Embittered Ruby

by Nicole O'Dell

  “What are you talking about? I don’t have to sign in. We’re members here.” Carmen’s heart began to thud. Pretty clear where the conversation headed.

  She lowered her glasses and peered over the rims. “Young lady, your father is a member. Your mother moved away, and she has changed the residency of you and your sisters.…”

  How could that she-devil Nazi have such private information? Someone had to have turned it in. Tiffany maybe?

  “…which, of course, means you can’t be listed on the membership. Your father may bring you as a guest as often as he’d like though—at the standard guest rates. And of course, you do lose your member pricing on lessons and other amenities.”

  “Of course I do.” Carmen looked up at the gymnasium’s fluorescent lighting, hoping it would dry her eyes before she gave Cruella…um…Corelle the satisfaction of an emotional response. “Don’t you think this is a conversation you should have with my dad?”

  “I’d love to, but he’s not here. Which, since you’re no longer a member, means you’re trespassing.” Corelle pushed her glasses back in place. “We’ll make an exception today, but in the future you’ll only be allowed to use the club if you’re accompanied by a member.” The country-club Nazi turned on her heels and strode away.

  How typical. If it could go wrong for Carmen, it would. She faced Zach. “You wanted me worked up so I’d be powerful on the courts? I guess it can’t get any better than right now. Oh, but it won’t do us any good; I have to leave.” She spun around toward the locker room. Hold the tears until the shower. Don’t cry in front of Zach.

  Zach reached out a hand and clutched Carmen’s wrist. “Surely your Dad will work things out for you. It’ll be okay. You’ll see.”

  She shook her hand free. “Don’t count on it.”

  Dear Nellie,

  Sigh. I’ve talked to you about Tiffany before. I really shouldn’t give her the brain power it takes to even write this entry. But she’s got me so angry! Surprise, surpise. I know. But you’ll never believe what she did. Well, at least what I think she did. She told the country club I’m not living here anymore, so now I can’t play tennis there. Can you even believe she’d do such a thing? I don’t even think Dad will or can do a thing about it. There goes tennis.

  And she picked us up today in her fancy car. People were leaning out their windows to look at her. Gross. I think I’m going to spike her drinks with something to make her fat. Then I can sit back and watch her head spin when Dad drops her.

  She needs to go back to Philadelphia, or there’s no hope of Mom and Dad getting back together. How can I get rid of her?

  Love,

  Carmen

  Carmen snuggled in her favorite deck chair wrapped in the well-worn wedding-ring quilt Grandma had made when Carmen was a baby. The pool spread out before her. Carmen watched as the tranquil water flowed over the rocks and into the hot tub. The rushing of the falls soothed her rattled nerves. Where was Nate? She needed to see him. How could he be late when they hadn’t seen each other in days?

  The french doors off the sunroom opened, and an angel stepped out. Carmen’s breath caught as she saw Nate standing across the pool. The midmorning sun shone behind him, and his reflection reached across the water and almost touched her on the other side.

  He leaned on the doorframe and stared at her. His eyes went right into her heart and soul. Like he read her from the inside out.

  He seemed so far away though. Separated by a world of water. In the moment and in life. Come closer. But at least her pool…um, Dad’s pool…wasn’t the Hudson River, which divided their states. If she closed her eyes, maybe she could freeze-frame the image of Nate filling the doorway looking at her.

  SPLASH!

  Carmen raised her arms to shield against the wave rising from the deep end like a tsunami. It rained down a torrent big enough to almost reach her spot on the deck. Had Nate jumped in? No. There he stood, stunned and drenched, in the same spot he’d been before Carmen blinked. Carmen glared at the surface of the water and waited until the intruder came up for air. Who was it? A flash of red appeared in the water near her, and then Kimberley’s head broke the surface.

  “What’s your boyfriend doing just standing there? It’s creepy.”

  Argh. Kim. Carmen rolled her eyes at Nate. “Can you believe this?”

  He grinned.

  “What are you doing swimming in that icy water? It might still technically be summer, but it’s freezing out here.” Carmen stood and reached a towel toward her sister.

  Kimberley waved away the towel. “I’m going in the hot tub. Want to come? Or are you two going to go make out somewhere?”

  “Like it’s any of your business.”

  “Where are my girls?” a voice boomed through the house and ricocheted off the walls and bounced off the high ceilings.

  Carmen heard feet scamper down the hall and then slide across the slick wood toward the top of the stairs. Had to be the all-forgiving Harper. “What time is it?”

  Nate swiped his finger across his cell phone screen to bring it to life. “Um…three thirty.”

  “Oh, he’s only about forty-four hours late. Not bad. Must have been some meeting.” She unfurled from the warm nest she’d built beside Nate on her bed and stretched her arms far over her head. “Want to pause the movie?”

  Nate scowled and pointed the remote at the plasma TV, freezing Natalie Portman midword. “You’ve seen this like a hundred times.”

  “One hundred and one should probably do it.” Carmen winked at Nate then sauntered toward the stairs. No way she’d go bounding toward her long-lost daddy who’d finally graced them with his presence. Nah. He could wait a minute for her this time.

  “Hey, Carmen.” Dad looked up the stairs and watched her descend the last four steps into the foyer.

  Carmen crossed her arms and held his gaze with a challenging stare. “Hi.”

  He blinked twice then looked down at Harper tucked in the crook of his arm. “How are my girls?”

  “We missed you, Daddy, and then you didn’t come for us. Why didn’t you?”

  Way to go, Harper. If Carmen had said it, he’d have thought she was being difficult. But impish Harper could get away with it.

  “I’m sorry, sweet pea. I had some problems come up at the account I had to take care of in LA. I had to stay until the problem resolved.” Dad smiled. “You wouldn’t want Daddy to lose his job, would you?”

  Not that his job did his children a whole lot of good anymore. Carmen bit her lip. Best to change the subject before she said something she’d regret. “There’s a problem at the country club—they won’t let me keep coming since I don’t live here anymore.”

  “An oversight, I’m sure. I’ll see what I can do about it on Monday.”

  “I’m not sure it’s going to be as easy as you think. The membership Nazi was dead serious about me not coming back.”

  “Okay. I said I’d look into it. But come on—I just got home…no shop talk. What do you say we all go get a soda from the kitchen and catch up?”

  “Cool.” Kimberley came around the corner with her beach towel slung over her shoulder.

  “I can’t. Nate’s over. We’re watching a movie.” Carmen put her foot up on the step behind her, ready to bolt.

  “I haven’t seen you in two weeks.”

  Eww. She hated it when he whined. “Well, last night and today was supposed to be our time. I kept myself free and available. But…what can I say?” Carmen shrugged and turned away.

  Dad exhaled.

  Carmen cringed, waiting for him to tell her to come back, but no words came. She won, and her point had been made. Now to get back to her bedroom. She hurried down the hall, dove into the bed, and tried to re-create her pillow cloud beside Nate.

  “Since your dad’s home, where am I going to sleep? Will it still be okay to sleep in your room?” Nate twisted a lock of Carmen’s hair between his fingers.

  “Of course you can. It’s just, well, you kn
ow how it is. You’ll have to keep your hands to yourself…um…for other reasons.” She squirmed. “You know.”

  Nate scowled. “The weekend gets better and better.”

  Carmen raised one eyebrow. “What? My company isn’t enough for you?”

  “Of course your company is enough. It’s…I haven’t seen you in a while. It’ll be even longer this next time and every time after, since we’ll have to wait the whole two weeks. And we were planning a special night. What am I supposed to do?”

  Wait. You’re supposed to wait. Like Carmen should have made him do from the start. “I guess we’ll find out if it’s true. What’s the old saying? Absence makes the heart grow stronger?”

  “Fonder.” Judging by his sulk, it didn’t look like he bought it.

  Would Nate pass the test? Oh, he’d make it through the night all right; it was long-term Carmen worried about.

  Chapter 5

  Night and day. Fire and ice. Happy and sad. The extremes pelted Carmen’s consciousness as she floated ghostlike through the front doors, past the security guard, and into her new school for the first day of her junior year. She looked ahead but watched everything in her periphery. Lockers lining the wall, people walking by, couples kissing in the doorways, students talking on cell phones, sports jerseys, books. Everything existed as it had at her old school, but they looked different: cracked, faded, worn, old. Briarcliff High School had been so…sparkly. And so not…scary.

  Nate had suggested she search for some things about Hackensack she liked better than Briarcliff. But did he really believe she could come up with things, or was he just trying to make her feel better? Because, at first glance, the quest for positive at Hackensack didn’t look promising.

  Wham!

  Carmen hit a brick wall. Her books slid from her arms and smacked the worn tile around her feet. Loose-leaf paper scattered in every direction. Her eyes traveled up slowly—then up even more—until they locked with the dark pair belonging to the guy from the street outside her apartment. He’d looked much shorter from the fire escape. And why did he always stare at her with that same creepy laser-like glare?

  Act cool. Be confident. “What? No apology?” Carmen broke the lock of his intense gaze as she bent to scoop up her books and papers. Good thing the school hadn’t issued her a laptop like at Briarcliff.

  He grunted and stepped over Carmen’s hunched body and let his foot scuff over the top of the books she’d just stacked, spreading them back along the hallway. He sauntered away, shrugging his shoulder toward his friends, who immediately followed.

  Tears sprang to her eyes. Why? What had she done to him? Would everyone act rude and cold toward her like that jerk? She tried to gather her things into a bundle so she could at least get out of the middle of the hallway, but papers and workbooks kept slipping from her grip. Don’t cry. She blinked her eyes hard against the impending flood.

  Two hands reached from behind her and grabbed her books. Carmen stood and whirled around. “What’s your problem?”

  A guy about her own age reached the neatened stack out to her. “Simma down, chica. Be easy. I’m just tryin’ to help a girl out.”

  Carmen read the tattoo that curved around the front of his neck. “Diego? Is that your name?”

  “What? You think I inked someone else’s handle on my throat? That’d be dumb.”

  He had a point. Then again, anyone who would lay still and let someone else jab needles in his jugular couldn’t be playing with a full deck. But what did he want with her? Carmen took her books and rested them on her hip and waited.

  Diego gestured down the hall. “Do you know those dudes?”

  What did he care? “No. I’ve seen them before though.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Where?”

  “Outside my apart—wait. Why do you want to know?”

  She had to be more careful. Don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto.

  “Look. You know what’s happening here, don’t you?”

  “What do you mean? Nothing’s happening here. I’m just trying to get to class.”

  “Oh great.” Diego sighed. “Listen, newbie. You’re going to have to wise up real fast. You’re being scoped out. They’re going to try to claim you for their gang. The leader, Marco, he prolly wants you for his girl.”

  “His girl?” Carmen laughed. “He’s never even spoken to me. He doesn’t know me at all.”

  Diego let his eyes rove up and down Carmen’s body. “Oh, chica. He knows you plenty.”

  Carmen shivered. “Gross.”

  “You really don’t get how this works, do you?”

  “And I suppose you’re going to teach me?” Carmen squared her shoulders. Time to toughen up. “I’ll probably find out you’re in it with Marco. Whatever ‘it’ is.”

  “Look. I can’t be late for class, or I’ll get suspended again. But I’m telling you. Stay away from Marco. He ain’t no good for nothin’.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I already have a boyfriend anyway.” When they found out about Nate, they’d leave her alone.

  “Here? At this school? Then where is he?” Diego glanced both ways down the hallway.

  “No, he goes to NYU.” That bit of info should get them to back off.

  Diego stared, unblinking for a few seconds, then burst into laughter. “Listen. If Marco bugs you, tell him I’m your boyfriend. Leave any talk of college boy out of it. Trust me.”

  Yeah right. “I don’t think so.” Like she would pretend she had some gangbanger for a boyfriend. “Besides, aren’t you afraid of Marco getting mad at you?”

  “Mad at me?” Diego shook his head. “No. Marco don’t mess with me. You don’t believe me now, but you’ll see. You be calling on Diego’s name within the week.”

  Where on earth was Mr. Hastings’ office? Furthermore, why did the guidance counselor want to see Carmen on her first day of school? Unlikely they were going to plan out her future on day one. The student monitor said two hallways down, take a right, and it’s the last door on the right. Carmen put her hand on a doorknob. Something looked funny. This couldn’t be the office.

  She pressed the door open a crack and peeked inside. Mops, brooms, buckets, and the unmistakable scent of those wood chips they pile on top of vomit for some reason no one knows. No guidance counselor.

  Great. So even the hall monitor had it in for her. Like an unspoken rule: devour the new girl. No matter. Carmen squared her shoulders and turned away from the maintenance closet. She’d never let them get to her.

  The door to her left led outside. If she opened it and ran, would an alarm go off? How far could she get before they caught up with her?

  No point in even trying. Her life belonged to everyone else, and she just had to play along.

  After wandering for a bit, she finally found the office in the exact opposite direction she’d been sent. Nice. Little Miss Hall Monitor, your dreaded misdirection tactic—while stealthy and effective—won’t break me.

  Carmen knocked on the window and poked her head into the office. “Mr. Hastings? I’m Carmen Castillo. You wanted to see me?”

  “It’s wonderful to meet you. Welcome to Hackensack High School.” He beamed like he welcomed her to the White House.

  “Uh, thanks.” What was he so happy about?

  “Have a seat.” Mr. Hastings gathered some papers together. “How is your day going so far?”

  Carmen shrugged. “It’s okay. Just figuring things out.”

  “Great. Well, I just wanted to discuss a few things with you. I know it’s your first day, but one of the items on my list is rather time sensitive.” He slid a blue sheet of paper across the desk.

  Carmen read it as she pulled it toward her. “College fair? Tonight?” The first day of school was hard enough. Carmen didn’t want to come back to school later the same day—or anytime she didn’t have to.

  “Yes. As a junior, it’s time to start thinking about college possibilities. Judging by your grades, I’m assuming you plan to go to co
llege.”

  Was that a question or a statement? College had always been the plan. But now, who knew? Better yet, who cared?

  “Well, it’s really important to keep your options open. The fair gives you an opportunity to explore the offerings of various colleges and universities. You can even bring your parents.”

  No way was she going to—wait. Had he said parents? An idea crept into Carmen’s brain. College night might be a good way to get Mom and Dad together. And Mom would probably dress up, with makeup and everything, since it would be her time meeting Carmen’s teachers. Getting Mom there would be no problem, and Dad stayed in town all week, but would he come all the way to New Jersey just because she asked?

  Only time would tell.

  Dear Nellie,

  First day of school today. Assaulted by Marco and rescued by Diego. Diego is an interesting guy. He wants me to pretend he’s my boyfriend so Marco and the other bangers will leave me alone. What if he’s the one playing games and I just cause myself more problems by going along with his plan? And why would he care about me in the first place? Something feels fishy. Oh, and why doesn’t he already have his own girlfriend if he has so much power?

  Diego’s a really cool-looking dude. He’s got tats all over his body. They had to hurt. So either he has a high tolerance for pain, or he’s some kind of weird pain seeker. Either way, he’s intriguing. I probably should stay away from him though. Something tells me Diego’s as much trouble as the dude he’s trying to protect me from.

  Love,

  Carmen

  Carmen had no idea how exhausting it was to mess with people’s minds until she’d spent the afternoon working magic to get both her parents to come to the college fair without knowing the other would be there. Couldn’t she skip the event and crawl into bed?

  Was it even worth the effort? A college fair wasn’t necessary to find a culinary school—there were only a few perfect choices. But she’d heard the hope laced in both Mom’s and Dad’s words when they assumed attendance at the fair meant Carmen might be exploring other options. Fine with her. They could think whatever they wanted to. As long as it got them together in the same room.