Chapter Twenty-one
I stayed away from the house and the back roads after that. I felt and scared, really scared. I got the address from Google Maps and researched the house online, but I couldn’t find anything except for a little newspaper clipping. A local Lee developer bought all the property out there and planned on building luxurious homes. However, according to the paper, no one bought the first three houses built and the company went bankrupt. No one ever lived in that house, let alone purchased it, which made the situation even scarier to me.
I couldn’t think any more about the house because school was starting. My summer was over. In a way, I was glad. We would get back to New York much faster at this rate, but I was nervous about attending a school where every kid thinks I tried to kill Steven Rank. The police never questioned me about the attack and rumors among the citizens didn’t qualify as evidence against me. My parents claimed they wanted to keep me here to help me straighten out, but they never pushed me to see a shrink. I found all of this odd, but I didn’t say anything to my parents about it. I stayed calm, quiet, and polite at all times. It sickened me to do it, but I had to play their game if I had any hopes of returning to New York. I hoped that my behavior would tell my parents I was fine and we could go home.
Katie took me to some of the local dress shops and helped me find something suitable for school here. In exchange for her help, I let her go crazy in my wardrobe. Either she could have or borrow whatever she wanted. Besides, no respectable city girl kept last season’s fashions. By giving most of it away to Katie, I would have plenty of room for a new wardrobe when we get back to the city. Katie and I had fun the night before school started. No one cared if Katie spent the night so we took advantage of the situation.
“So, what’s up with Sabrina? Why does she hate me?” I asked Katie that night. It felt nice to talk about girl stuff rather than worry about my predicament.
“She doesn’t she hate you. What makes you think she does?” Katie was definitely in her own little world in my armoire. She loved my clothes. Once she was finished ransacking my closet, I knew my jewelry boxes would be next. I didn’t mind though, it was fun watching Katie’s face light up when she held one of my latest handbags. I think she almost fainted when I gave her my last season biker backpack.
“She always has a cold smile on her face, like she knows something I don’t.”
“I don’t know what secrets Sabrina Turner would know. It’s extremely tough to keep a secret in this town. Speaking of secrets! Did you see Morgan Patterson? I wonder when she’s going to announce her little pregnancy secret.”
“What?” I snapped my head up at her. “Morgan Patterson is pregnant!?”
Katie was shook her head at me. I had a good time with Katie that night. We stayed up late talking about the kids at school. She filled me in on the teachers and the school itself. I felt pretty confident about my first day and slept well.
Grandpa made his biscuits for me that morning. I felt grateful to him for the thought. My parents were already up and out the door when Katie and I came downstairs. In a way, I liked it that my parents didn’t care what I did or who I did it with. It reminded me a lot of our life in New York.
School started the middle of August. I was the only new kid in a high school of three hundred and fifty-seven students. Lee High School was old, probably dated back to the early 1900’s and small. If it rained, the roof leaked severely. If the wind blew too hard, the school was in danger of large proportions. However, the football team had new uniforms and a new practice field. The stadium in which they played their games was bigger and nicer than the school. I soon found out the LHS football team was like every other high school football team. Their sport was popular and brought in lots of money for the school so the team got away with everything.
Everyone in school, especially Steven, stayed away from me and whispered behind my back as I walked the halls. Some of them I remembered because we went to the same parties this summer. It was crazy how everyone thought I was guilty of hurting Steven. They made their guilty verdict on the basis of rumors and hearsay. My teachers were nice to me. My calculus teacher, Mr. Johnston, was a large man. His fat mean eyes would bear down on us like we were criminals. Mrs. Roledo, my English teacher, loved to flirt with the younger boys, and Mrs. Cannes, who loved to see every student suffer under her algebra wrath with failing grades. The only teacher who seemed like someone I would actually listen to was Mrs. Neeves, my creative writing teacher. I showed her my poetry and she thought it was good. We spent a few minutes talking about poetry.
Katie was certainly the most popular girl. Everyone loved her and followed what she did. Boys would flock around her as if she was a queen and they were her loyal subjects. Girls never picked a fight or started an argument with her. I think they feared her. Nat and Becky, however, did not fear Katie. Katie never judged them for anything. They seemed like close friends who weren’t afraid to get bitchy with each other, but I felt something sinister hiding behind their laughter. They reminded me of three witches locked into a coven.
One night, Katie spent the night at my house. It was about a month into the start of school. She acted strange that night. She seemed determined to tell me something, but was too afraid to say it. The bed would shake every time she fidgeted, which was often.
“Katie? Are you okay?” I asked with concern.
“Sure. Why?”
“You seem nervous.” I closed the fashion magazine I was reading to listen to her.
She laughed, but I saw her anxiety was visible. She flipped her hand as she said, “Just worried about my Geometry test next week. I can’t pass that class if my life depended on it.”
I laughed, “Me neither, but ….you sure there’s nothing else?”
“Well…..Regina? Do you……do you remember me?”
“Huh?” I didn’t understand what she was asking.
“Well, what I mean is, uh…..um. Okay, you’ve heard the theory that people have past lives, right?”
“Yes, I’ve heard about it. And?”
“And, do you believe in that stuff?” Katie’s voice shook and I found it odd that she was so….non-confident.
“Not really. Then again, they don’t teach stuff like that at the Academy.”
Fear filled eyes. Katie’s breath caught in her throat and did not move an inch. I watched her eyes widen and the terror grip hold of her body. She finally took a breath and said, “The Academy?”
“Yes, the Will Lawson Academy. It’s my high school, or at least it was my high school.”
Katie’s lips trembled. I was concerned for her and went to her side immediately. “What’s wrong, Katie? And please don’t tell me this is about a stupid test.”
“I miss him so much….” She sobbed.
“Who do you miss, Katie?” I wiped the tears from her face.
Her voice was so small I could barely hear her. “My brother, Jacob.” Her head rose to look at me when she said his name.
“I didn’t know you had a brother.”
“I don’t, not anymore. He died a long, long time ago.”
“Oh no, Katie. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I never saw a picture at your house or heard you mention him before.”
“My mother doesn’t like it when I say his name or talk about him. After he died, my father went around the house and removed all the pictures. I guess he thought he could forget his pain by pretending as if Jacob never existed. He cleaned out Jacob’s room and tossed out all of his things. I never got to keep one thing to remember him by. Then my father died ….”
“I’m so sorry, Katie! I had no idea such tragedies existed in your past.” She looked at me intensely, as if she was looking directly into my soul. I held her stare and waited for her to answer me. “They happened a long time ago. I can tell you the ‘time heals all wounds’ philosophy is a bunch of crap.”
“What was it that I said that made you think of Jacob?” It felt as if a needle went through my h
eart when I said his name. Katie’s sorrow passed to me.
“I don’t remember.” She lied.
Regina Page 21