joking.’”
“Mom, please.” She kept bringing up Derrick. Mom and I had spent hours practicing, going through every imaginable Derrick scenario, till I was mentally exhausted. I didn’t want to talk about him anymore. I wanted to get to school and get on with the plan!
“Rebecca.” Mom wouldn’t back down. “What you’re doing takes guts. I’m proud of you. For coming home. For going back to school. Most people wouldn’t set foot in the school that failed to protect them. But you are.”
Not that I had much of a choice. The study-abroad program had ended after two grading periods, and Mom said I couldn’t run away forever.
I sighed and headed into the garage toward our car. “Can I have some Zen time please?”
My stomach knotted up again. I finally had the emotional strength to stand up to Derrick. That was a given, after everything I had been through in Israel.
But the social issue nagged at me. What if nobody cared about my makeover? What if I still didn’t get invited to parties? I’d have to look elsewhere for new friends, which wouldn’t be the total end of my world, but I had a year and a half before college. That was an awfully long time to walk the halls alone and sit by myself at lunch.
In the car, Mom ignored my request for peace and quiet. “How about I sign you out for lunch? The new Mexican place at Park Center is supposed to be fabulous.”
“It’s not enough time. Lunch is only thirty minutes.”
“Okay. Where do you want to go?”
She wasn’t distracting me. “I dreamed about them last night.”
“Derrick and his friends?” Mom asked, her tone tense.
“No, Mia and Jake. Ben, too. Avi wasn’t in it.” Saying the names of my friends from Israel loosened the bands of stress. In the dream, we sat on a bench, underneath a palm tree. I was leaning back-to-back against Jake. In front of me, Mia had her legs curled up to her chin and hugged her knees as she watched Ben, who was standing before us.
Mia had tossed her head back, flipping her hair—something she normally didn’t do. Then Jake and I weren’t back-to-back anymore. He faced me, his mouth moving, but I couldn’t hear him. What is he saying? Please talk louder , I had thought. Was he using his usual breezy, casual tone? Or was he being serious?
He’d disappeared suddenly. I wanted to reach out and grab him. Then Mia and Ben disappeared too.
“Oh, Honey.” Mom kept her eyes on the road, but she seemed to pause. “You’ll have those types of relationships with other kids. New kids you’ll meet.”
I nodded, grateful for my study-abroad friends, in spite of the unfairness of us being scattered. Jake lived in California, Mia in Minnesota, Ben in Florida, and Avi in Israel.
Outside, it was a typical winter day, overcast and cold. Dampness lingered in the air. A nor’easter was on its way, expected to hit the following day.
Mom parked the car and delicately stepped onto the concrete. She was dressed to the hilt in a navy wool pants suit and high-heeled pumps. I walked next to her toward the office, my backpack in tow.
The school grounds hadn’t changed much. Small patches of brown grass that surrounded a two-level brick building. The only difference was an expanded student parking lot.
The office was fairly busy, as the school day was about to begin. An administrative assistant briskly told us Principal Nelson would be with us shortly. Nobody else in the office acknowledged us.
The administrative staff went about their tasks, answering the phones and doing computer work. They had been just as cold during the harassment investigation. Not that anybody had said anything rude, but an uncomfortable hush had settled over the office after the complaint was filed, when I had waited for Principal Nelson.
Mom watched the staff, too—with a hard glare.
Finally, after what seemed to be forever, one of the assistants glanced away from her computer. “Mrs. Levine, Rebecca, Principal Nelson will see you
“Mom, please.” She kept bringing up Derrick. Mom and I had spent hours practicing, going through every imaginable Derrick scenario, till I was mentally exhausted. I didn’t want to talk about him anymore. I wanted to get to school and get on with the plan!
“Rebecca.” Mom wouldn’t back down. “What you’re doing takes guts. I’m proud of you. For coming home. For going back to school. Most people wouldn’t set foot in the school that failed to protect them. But you are.”
Not that I had much of a choice. The study-abroad program had ended after two grading periods, and Mom said I couldn’t run away forever.
I sighed and headed into the garage toward our car. “Can I have some Zen time please?”
My stomach knotted up again. I finally had the emotional strength to stand up to Derrick. That was a given, after everything I had been through in Israel.
But the social issue nagged at me. What if nobody cared about my makeover? What if I still didn’t get invited to parties? I’d have to look elsewhere for new friends, which wouldn’t be the total end of my world, but I had a year and a half before college. That was an awfully long time to walk the halls alone and sit by myself at lunch.
In the car, Mom ignored my request for peace and quiet. “How about I sign you out for lunch? The new Mexican place at Park Center is supposed to be fabulous.”
“It’s not enough time. Lunch is only thirty minutes.”
“Okay. Where do you want to go?”
She wasn’t distracting me. “I dreamed about them last night.”
“Derrick and his friends?” Mom asked, her tone tense.
“No, Mia and Jake. Ben, too. Avi wasn’t in it.” Saying the names of my friends from Israel loosened the bands of stress. In the dream, we sat on a bench, underneath a palm tree. I was leaning back-to-back against Jake. In front of me, Mia had her legs curled up to her chin and hugged her knees as she watched Ben, who was standing before us.
Mia had tossed her head back, flipping her hair—something she normally didn’t do. Then Jake and I weren’t back-to-back anymore. He faced me, his mouth moving, but I couldn’t hear him. What is he saying? Please talk louder , I had thought. Was he using his usual breezy, casual tone? Or was he being serious?
He’d disappeared suddenly. I wanted to reach out and grab him. Then Mia and Ben disappeared too.
“Oh, Honey.” Mom kept her eyes on the road, but she seemed to pause. “You’ll have those types of relationships with other kids. New kids you’ll meet.”
I nodded, grateful for my study-abroad friends, in spite of the unfairness of us being scattered. Jake lived in California, Mia in Minnesota, Ben in Florida, and Avi in Israel.
Outside, it was a typical winter day, overcast and cold. Dampness lingered in the air. A nor’easter was on its way, expected to hit the following day.
Mom parked the car and delicately stepped onto the concrete. She was dressed to the hilt in a navy wool pants suit and high-heeled pumps. I walked next to her toward the office, my backpack in tow.
The school grounds hadn’t changed much. Small patches of brown grass that surrounded a two-level brick building. The only difference was an expanded student parking lot.
The office was fairly busy, as the school day was about to begin. An administrative assistant briskly told us Principal Nelson would be with us shortly. Nobody else in the office acknowledged us.
The administrative staff went about their tasks, answering the phones and doing computer work. They had been just as cold during the harassment investigation. Not that anybody had said anything rude, but an uncomfortable hush had settled over the office after the complaint was filed, when I had waited for Principal Nelson.
Mom watched the staff, too—with a hard glare.
Finally, after what seemed to be forever, one of the assistants glanced away from her computer. “Mrs. Levine, Rebecca, Principal Nelson will see you
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