direction she took off in, and then I sit down. The questions sit in front of me, and without thinking, I start working on them.
I’m almost finished when footsteps pull me from my work. Mrs. Marshall leans on the table I’m at and smiles.
“She left a while ago,” she says. “What did you say to make her so upset?”
I sigh. “I don’t really know, Mrs. Marshall. I just told her to face her problems. I told her to get over it.” Then, I just start telling Mrs. Marshall about what happened the day before, and how Vandelya skipped Mr. Preston’s class afterwards. “I don’t understand,” I say when I finish with the memories.
“Have you tried to figure it out, Carter?” she asks.
“She just walked away,” I start with.
Mrs. Marshall lifts a finger to stop me from continuing. “First, change your attitude.”
I mumble an apology and she nods once.
“Second, listen. Look around you, Carter, because things aren’t always as they appear. I may be deep down in the library, but I know more about these students than Principal Wiggins. It’s because I look and listen for the truth, Carter.”
“Are you telling me that my friends lied to me about her?”
“I’m telling you to find out the truth, Carter. I don’t know what they said about her. But I do know that you’re pre-judging that girl.”
I sigh inwardly.
“I would start by telling her the truth,” Mrs. Marshall says before she walks away.
I stare at her until I have to blink. Then I shake my head and pack up my things. It’s Friday and the party is tomorrow. I have to go shopping and find a job. I’ll figure out what to do about this project on Sunday or Monday or whenever I get around to it. For now, I need to focus on more important things.
When the bell rings, I walk off campus and head to my apartment. I stop in the front office and get a few phone numbers for people that need to hire someone for manual labor. The guy at the front desk, Dane, lets me use his cell phone. I get a couple interviews and one of the men wants to speak to me right away. I hang up and smile when Dane holds out a collared shirt for me. It’s black and plain but it’s better than the white shirt I’ve been wearing for two days now. I’m just lucky that it’s plain, because the kids at school would have noticed if I had been wearing one of my graphic tees. For now, they probably just think I like white tees under my hoodies.
“Keep it,” Dane says. “And kid, there’s a cheaper store a few blocks down. The mall is filled with a bunch of overpriced stuff. And you don’t need to waste your time there. The place I’m telling you about is a secondhand store, and you’ll still be wearing the same brands as your friends.” He smiles at me when I thank him and nods before picking up his ringing phone.
I step outside and cross my arms over my chest to keep out the cold. I’ve got just enough time to change before I head over to the job. And hopefully, I’ll have time to go to the store tonight. I don’t want to risk it being closed on a Saturday or something. Plus, I’ve got to get some food in my fridge. I can’t bank on school food tomorrow.
6
The next day, I’m riding my new bike back over to Jeb’s house. He’s a nice guy, an older man with one heck of a house. His yard is pretty messed up because he doesn’t really take care of it – like, at all. He kind of joked about it, really. He just doesn’t have time right now, though. He takes care of a family. They share his house with him, and he is focused on making everything normal and stuff.
But he gave me the job, and I don’t even know why. I showed up at his house, tired after walking so far, and he just handed me a rake. I raked up the old piles of dead leaves while he questioned me about Atlanta and stuff. I answered him pretty honestly. I figured he didn’t care about my abused mother. He even started cussing when I told him about Jack and how my mom chose him over
I’m almost finished when footsteps pull me from my work. Mrs. Marshall leans on the table I’m at and smiles.
“She left a while ago,” she says. “What did you say to make her so upset?”
I sigh. “I don’t really know, Mrs. Marshall. I just told her to face her problems. I told her to get over it.” Then, I just start telling Mrs. Marshall about what happened the day before, and how Vandelya skipped Mr. Preston’s class afterwards. “I don’t understand,” I say when I finish with the memories.
“Have you tried to figure it out, Carter?” she asks.
“She just walked away,” I start with.
Mrs. Marshall lifts a finger to stop me from continuing. “First, change your attitude.”
I mumble an apology and she nods once.
“Second, listen. Look around you, Carter, because things aren’t always as they appear. I may be deep down in the library, but I know more about these students than Principal Wiggins. It’s because I look and listen for the truth, Carter.”
“Are you telling me that my friends lied to me about her?”
“I’m telling you to find out the truth, Carter. I don’t know what they said about her. But I do know that you’re pre-judging that girl.”
I sigh inwardly.
“I would start by telling her the truth,” Mrs. Marshall says before she walks away.
I stare at her until I have to blink. Then I shake my head and pack up my things. It’s Friday and the party is tomorrow. I have to go shopping and find a job. I’ll figure out what to do about this project on Sunday or Monday or whenever I get around to it. For now, I need to focus on more important things.
When the bell rings, I walk off campus and head to my apartment. I stop in the front office and get a few phone numbers for people that need to hire someone for manual labor. The guy at the front desk, Dane, lets me use his cell phone. I get a couple interviews and one of the men wants to speak to me right away. I hang up and smile when Dane holds out a collared shirt for me. It’s black and plain but it’s better than the white shirt I’ve been wearing for two days now. I’m just lucky that it’s plain, because the kids at school would have noticed if I had been wearing one of my graphic tees. For now, they probably just think I like white tees under my hoodies.
“Keep it,” Dane says. “And kid, there’s a cheaper store a few blocks down. The mall is filled with a bunch of overpriced stuff. And you don’t need to waste your time there. The place I’m telling you about is a secondhand store, and you’ll still be wearing the same brands as your friends.” He smiles at me when I thank him and nods before picking up his ringing phone.
I step outside and cross my arms over my chest to keep out the cold. I’ve got just enough time to change before I head over to the job. And hopefully, I’ll have time to go to the store tonight. I don’t want to risk it being closed on a Saturday or something. Plus, I’ve got to get some food in my fridge. I can’t bank on school food tomorrow.
6
The next day, I’m riding my new bike back over to Jeb’s house. He’s a nice guy, an older man with one heck of a house. His yard is pretty messed up because he doesn’t really take care of it – like, at all. He kind of joked about it, really. He just doesn’t have time right now, though. He takes care of a family. They share his house with him, and he is focused on making everything normal and stuff.
But he gave me the job, and I don’t even know why. I showed up at his house, tired after walking so far, and he just handed me a rake. I raked up the old piles of dead leaves while he questioned me about Atlanta and stuff. I answered him pretty honestly. I figured he didn’t care about my abused mother. He even started cussing when I told him about Jack and how my mom chose him over
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