The late bell rang to begin class, and Mr. Dalton stood up from behind his desk. “Okay, people, settle down.” He leaned on the front edge of his desk and waited for the din of student conversations to subside. “Okay, before we get into our topic for the day I want to remind you that your typed proposals are due next Friday. And for you last-minute types, remember that midwinter recess begins right after that so make sure the proposals aren’t late. I want to look them over during break. Yeah, I know. A fun vacation for me.”
Dani smiled at Meredith and Meredith smiled back. Their proposal was already typed up and ready to hand in.
“Okay,” Mr. Dalton said. “Notebooks out. Pens poised. We’re starting the American Revolution.”
The students groaned, but Mr. Dalton laughed because he’d obviously been expecting that exact reaction.
Mr. Dalton, apparently, was a real fan of New York’s role in the American Revolution. He shined an overhead of an old map of Fort Ticonderoga on the pull down screen. Meredith had been to the old fort once, since it still sat on the New York State side of Lake Champlain.
“This whole area,” he said making a wide circle around the areas including Lake Champlain and Lake George, “was critical in the war.”
As her teacher continued his lecture about the war, Meredith thought about the mountain town of Lake George only a couple hours north of Albany just inside the Adirondack Park. Meredith’s family had taken a week’s vacation there when she was twelve and Mikey was six. She remembered the big lake and the boat tour, but the thing that stuck with her most was not the lake itself, but the Canadian flags that flew everywhere in the town. She even received a Canadian penny in her change when she bought some candy in one of the local shops. She smiled because she still had that penny in her cigar box of treasures. She wondered if Dani had ever been to Lake George. Maybe they could take Mikey up there during the summer.
Mr. Dalton explained that the French built the Fort, originally called Fort Carillon, in 1755, but the British, threatened by a fort so close to their land, gained control in 1759. The British promptly changed the name to Fort Ticonderoga, but oddly enough they only held onto the fort for sixteen years because the Green Mountain Boys from Vermont led by American colonists Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold captured it in 1775. In 1776, Arnold, still an American patriot, constructed the very first American navy on Lake Champlain in an attempt to prevent British retaliation from Canada. Unfortunately, British General John Burgoyne, coming from Canada, recaptured the fort in 1777.
Mr. Dalton explained that the only way for big ships to travel to the seemingly landlocked Lake Champlain was along the St. Lawrence River that bordered both the present United States and Canada. A question suddenly occurred to Meredith. Was Canada its own country at that time? She thought Canada was affiliated with England in some way back then and was curious to know what its role was in the war.
Meredith often had questions like this during class, but she was not the kind of student who raised her hand, ever. She would wait until a classmate asked the question or she would simply look it up later. To raise her hand and speak in front of other students terrified her. She had no idea how Dani did it. She wanted to slip the question to Dani in hopes that Dani would ask, but Dani would probably tell her to ask for herself.
Meredith took a deep breath and slowly, but steadily raised her hand. She could feel rather than see Dani’s surprise. Meredith didn’t dare look at her because she might lose her nerve, otherwise. Mr. Dalton stopped in mid-sentence and said, “Oh,” with surprise in his voice. “Meredith, you have a question?”
“Uh, yeah. Was Canada a country? Was the American Revolution against both England and Canada?”
Mr. Dalton nodded his head. His nod seemed to say that she had brought up a valid point, but before Mr. Dalton could answer. Ben Kinsey coughed into his hand and said, “Stupid.”
Meredith reacted before she could stop herself. “Ben Kinsey,” she blurted, “I wasn’t talking to you.”
The class went completely silent for a moment and then erupted in cheers for the quiet girl in the back of the room. Meredith heard things like, “Way to go, girl” and “It’s about time she stood up to him.” She couldn’t believe the support she heard. She thought everyone hated her. Dani reached over and patted her arm, but Meredith barely felt it. She could not believe what she had just done. She looked up at Mr. Dalton in apology and waited for him to take control of the situation. He was about to say something when the bell rang to end the class period.
The students got up from their seats, and Meredith feared that once again she would be the talk of the school or at least the talk of the senior class. She wasn’t sure that was a good thing, and she wasn’t sure how Ben would take her public tongue-lashing. Some people, she knew, could dish it out, but couldn’t take it.
She put her notebook and history book in her book bag and stood up slowly.
Dani said, “Who are you and what have you done with my friend, Meredith?”
“Oh, stop. He just hit the wrong button today, I guess.”
“Well, I think—”
“Miss Bedford would you come up here, please?” Mr. Dalton walked behind his desk with his arms folded.
Dani whispered, “Uh oh. I’ll catch you later. Tell me what he says.”
Meredith shouldered her book bag and walked up to her teacher. She shouldn’t have blown up at Ben, but she’d had enough. And she had restrained herself, too. She wanted to say so much more, but didn’t dare. She felt the blood rise to her face and spread down her neck.
Mr. Dalton waited until all the students had filed out the door. Once the last student crossed the threshold he looked her in the eye and stuck out his hand. “Miss Bedford, it’s good to finally meet you.”
Meredith smiled. She shook hands with her teacher and apologized for being disrespectful during class.
He continued to shake her hand. “Meredith, I’ve been waiting so long for you to call him on his—well, to stand up for yourself, and you did it in a very tactful way.” He let go of her hand. “I’m just glad I was able to witness it. Brava, Meredith, brava. And, by the way, Canada was still a primitive territory of England at the time and wasn’t yet recognized as its own separate force. I’ll pick up the thread of your question on Monday. I’m very proud of you.”
DURING THE NEXT week of school, Meredith had no trouble with John Casey or with Ben Kinsey. John simply steered clear of her while Ben did his best to ignore her. Even though things seemed calm at school, Meredith was relieved that the middle of February had arrived, and they had only one more day of school before the mid-winter vacation.
As Meredith and Mikey paused before the front doors of the high school, Meredith braced herself for the just-above-freezing temperature and the nasty drizzle that would make their three-quarter mile walk home miserable. Winter had clearly not quite given up on the town of Whickett.
“Ready, Mikey Nikey?” Meredith pulled the green hair band out of her hair. She pulled her knit hat out of a pocket of her pea coat and plunked it on her head. She double-checked Mikey to make sure he was bundled tight for the weather. She opened the door and cringed at the cold. Would the gray, barren muted colors of winter ever become green and bright again?
They made their way toward the main circle of the school driveway. Meredith kept her head down to keep the windblown rain out of her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a pickup truck pull in the circle. She put an arm in front of Mikey to stop him. Meredith readjusted her scarf waiting for the pickup to pass but when it didn’t, she looked up and saw Dani waving to them from the driver’s seat of the now-familiar white truck.
Dani opened the passenger door and said, “Get in you guys. I’ll drive you home. It’s too gross to walk today.”
Mikey, it seemed, didn’t need a second invitation. He dropped his book bag on the wet pavement and crawled into the warm cab of the truck. “Hi, Dani!” he shouted.
Dani laughed and whispered, “H
ey, dude. What’s up?”
“What up?” he whispered back and laughed.
Meredith shrugged and climbed in after her brother with both book bags in tow. She shut the door and said, “Don’t you have lacrosse practice? Pre-season workouts or something? She reached down to help buckle Mikey in and then put on her own seatbelt.
“Uh, yeah, but I haven’t been late yet this year. I’ll just drop you guys off and then I’ll head on back. I was just thinking about you and, well, figured I’d try to catch you before you went home.” She put the truck in drive, and they headed off school property.
“Well, Mikey and I both thank you. Our cold noses and toes thank you, too. Right, Mikey?”
“Right, Mewey.”
“Say thank you to Dani, Mikey.”
“Thank, Dani.”
“No problem, dude.”
They drove in silence for a few moments and then Dani said, “I can’t believe how fast this school year is flying by.”
Meredith laughed to herself. She had thought the exact opposite. The school year wasn’t speeding along fast enough for her taste, but didn’t say so. Instead she asked, “What’s the latest countdown figure toward graduation? And freedom?”
“Ah, freedom. I haven’t looked at my countdown calendar lately, so I really don’t know.” Dani glanced at Meredith and then back toward the road. “I always wonder if sixth period teachers hate me because we take away one period every other month for our senior class meetings.”
“That’s probably why they schedule a lot of study halls and elective classes, like our art class, during sixth.”
“Yeah, probably.” Dani turned onto Center Street and reached down to hold Mikey’s hand.
Meredith smiled at the sight of her brother holding her friend’s hand. “So, do you know?”
“Know what?”
Meredith laughed. “How many days of school are left?”
“Got you hooked, don’t I?”
“Yeah. I need to know how many more days of torture I have left.” About a month earlier, Meredith had been dead serious about the “torture” aspect of high school, but things had changed a little since meeting Dani.
Dani’s voice took on a serious tone. “Meredith, I don’t think Ben is going to bother you anymore.”
“I’m not so sure about that. I mean, I embarrassed him. He might resent that.”
“He deserved it. He’s been pissing me off all year. He’s so immature. I called him last weekend after the big Bedford-Kinsey fight—”
Meredith reached over Mikey’s head and smacked her friend playfully in the arm.
“Hey!” Dani exclaimed.
“It wasn’t a fight.”
“Fine. The battle. Just kidding. Anyway, we talked and I told him to lay off you.”
“Really?” Meredith was a little skeptical. “What did he say?”
“Oh, I don’t know. He seemed to be okay with it. I told him that if he just got to know you he’d see how nice you were and what a good friend you could be.”
Meredith raised her eyebrows. “Thanks, Dani, but I really don’t foresee me and Ben Kinsey ever being friends. I mean, no offense because I know you guys are good friends, but with all those things he’s said to me, I just don’t see it.”
“I know. I know. I’m just saying. And…it’s around eighty.”
“Eighty? Eighty what?”
Dani laughed. “I think we have about eighty days of high school torture left.”
Only eighty? The small number surprised her. Maybe she wasn’t in such a hurry for high school to end after all.
Dani pulled the truck into the middle turn lane of Center Street. A car passed them on the right side, and Meredith pointed excitedly. “Dani, look! Isn’t that Gregory?”
Dani craned her neck to look in the car. “The passenger? Grandnephew Gregory? Yeah, he’s got that same rust-colored hair. It says Cayuga Commercial Real Estate on the side. Why is grandnephew Gregory here in a real estate car?”
“Good question. Doesn’t he live somewhere in New Jersey or something? I don’t know, but I think it’s time we visit Esther and Millie again. I mean, we have to get those pictures from them anyway, right? Then we can ask them about the whereabouts of said grandnephew.”
Dani laughed. “Sounds like we’re private detectives or something. Right, Mikey? Detectives?”
“’Tectives, yeah, Dani. Yeah, dude.” He flashed his heart-melting smile at Dani.
Dani returned his grin and then smiled at Meredith causing Meredith’s insides to turn to jelly. Why does her smile disarm me? If she asked me to go bungee jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge, I’d probably jump if it meant I could spend more time with her.
Meredith smiled back and hoped her blush wasn’t too revealing. Lately, Dani made her feel funny inside. It was a little embarrassing, actually.
Dani looked back to the road, but Meredith could still see her smiling. Dani pulled into Meredith’s driveway and put the truck in park. She kept the engine running.
Meredith took off her seatbelt and helped Mikey off with his. “Thanks for the lift, Dani.”
Meredith was about to reach for the door handle when Dani said, “Wait.” She reached under the front seat and pulled out two heart-shaped boxes. She handed one to Mikey and the other to Meredith. “Happy Valentine’s Day, you guys.”
“For us?” Meredith’s heart sped up. She and Mikey had exchanged Valentine’s cards and candy with their parents that morning, but she hadn’t expected anything from Dani. She focused on Mikey to hide her discomfort. “Look, Mikey Bikey, Dani gave us candy. Say thank you.”
“Thank you.” Mikey looked up at Dani and flashed his million-dollar smile again.
“You’re welcome, dude.”
“Welcome, dude,” Mikey mimicked.
“Yeah,” Meredith agreed. “Thank you. We…uh, I didn’t get you anything.”
Dani shrugged. “That’s okay. I just wanted to get you, you and Mikey, something.”
Meredith wondered whether Dani’s pink cheeks were solely from the cold. She didn’t think so. Although Dani still smiled, her eyes had become tender, almost vulnerable. They looked at each other in silence for a few moments. Dani’s gaze made her feel warm, warm like the first sip of hot chocolate on a cold day. She reluctantly broke eye contact and opened the truck door. “See you tomorrow?”
“I’ll call you tonight, if that’s okay.”
“Okay.” Meredith trembled, and she wasn’t sure why.
They got out of the truck and when they reached the front door, Meredith let Mikey go inside first. She lingered on the landing holding her box of candy tight against her chest and turned around slowly to face Dani who still watched her from her truck. Meredith waved and Dani nodded but didn’t back out. Yes, definitely, Dani gave her that hot chocolate feeling from head to toe. Meredith stepped into the house and smiled as she listened to the now-familiar sound of Dani’s truck in her driveway.
Chapter Ten
Fish Sticks
MEREDITH WATCHED DANI and Mikey race from the bowling alley to Dani’s pickup truck. This had been their third time bowling during winter break, and Meredith was positively worn-out. Even though Mikey had thrown many bowling balls for her that morning, she was still bushed from the unfamiliar physical exertion. Despite achy muscles, she hustled after them because she wanted to get out of the February cold as soon as possible. The sky was a hopeful powder blue, and the sun was brilliant, but deceiving. The late February temperatures made spring seem a year away, not a month. Meredith laughed when Dani played the sore loser because Mikey touched the back of the pickup truck first.
Mikey did his happy dance and taunted, “I win. I win. Beat you.”
“Oh, fine,” Dani muttered. “You run too fast. It must be all that taekwondo, dude.”
“Dude.” He gleefully took Meredith’s outstretched hand and walked to the passenger side of the truck. Dani walked to their side as well to unlock the door for them.
“Thank
s.” Meredith let Mikey climb in first. “We’re not late are we?”
“No, Millie said one o’clock, and it’s quarter ’till.”
Meredith got in. “I can’t wait to see those old pictures of the house, you know?”
“Definitely. They’ll be great for our project.”
Dani made her way back around the truck, and Mikey scrambled into his usual spot in the center. He found both ends of his seatbelt and snapped them together cleanly.
Dani had just gotten in on her side of the truck and said, “Did you see that?” She shot an amused glance at Meredith. “He’s amazing, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, he’s a cool kid. I’m going to miss him when I go to college.” Meredith buckled her own seat belt.
“You know, I can’t believe I never asked where you applied.” Dani put on her own seatbelt.
“Well, I never asked you, either. I applied to some schools around here, like Union, but I really want to go to Syracuse.”
“No way.”
“Yeah, my Dad loves anything and everything having to do with Syracuse. My father’s watched so many Syracuse Orangemen—what do they call the women’s teams— Orangewomen?”
“I think they call everybody ‘Orange’ now.” Dani chuckled.
“Really? Well, we’ve had so many Orange sporting events on in the house that I got curious about the school. They have a great art department. I sent them my portfolio in January. I should hear back in about a month.”
Dani stared at her, mouth open.
Meredith smirked and started to feel around her nose. “What? Do I have a booger?”
Mikey giggled. “Booger! Booger!”
This made Dani laugh, too, and she said, “No, I just can’t believe that we both want to go to ‘Cuse. I want to play lacrosse there. The coach isn’t recruiting me or anything so I’ll have to try and make the team as a walk-on, but I don’t care. Oh, my God, Meredith. Wouldn’t that be so cool if we went to the same college?”
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