by Kathi Daley
“I didn’t decide. My father did. He left my mom, and then he didn’t want me.”
“Oh, I’m sure that isn’t true.” I couldn’t imagine a parent not wanting his child.
“No, it is,” Pepper assured me in a very matter-of-fact tone. “When my mom told me that my dad had taken off with one of his creations, I thought there would be a messy custody battle over me, but my father sat me down and told me that he had a new wife and a new life and he thought I’d be better off staying with my mother. I thought he’d visit, but he never did.”
I put my hand to my heart to try to keep it from breaking.
“After Mom died I had no choice but to go stay with my father,” Pepper continued. “I thought he would be happy to see me, but I could tell I was cramping his style. He knows Mr. Zimmerman somehow, and when he found out about the Academy, he asked if I could attend as a boarder. Mr. Zimmerman said he was thrilled to have me, so here I am.”
“Well, I am thrilled to have you as well.” I offered her my warmest smile. “I think the five of us are going to have a wonderful time this year.”
“Five of us?” Pepper asked.
“You and me, Brooklyn, Eve, and Charlotte.”
“Charlotte? I haven’t met her.”
“Charlotte is my cat. She decided to hide, but I’m sure she’ll make an appearance once she gets used to all the commotion.”
Pepper smiled. “I always wanted a pet. My father isn’t a fan of pet dander, so I was never allowed to have one. Do you think Charlotte would want to sleep with me?”
“Honestly,” I replied, “probably not. She’s an old cat and set in her ways.”
Pepper’s smile faded just a bit.
“But perhaps Zoe can find a younger cat for you. She runs a shelter, you know.”
Pepper grinned. “Really? A cat of my own?”
“I can’t promise that you’ll be able to take it with you when you leave here, but as far as I’m concerned, the cat can be yours while you’re here.”
Was I crazy? Charlotte was going to have kittens. Not literally. She was too old for kittens, but I could guarantee she’d throw a diva kitty tantrum.
“Of course you must promise to take care of it,” I added. “Having a pet of your own is a big responsibility.”
Pepper ran across the room and wrapped her thin arms around my waist. She hugged me harder than I’d ever been hugged, and I felt my heart warm in a way it never had in all the years I’d resided on this planet. I hugged Pepper back and thanked the universe for the momentary insanity that had brought Pepper and the others into my life.
“I’ll take care of all her needs. I promise,” Pepper assured me.
I smiled. “It’s late today, but we can call Zoe tomorrow to see what she has available.”
Later that evening I decided to stop in to say good night to Eve. I’d actually managed to discover a fair amount of information about the other two girls, but Eve had been characteristically quiet for most of the evening. I felt that, more than any of the others, I understood Eve. I too was the type to use my words frugally when in a new social situation, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have anything to say or that I didn’t want to feel included.
I knocked on Eve’s door. The light was still on, so I knew she was still awake.
“Come in,” she called.
I slowly opened the door. Eve was curled up in the big chair near the small wood stove with a book.
“I just wanted to say good night and to make sure you didn’t need anything before I retire for the evening.”
“Thank you. I’m fine.”
I smiled. I really didn’t know what else to say, so I began to close the door.
“I love your book collection,” she added. “I hope it’s okay that I borrowed one.”
“Of course.” I opened the door wider and stepped inside the room. “Please feel free to read anything you like. I was concerned at first that I should box them up because I was going to have boarders.”
“Oh, no. Don’t do that. Having a room filled with books is having a room filled with friends.”
“I’ve always felt the same way. Not everyone understands the fact that many of the characters I’ve grown to love truly feel like people I know. What are you reading this evening?”
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”
“I haven’t read that. Are you enjoying it?”
“I am. I actually just started it, but so far so good. What are you reading?”
Eve and I spent the next thirty minutes talking about my favorite subject: books. Although decades separated us in years, I found we’d read and enjoyed many of the same stories.
“I should be heading to bed,” I said with a yawn. “I did want to ask if there was anything you needed, or anything I should know about you other than the fact that you’re vegetarian.”
Eve looked down at her book, but I could tell that she hadn’t gone back to reading. “Not really.”
“What made you decide to attend Zimmerman Academy?”
“I didn’t decide. Attending the Academy was a deal that my court-appointed shrink and my public defender made with the district attorney to get me out of juvie.”
I couldn’t have been more shocked if she’d told me she had just arrived from an alien planet. I was beginning to regret my decision not to read the background information Zak had given me on each of the girls more thoroughly until after I met them. I didn’t want to have what I read affect my first impressions of them.
“You were in juvie?”
“Yeah. I thought you knew.”
“For what?”
“I put my stepdad in the hospital.”
“Was it self-defense?” I had to ask.
“Not according to the judge. He said that adding sedatives to the scumbag’s whiskey in the hope of rendering him unconscious didn’t fall into the category of defending myself. It was the judge’s opinion that I should have gone to an adult I trusted rather than taking action on my own. Of course to this point in my life I’ve never met an adult I trusted enough to share such a big secret.”
I frowned. “Did your stepfather abuse you?”
“Every time he drank, and I have the scars to prove it.” Eve stopped and looked at me. Her voice softened just a bit. “I didn’t mean to actually hurt him; I just wanted to make him pass out. My friend gave me the idea to use the sedatives, so I tracked some down and began adding them to his whiskey. It really seemed to help. Every time he drank he’d fall asleep before he could get nasty. What I didn’t know was that the drug I used builds up in your system over time, and he eventually overdosed. He’s okay now and back at home, and I know I should feel bad about what I did, but all I actually feel is relieved that my plan succeeded in getting me out of the house.”
I found that I was at a loss for words.
“Don’t worry. I’m not dangerous,” Eve promised me. “I just did a stupid thing.”
“I’m not worried,” I assured the girl. “I’m glad it worked out for you to come to Ashton Falls. You’ll be safe here.”
Eve looked down at her book again, but I felt as if we’d made a connection. At least I hoped we had. She, more than the others, seemed to need the kind of environment Zak and I hoped to provide at the Academy.
As I walked toward my room, I had to marvel at the set of circumstances that had landed me as housemother to a sexually active sixteen-year-old, an all-but-orphaned fifteen-year-old, and a fourteen-year-old client of the juvenile justice system.
I entered my room and began my nightly ritual. Charlotte curled up on my pillow as I began removing my makeup and moisturizing my skin. My mother, God rest her soul, had drilled into my head the importance of a proper cleansing and moisturizing ritual when I was still a young woman. She’d taught me a structured routine that I follow to this day.
“I will admit that the day has held its share of surprises,” I began as Charlotte watched me go through the predictable steps of the process.
“Still, I have
high hopes that the girls and I will do just fine. Pepper talks a mile a minute, so I know none of us will ever have to suffer the agony of awkward silence when she’s around,” I said aloud, confident that Charlotte actually was listening to my chatter.
“And, although Eve has a tragic past, I’m choosing to leave it in the past. You know, she really is quite interesting, and we like many of the same authors. She’s read so many of the classics. I know we’ll never lack for books to discuss.”
I slipped a flannel nightgown over my head and then began sorting the clothes I had removed. I hung those that could be worn again on hangers and separated those that needed laundering into differing baskets for the laundry service.
“Brooklyn may prove to be a challenge in the long run,” I informed Charlotte as I unwound my bun and began brushing my waist-length hair. “We’ll have to see how things go. It is a bit odd that she’s more experienced with boys and dating than I am. I hope I’ll instinctively know how to handle any situations that may arise on that front.”
After I brushed my hair one hundred times I fashioned it into a long braid that hung down my back.
“I think all the girls are both nervous and excited to begin classes next week. The transitional school Zak has organized for this year will accommodate ten students, five girls and five boys between the ages of twelve and sixteen, with the exception of Alex, who, as you know, is just ten. Three of them will be attending the middle school in the mornings and the other seven will attend the high school. Just the thought of high school fills me with terror, but I think our girls will do just fine.”
Charlotte yawned. She appeared to be communicating that she had bored with my chatter. I ignored her.
“I find myself optimistic about the future. We’re being offered not only the opportunity to spend more time with people we already love but the chance to bring wonderful new acquaintances into our lives as well.”
I straightened the bathroom and headed back toward the sleeping area.
“Do you think I should dress up or down for my first day at the Academy?”
“Meow.”
“Yes. That’s what I thought as well.”
After I was satisfied that I had done everything I needed to do to prepare myself for bed, I set to preparing the room. I worked my way around the area, straightening already perfectly straight books and knickknacks before opening my window just a quarter of an inch.
“I’m excited for the meet and greet Zak and Zoe are hosting tomorrow. I think it was such a good idea to provide an informal setting where everyone can get to know one another before classes begin. I would think that having an informal social event before the beginning of the school year will ease first-day jitters for students and staff alike. Of course most of the staff already know one another, but it will be nice to give Mr. Danner, the new teacher of mathematics, a chance to get to know everyone else. He’s a widower, you know.”
Charlotte tilted her head as she watched me.
“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not true. I don’t have a crush on Mr. Danner. Yes, he’s very good-looking, and we seem to share a lot of interests in common, but he’s five years younger than I am. Besides, his wife hasn’t been gone all that long. I’m sure the last thing he’s interested in doing is dating a sixty-two-year-old virgin.”
Charlotte rolled over onto her back. I sat down on the side of the bed and gave her stomach a scratch as I pictured the new math teacher. He did have a nice smile, and the creases in the corners of his eyes turned upward, indicating that he smiled a lot. And really, if you think about it, a five-year age difference wasn’t all that insurmountable once you passed the half-century mark.
“I’m just being a silly old woman.” I stood up. “A man with Mr. Danner’s looks and experience would never be interested in a dried-up old prune like me.”
I set my ridiculous fantasies aside and continued with my nightly rituals. After stacking the extra pillows on my white tufted chaise, I poured myself a cup of tea from the warming pot I’d already brought up and added a splash of brandy. I then slid between my 1500-thread count sheets and settled in.
“Are you ready?”
Charlotte indicated that she was.
After placing my reading glasses on the tip of my nose, I adjusted the light and opened the hardcover book I’d chosen from the bookcase. Charlotte crawled into my lap and began to purr as I began to read aloud. Reading aloud to Charlotte was an activity we both enjoyed immensely, and it was a rare occasion when we missed this ritual at the end of the day. Tonight I’d chosen to once again begin the story of Emma by Jane Austin. Emma had spunk. I liked that.
Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.
I paused and contemplated the sentence. Could a life with little to vex or distress truly be a life worth living? I smiled as I continued with the story. I had a feeling that my controlled and efficient life was about to get a whole lot more complicated, and for the first time I realized that I couldn’t wait to see how it all turned out.
The First Day of School
Having been involved in academia for most of my life, first as a student and then as a teacher, I’ve experienced the energy of the first day of school on many occasions. I will say that despite this familiarity with the rituals surrounding such an event, my first official day as a teacher at Zimmerman Academy was both as grand and as terrifying as any I had ever experienced. I have found that it is these seemingly routine events that, when captured in time, become the memories you cherish for a lifetime.
“What do you think?” I asked Charlotte.
“Meow.”
I’d dressed conservatively in a shin-length gray skirt with a matching jacket and an ivory-colored blouse. By the look on Charlotte’s face, she was more concerned about her breakfast than my attire. I studied my image in the full-length mirror. I doubted I’d win any beauty contests, but I’d done all right. I was certain the students wouldn’t care if I showed up in a gunnysack, but I did want to look my best for my first day working with Mr. Danner.
I fluffed the pillows on the bed one last time as I looked around the room. Everything was in order, which meant that the only thing left was to head downstairs and face the girls. We’d settled into a comfortable companionship over the past few days, but I knew it was important not to let on how very nervous I actually was. Charlotte followed me down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she headed straight to her empty bowl.
“Salmon or tuna?” I held up two cans of the gourmet cat food I bought for Charlotte.
“Meow.”
“Salmon it is.” I forked the chunky meal from the can and into her dish. “I’m going to be away for a good part of the day today,” I explained to my feline friend. “I know it makes you angry when you are left alone, but do try to behave yourself.”
Charlotte ignored me, but I expected nothing more. I’d spoiled Charlotte horribly since she was a kitten, and the fact that she ruled the house was something we both understood as true.
I had turned my back to make a pot of coffee when I heard a hiss, followed by a growl. Annabelle must have decided to join us.
“Do you think Charlotte will ever like Annabelle?” a concerned-looking Pepper asked as she walked into the room with the small cat Zoe had helped us pick out.
“I’m not certain she will ever actually like her, but I’m sure she will grow to tolerate her,” I answered honestly. “Your hair looks nice today.”
“Thanks.” Pepper fed Annabelle and then poured herself a glass of milk. “I wanted to do something fun for my first day. Should I make some eggs for us all?”
“Eve doesn’t eat eggs,” I reminded Pepper, “and Brooklyn doesn’t eat breakfast, but I wouldn’t mind some eggs if you are making some for yourself.”
That earned me a huge grin. I found th
at Pepper was the easiest of the girls to understand and communicate with, and she seemed to really enjoy doing things for others.
“Did you enjoy your evening with Chad?” I asked. Chad and Pepper had really hit it off when they met at the meet and greet, and he had asked Pepper to attend a movie the previous evening. Because Chad’s parents were going along I decided the outing would be harmless and encouraged her to go. I did so want the girls to have plenty of friends to ease the jitters I’d always associated with the first day at a new school.
“We had a really good time. Chad is superfunny, and he likes action flicks almost as much as I do. Mr. Carson invited me to go bowling with them on Thursday night. Would that be okay?”
“You like to bowl?” I asked as Pepper poured a bowl of beaten eggs into a hot pan.
“Sure. It’s a lot of fun. I’ve only been a few times and I’m afraid I’m pretty bad at it, but Chad said he didn’t care. He’s going to give me some pointers. His family plays in the family league. Can you imagine being close enough to your family to bowl with them once a week?”
I couldn’t, but it sounded nice.
“I’ll speak to Chad’s father, but as long as it is all right with him it is fine with me,” I answered.
“You aren’t going out with Chad again?” Brooklyn asked when she wandered into the kitchen just as our discussion was wrapping up.
“I am. Why?”
“He’s just so…” Brooklyn paused as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
“Perky,” Pepper supplied.
“Exactly.”
“What’s wrong with perky?” Pepper asked.
“It’s exhausting. Chad talks more than you do. I really don’t know how the two of you work out who’ll talk when.”
Pepper shrugged. “We manage.”
“And bowling? Really? Since when is bowling an accepted pastime?”
“Don’t be tiresome,” I scolded Brooklyn. “Bowling may not be your cup of tea, but Pepper seems to enjoy it, so don’t ruin it for her.”
Brooklyn sighed. “You’re right.” She turned to Pepper. “I’m sorry. I tend to be bitchy before I’ve had at least two cups of coffee.”