Wings From Ashes Trilogy

by Linda Nelson

  Smiling, Karla quickly picked up her things at the sound of the bell ringing for the next class.

  “Sure. I'll be ready and waiting.”

  She hurried away and almost bumped into Justin. She clumsily scooted past Heath and out the door, into the hallway.

  Karla felt eyes on her when she walked away. She purposely wore the skirt, at Carol's suggestion—a skirt having a nice, short length. Carol said it would be a sight he and his buddies would enjoy seeing.

  Karla was sure it was an outfit Gerry would not be able to resist.

  Sure enough, it was an outfit even his buddies could not resist—she knew for sure when she caught their heads turning when she passed them in the hall.

  Maybe I should dress like this more often. I wonder how they would behave if I bent over, she wondered as she chuckled to herself.

  Chapter ~ 22

  Karla made her way into history class, and she noted Carol sitting at her desk on the other side of the classroom. She took her place at her desk and turned toward Carol. She gave her the thumbs-up sign. She then turned to face the front of the room again, pushing her book toward the left corner of her desk as she slouched back in her chair.

  Excited about the evening, Karla began to worry about her parents changing their minds about letting her spend the night at Carol's for the sleepover. God, I hope my parents don't find out about the party. Her stomach was beginning to feel like it was knotting up inside her.

  If they found out, she would probably be grounded for the rest of her high-school years. She could see it now.

  Anticipation was building up inside her. She wanted to scream her plan to the world—the thought of spending the evening with Gerry, the captain of the football team, and she was not even a cheerleader.

  Oh God, I can’t wait.

  She thought about one of the girls back in her old school. Debbie used to tease Karla about not having a boyfriend. She used to bully Karla too, ever since they started school together in the first grade.

  She had never dreamed about making so many new friends in her first week at this new school. She felt on top of the world at this point. She wished Debbie and her scum friends could see her now.

  Hah. Look at me now. Take that you bitches, she wished she could yell to Debbie and her friends.

  Karla sat through the rest of the class gloating. It never even occurred to her that Gerry was not in class.

  ***

  Carol saw how happy and excited Karla was over the plans for the night. She turned and told in soft whispers the plans to her friends sitting next to her. She had no intention of telling Karla what she had in store for her that night.

  This was something they did to all the new students who moved into the town from the surrounding towns. Their high-school rivals. Why should they be nice to them? Their football, soccer, volleyball and hockey teams were the best in the state. Rivals from the area towns did not belong in this school, and they needed to go back to where they came from. And anyway, Maggie was just beside herself about Gerry having eyes for Karla. Carol could not understand what Maggie was so jealous about. There were five other guys who wanted to go out with her at any given time.

  The plans they made were of what they would be doing before the party. The girls grinned and giggled with Carol over the plans while occasionally glancing at Karla.

  Chapter ~ 23

  The dismissal bell rang for the end of the school day. The weekend was finally here. All the students gathered their things and headed out of the classroom, toward lockers or after-school activities.

  Karla made her way out the main door, carrying a pile of books. She was surprised she did not see Carol or Gerry waiting to walk home with her. She shrugged it off and eagerly made her way home, all the while watching the traffic on Main Street, looking for Gerry's car to pass by.

  Karla surprised herself. She never realized she could walk so fast.

  Her mom's car pulled into the driveway when she passed the third house on her street.

  Walking into the house, Karla quickly walked past her mom. She hoped her mom would not change her mind about the sleepover. She did not linger in the kitchen; she wanted to avoid her mom as much as possible. Just in case.

  She headed straight for her room and set her books on her bed. Closing her bedroom door, she picked up her cell phone and called Carol.

  “Hey – are we still on for tonight? I didn't see you after school.”

  Karla was just a bit worried. Maybe the whole party was some sort of prank, especially with all the whispering going on all week long.

  “Everything is all set,” Carol reassured her. “My folks said it's all right. I told them we will be going to the movies tonight. So if your folks call mine, they will tell them that we are at the movies, if they ask….

  Hey, I got to go. I have to clean my room before you get over here, or my folks will say the whole thing is off for tonight.”

  “I'll see yah later, then. What time is good?”

  “Give me at least an hour. Oh. And we'll meet at the library.”

  Karla agreed to meet her there before flipping her phone closed.

  Her stomach gave a low growl. Obviously her lunch had not been enough for her, but she just did not really feel like eating at lunch time. The butterflies had made her feel too nausea. Now she needed to get something in her stomach or she really would get sick. So she decided to go to the kitchen to grab a snack.

  Her mom was on the phone in the living room. She quickly grabbed a couple of cookies and a soda and slipped back to her bedroom. She tried to settle her nerves by nibbling on the chocolate chip cookies.

  Karla remembered the newspaper meeting for tomorrow. She almost forgot. She needed to let her mom know she would be late coming home on Saturday. She really wanted to go to this newspaper meeting at the library.

  But first she needed to change out of the skirt and shoes. She knew her mom would ask questions if she saw her dressed like this.

  Leaving the sanctuary of her room she checked to see if her mom was done on the phone. She found her already in the kitchen.

  “Oh, yeah… Mom…In the morning, I will be late. I decided to join the school newspaper, and I have to stop at the library Saturday morning, there is going to be a school newspaper meeting I have to go to.”

  “What do you mean – late?”

  “Remember you said I could go to Carol's sleepover.” Karla felt her stomach churning again. She better not change her mind now.

  “Oh – right, about that – I don't think it is going to be a good idea. I think you should stay home, here with us.”

  Karla felt her heart sink into her stomach. “NO. You said I could go and I told Carol you said I could go. So I'm going.”

  She was not going to let her mom change her mind on her. Not now. This was not going to happen.

  Her mom looked at her with narrowed eyes.

  “You dare talk to me like that young miss?”

  “But Mom… I didn't want to move here and now I have to make new friends. If I don't go now that I have told everyone I'm going... They will laugh at me in school and call me a baby. Don't be doing this to me, 'cause I never wanted to move here in the first place. You’re so not being fair to me.”

  Her mom was silent for a moment.

  “But if you get into any trouble...” Her mom broke off and hesitated before continuing, “But yes, I'm glad you found something you like about this school. Newspaper, now that is something good for you. Just make sure you call me in the morning to let me know you made it to the newspaper meeting.”

  “I will…”

  Karla wasted no time. She headed back into her room as quickly as she could before her mom started to change her mind again.

  Back in her room she stopped to check nervously on her cell phone for any new messages. Nothing. She started packing her backpack.

  The decision of what to wear was a hard choice to make. She shoved her clothes on her closet rack back and forth, looking for
the perfect article. Not wanting to seem like she was too easy, she settled for a long-sleeved red top with a hood and a v-neckline.

  Karla took the time to fold the top carefully to eliminate any wrinkles from forming, packing the top into the backpack. Carefully she packed her skirt too. She put the last article of clothing in the bag with her hair accessories and make-up piled on top, and zipped the bag shut.

  She thought about wearing her sneakers, but she decided on wearing the heels after all.

  She checked one last time for any messages on her cell phone, and stuffed the phone into the pocket on the outside of the backpack. Karla slung the backpack over her shoulder and made her way past the kitchen.

  She moved quickly by her mom with a feeling of fear building up in the back of her throat. She was afraid her mom would change her mind again.

  “I'm leaving now, mom.”

  “You be careful, you hear me…Remember, you can say no to friends…”

  Her mom smiled as best she could. She gave in to trusting Karla, hoping she would make good choices. She held her tongue as she watched Karla walk out the door.

  Chapter ~ 24

  Karla hurried along down the street, trying not to run. She was excited to be free to be with her friends.

  The traffic was thick and backed up.

  She stopped at the crosswalk and was annoyed by the light at the corner and the fact that these shoes were starting to hurt her feet. She began to wish she had changed into her sneakers after all. Why is this light taking so long to change?

  Finally, the light changed after what seemed like time standing still. Karla fought the urge to run. Her feet were really killing her from the shoes causing her to walk slower anyway. Crossing the street, she headed as quickly as she could towards the library.

  A passing mustang blared, bass pounding loudly from its speakers.

  Karla hurried up the steps of the library when she saw Carol sitting there with her other friends. Hopefully they had not been waiting long for her. She was so happy to see them, and she could not believe she was doing this.

  “Glad you could make it,” Carol greeted Karla.

  Carol and her friends stood and began to move off the library steps almost before she reached the base of them. Karla could do nothing but follow the girls.

  She thought Carol had sounded a bit snotty. She wondered what her problem was. Ignore it she thought, maybe it was really nothing.

  Walking down the street to Carol's house, they stopped on the way to chat with a couple of guys who graduated from school the previous year. Karla did not know who they were, but she thought they looked cute.

  “How much,” one of the guys asked.

  Carol put up four fingers and took the package from him. She quickly pocketed the object out of Karla’s sight.

  Karla thought she saw something in a bag, but she was just not sure about it.

  “Have fun tonight,” the other guy called after them.

  The girls made their way back down the street from where they had just come from. She was not sure where they were going now. Karla followed closely behind. She felt like a little kid tagging along with the big kids, almost like they wanted to lose her or something.

  She made sure she kept up with them. They were not going to lose her; she would make sure of that.

  Carol turned down a side street. It was an area of town Karla had not been in yet. She was surprised to see the backside of the school grounds appear before them.

  They walked across the soccer field and parking lot to the football field bleachers. Her feet were getting numb from her shoes. Karla took a seat on the bleacher behind Carol. Darcy and Maggie each sat beside Carol.

  She was happy they had decided to stop and watch the game. Her aching feet throbbed in her shoes. She would not say anything about it to them. She knew they would just laugh at her for wearing such silly shoes to a sleepover and party. They went with the outfit she picked to wear to the party that was the only reason she had worn them.

  Karla watched the game. She needed to watch it for the school newspaper anyway. If only she had brought her camera with her so she could have taken some photo shots of the plays.

  She had a hard time making out what the plays were, and who were the players. At one point, she thought she saw Gerry, but she was not sure.

  Carol, Darcy, and Maggie waved to their friends sitting nearby in the bleachers. Maggie pointed to the kicker and tried to say something about the player. Karla could not hear her well over the loud crowd.

  A whistle blew during the last play. One of the football players jogged over to a fallen player on the ground. Apparently, he had taken an extra-hard hit. Carol let out a sigh when the player finally stood up. She wondered if it was Heath. Karla could not tell from where she sat.

  Marla and Jerra sat in the bleachers off to Karla's left. She wanted to wave to them, but they would not look in her direction. The cold shoulder she was getting form Carol and her friends at this point, made her wish she was hanging with Marla and Jerra. At least they probably would have been talking to her.

  While she watched the game, she began to daydream about Gerry. About what it would be like to be with him. She was startled out of her dream by a horn blowing. This seemed to signal the end of the game. Karla squinted to see the scoreboard but the setting sun was shining in her eyes.

  “Who won,” she asked Carol.

  “We did, of course,” Darcy answered.

  “Oh…,” Karla was not sure she liked Darcy. Her attitude was a bit off but she was a little bit nicer than Maggie. Maybe she just does not like me, or she is in a bad mood, she thought to herself.

  They sat on the bleachers, waiting for the crowd to pile off the field, the visitors leaving the field first. A tune was struck up by the home marching band performing in the middle of the field.

  Carol jumped up off the bench first. Karla quickly picked up her bag. She still felt like she could be ditched any time. Following the pack of girls off the grounds left Karla with a feeling of being ignored. She was beginning to have second thoughts about the evening again. Maybe this had not been such a good idea after all.

  They again crossed back over the soccer field and parking lot, traveling in the same direction they had come from. A red pickup truck caught Karla's eye. It was parked next to a dumpster in the alleyway. She heard someone yell from a doorway. They sounded angry. Quickening up her step, she stuck to Darcy's side like glue until they left the alleyway.

  Main Street was still busy. The cars zoomed past them, only to slow down at the stoplight or come to a stop. Karla had not been in this area of downtown. Cool shops lined the street. She thought it was neat how they made the sidewalk out of red brick, but it was really hard to walk on in these shoes she was wearing. God. Her feet hurt.

  Karla kept up as best as she could. Another side street appeared on their right. Carol turned down this street. She was so glad they were finally slowing down. She was not sure how much more her feet could take.

  They were now on the street leading to Carol's house. Karla was still in tow. Apartment buildings lined the street. They all were old style townhouses, duplexes, and older apartment buildings. Each one was almost right on top of the other building. It appeared not one had much of a yard for young children to play in.

  Three five or six year old girls played jump rope on the sidewalk. Carol and Darcy teased the girls making the girl jumping the rope miss. Another group of seven or eight year olds were playing hopscotch further down the sidewalk. Maggie kicked their stones off their spots.

  Karla wondered how they could be so mean to these kids. They did not do anything to them. Why could they not leave them alone? She thought about sticking up for them, but she knew she was out numbered. So, she just stood back and watched, shaking her head the whole while.

  Further down this street, Carol lived in a duplex with an old, rickety porch. Plastic patio furniture was set out on the porch.

  They stepped up onto the porch. Almost
immediately Karla saw that their favorite pastime was to call out to a friend, or jeer an unknown pedestrian.

  “Hey, Darren…you going tonight,” Darcy called out to a passing car. The car stopped short and backed up. Darcy ran off the porch to chat with the driver. She hung on the front passenger window for a few minutes, and then stepped back finally, and the car pulled away.

  They entered Carol's house. Karla could not believe the mess in the living room and the kitchen. She had never been in a home so unkempt.

  They ignored Carol’s parents when they passed through the living room. Not one of them greeted either of the adults. Karla wanted to but she held her tongue.

  All four girls piled into Carol’s bedroom. Karla followed them, setting her bag down on Carol's bedroom floor.

  Carol's bedroom walls were lined with posters, mostly of guys on the beach, and a couple of them were of some white rapper. Karla had never heard of him.

  She had an old ratty carpet on her bedroom floor. It looked like it needed to be vacuumed badly.

  She had a window which was almost the full length of the wall from the ceiling to the floor. It had an old sheet for a curtain.

  The window looked out into what could be called a back yard. The view was of the apartment on the next street, just a stone throw away. They were all run down apartments too.

  She stood and watched them at first, not sure what they were going to do next. So she waited until they began to change for the night's activities.

  Karla pulled her top out of her backpack. She took off her top and started to put on the one from her bag.

  “You're not gonna wear that, are you?” Carol asked her. “Here, wear one of mine…Gerry should really like this one on you.”

  Carol handed Karla a black, racy top from her closet with a very low cut in the front. There were straps that went around the neck, exposing the back. It was a perfect match for the short skirt she brought with her, the one she wore to school today.