fill out an assessment,” I said sighing, not knowing how much he had heard outside the door. All the honesty at this new school was making me slightly nervous. I had gone three and a half months at my last school without anyone getting a flicker of what my life was like. Now, in less than twenty-four hours, the cutest guy I had ever talked to, knew a whole lot more about me than I liked.
“Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be nosey. Anyway, it’s no big deal. Anyone starting school midway through the year might need some help,” Max said, misreading my sigh.
“What makes you think I need help?” I asked cautiously, trying to see exactly what he had overheard.
He looked sincere, returning my gaze earnestly. “Well, if you need any help I could come over and tutor you if you want.”
“Um, maybe,” I said, knowing without a shadow of a doubt that hell would freeze over before I ever invited him over.
“I see you found her,” Mr. Graves said as we entered the room, making it clear Max’s ploy hadn’t gone unnoticed.
Max laughed and winked at me, making my body tingle. It was one thing to resist his dimpled smile, but the wink was my weakness and he was just downright dangerous.
Flustered by his attention, I accidently bumped into a girl’s desk that sat directly in front of Rebecca. “Oops, sorry,” I mumbled, picking up her pencil I had knocked to the floor.
I glanced at Rebecca as I sat down and was startled to see that her friendly smile from earlier was absent and had been replaced with a pinched smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
With a sinking heart, I instantly understood that I had committed some kind of faux pas. Following her gaze, I saw she was watching Max’s back wishfully. Unease slowly crept through me as I realized I had been flirting with the guy that my new friend was crushing on. What the heck was I thinking anyway? My plan for this move was to make friends and fit in for the short time I’d figured we’d be here. It was insanity to even consider the idea of starting up a relationship that didn’t have a chance of going anywhere.
The last hour of class dragged as I sat next to a now silent Rebecca. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, Mr. Graves dismissed us since the school didn’t seem to use a bell system. I slung my purse over my shoulder and gathered my school books together as Rebecca did the same.
“Thanks for all your help today,” I said, testing the water.
“No problem, I had fun today,” she said, shooting me a regular smile this time.
I let out a pent-up breath, relieved she didn’t seem to be holding a grudge. “I did too,” I said, speaking the truth. Except for the latter part of the day, I couldn’t help thinking.
Glancing around, I saw Max was trying to break away from his group of buddies to get over to me. Not wanting to stir the coals, I threw a hurried good-bye at Rebecca and Alicia as I darted out the door before Max could intercept me.
Chapter 4
Kevin met me at the halfway point of the hallway with a huge smile plastered across his face.
“Hey punk, how was your day?” I asked, even though it was written all over his face.
“It was the best first day ever, Katelyn! I already made a friend,” he said, proud of himself.
My heart swelled at his words. Making friends was always difficult for him, being quiet and small for his age. His insecurities about his size always made him clam up and only after a few months would he finally begin to emerge from his shell. Usually, this transformation would occur just when Lucinda decided to uproot us again.
“Yay! Good job, pal. I told you this would be a good place,” I said, nudging him with my hip as we descended the front steps of the school.
“Yeah right, you weren’t saying that yesterday when you found out we'd be in the same school,” he joked.
“That’s true," I laughed. "But I guess it’s not that bad.”
“Ugh, there’s Mom and Jim,” Kevin said, pointing to Lucinda who was parked directly in front of our school. “She could've at least tried to hide the car a little,” he added, since we both could hear the car idling loudly by the curb.
I grimaced in agreement at his words. Our string of crappy vehicles had been an embarrassment for me for years, but Kevin had only recently become aware that the rust, bald tires and bad exhaust weren’t virtues when you were being dropped off near your peers. I was at least thankful that the rusted hole in the back floorboard wasn’t visible from the outside. It may have been cool for the Flintsto
nes to drive a floorless car, but not so much for us.
“Well, let’s hurry before Jim does something that'll really embarrass us, like pick his nose or something,” I said, shooting a grin at Kevin.
He smiled back. Jim definitely wasn’t the brightest stepdad we’ve had over the years. His obsessive habit of picking at every surface on his body was enough to make us gag. Kevin was only two years old when Lucinda left his dad, and Jim is stepdad number seven since then. She never legally married any of the guys she hooked up with, she just liked to refer to each one as her spouse. I was pretty sure it had something to do with the fact that she had never officially divorced my dad. The only time she played the single mom card was when she was in the welfare office. Then it paid to be single. She was the queen of finding loopholes in the system and played the “woe is me card” perfectly. This time her system-manipulation had paid off, giving us the roof over our heads. Eventually though, she'll get sick of Jim just like she had with all the others and we will have to deal with a huge blowout of a fight. Usually afterwards, she plays up the battered woman role, even though most of the time, she does the majority of the beating. I once saw her bury a pair of scissors in stepdad number four’s thigh when he tried to walk past her. When the cops arrived at the scene, she had convinced herself she did it because she feared for her life. The cops took one look at the trashed motel room we were staying in and of course took her word for it. They hauled number four away, and we never saw him again. The motel then, not so graciously, escorted us off the premises after that.
“True dat,” Kevin said, using a phrase he had picked up on TV.
The car door groaned loudly in protest as I pried it open with all my strength. I glanced around, hoping the noise had gone unnoticed. My mouth dropped open in shock as I saw Max climbing into the black SUV Kevin had admired that morning.
Max’s eyes appraisingly met mine just before I ducked down to climb into the vehicle before Kevin. I tried to analyze his look as Lucinda slowly pulled our noisy Chevy through the rest of the parent loop. He had definitely seen me climb in an old beat-up car, he knew we were on food stamps and lived in a trailer park and yet, by the way he had been looking at me, none of that seemed to matter to him.
I felt my crush on him beginning to grow as we pulled away. We had a long forty-five minute drive to the city, giving me time to think, but unfortunately, time for doubt to creep in also. Was he only being nice because he was under the impression I was easy or something? Why else would he be interested in someone like me when he had girls like Rebecca waiting in the wings.
By the time we finally pulled up to The Salvation Army thrift shop in Bozeman, I had convinced myself that Max and I could never be together. I felt sick, knowing I would have to immediately put a stop to his advances. If living with Lucinda had taught me anything, it was that I didn't want to be like her. I wasn't going to rush into any relationship with a guy.
“You think you'd be happier about getting new stuff,” Lucinda said sarcastically as we piled out of the car.
“Oh, I am,” I answered quickly, not wanting to stir anything up. “I was just thinking about an assignment I need to do later tonight,” I lied.
“What? They gave you homework on your first day? I could've predicted that when we walked onto their prissy-ass campus this morning. Well, I wouldn’t knock myself out doing it,” she muttered as she flicked her cigarette butt onto the sidewalk, even though there was a receptacle can right by the front door.
“I won’t, Mom,” I fibbed. Lucinda was not a fan of formal education, and had tried on more than one occasion to get away with the whole homeschooling idea, but Kevin and I always balked at the idea. Thankfully, most of the time when we got into government housing, it was a prerequisite that she enroll us in school.
Kevin and I headed right to the racks of boys' clothing once we entered the building while Lucinda and Jim went to the adult clothing section. I sighed as I watched their retreating backs. The bulk of the thrift store voucher was supposed to go to school clothes for Kevin and me since we had no winter wardrobe to speak of. I could see that I would have to stick to my guns if Kevin and I stood a chance of getting anything.
Thumbing rapidly through the racks, I pulled anything warm that looked to be Kevin’s size. I found four pairs of jeans that seemed to be in relatively good shape and sent him off to the dressing area to try them on. All but one pair fit him perfectly. The fourth pair was just slightly baggy, but I added it to our cart anyway, taking what we could get. I added a dozen long-sleeved shirts in an array of colors and patterns to the pile, not even bothering to have him try them on. Even if they were too big, they would have to work since the selection wasn’t all that great. The thought of buying used underclothing always gave me the creeps, but I found two pairs of long johns that were his size. Kevin tried to protest when he saw them, but I convinced him they were necessary.
“Okay, now you just need a heavier jacket than your hoodie,” I told him after outfitting him fairly well with warm clothes.
“Can I go to the toy section while you find one?” he pleaded.
“No, dopey, you’ll need to try it on. Come on, we’ll make it fast,” I promised him as I spied Lucinda’s overflowing buggy across the store.
We hit pay dirt with the coats immediately, finding him a snow jacket that looked practically brand-new.
“Sweet! And it’s blue,” he crowed happily as I zipped him up in it.
“Perfect,” I said, making him turn around so I could make sure the fit was right all the way around.
“Okay, now you can go look at the toys,” I told him. He scurried off before the words could leave my mouth.
Smiling, I turned back to the cart to mentally add up the contents. The jeans were pricier than I would have liked at six dollars a pop, but I knew they were a necessity. Thankfully, his shirts and pajamas were only two bucks apiece. His winter parka was the biggest bargain for ten bucks, taking his total up to sixty three dollars. With that number in mind, I headed over to the teen section for myself.
The selection of jeans in my size was decent, and I was surprised they were two bucks cheaper than Kevin’s. Long-sleeved shirts were another story, though. I could only find three that would work, and they were twice as expensive as Kevin’s. I couldn’t really make sense of the store’s pricing, but I guess it didn’t matter, it is what it is. Giving up on the shirts in frustration, I headed toward the jackets, hoping to find something nice. I found a pretty pink parka and several hooded sweatshirts that were super cheap. The hoodies gave me another idea to look at the selection of regular t-shirts. Finally I scored, finding a dozen shirts to wear under the hoodies, all bargain priced at only a dollar. I also threw a few pairs of long johns into the buggy for myself, including a set that was a pretty light pink and another in lavender. The one place I drew the line was getting a used bra, knowing I could make do for a while with the two I had. Adding up the total for my stuff with Kevin’s, I was relieved we were only at one hundred-twenty dollars. I was hopeful Lucinda would stick to her promise and let Kevin get a couple non-clothing items and maybe some books for myself. I pushed my cart to the back of the store where they stocked the books and happily lost track of time, thumbing through their selection. One good thing about thrift stores was that they always had a ton of books and at only a quarter a piece, I soon had a large stack on the floor beside me.
“Katelyn, where’s Kevin?” Lucinda asked, suddenly standing over me.
“Over by the toys, why?”
“I was gonna go find him some clothes,” she said, sounding motherly for once.
“Oh, I found some for him,” I said.
“Oh, thank goodness. I’m ready to leave this store. Did you find any books?”
“Yeah, I picked out twenty. Is that okay? It’ll only be five dollars.”
“That’s fine,” she said generously.
“Thanks Mom. My clothes and Kevin’s equal one-twenty, with my books, it’s one-twenty-five. I
know Kevin is looking for a backpack and maybe a toy,” I said, trying to give her a rough idea of the money situation.
“That’s fine. Mine can’t be much over that same amount. We’ll probably get a credit back.”
I skeptically eyed her buggy, finding her words hard to believe.
“We still need to get blankets and a few towels,” I added, wording it carefully so she wouldn’t get mad.
“Damn, that’s right. Let’s go see how much the leeches want for their linens,” she said, pushing her buggy toward the bedding section.
“Mom,” I chastised, looking around to make sure no one heard her.
“What?” she asked, starting to get aggravated.
“Nothing, it’s just, all of its free to us so…” I let my voice trail off.
“Yeah? But if we didn’t have the voucher they’d be sucking us dry. We could practically get this stuff new for the prices they’re charging.”
I sighed, but kept my mouth closed, not wanting to ruin her good mood.
Going through the rack together, we both found comforters we liked. I talked her into getting one with Star Wars on it for Kevin, even though she thought he was too old for it. I won the battle when I pointed out it was the cheapest one in the lot.
Towels were a bargain too at a dollar apiece and we picked out ten of the largest ones that looked the most durable. Now that we had overflowing carts, Lucinda and I rounded up Kevin and Jim. Kevin hit the jackpot by finding a gallon-sized Ziploc bag filled with superheroes for only two dollars, which made up for the plain-Jane black backpack Lucinda made him get since it was only a dollar.
Jim wanted some fishing gear too, but luckily Lucinda vetoed the idea and sent a sulking Jim off to put his stuff away. We could hear his grumbling as we made our way to the front of the store, but I tuned him out working on the math in my head. With Kevin’s purchases, including the toys, all of my stuff and the linens and blankets, we were at a hundred-sixty-three dollars. As long as Lucinda’s stuff didn’t surpass a hundred-thirty-seven dollars, we would be okay.