by June Sproat
“Um yeah, that was a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
“Um yeah. My teacher told me to turn right, but I was nervous and got confused and turned left instead.”
“So he wanted you to go the other way, correct?”
“Yes.” Then things got ugly.
The other office suddenly stood up and said, “You actually expect us to believe you can’t tell your left from your right?”
“Um…no. I mean I know my left from my right, it’s just when I get nervous I get confused and mix them up.” I wanted to tell them this was actually pretty common, you know, ‘cause I Googled it, but then the other officer leaned over the table and sneered at me.
Yeah, he actually sneered.
“Do you know Roger Dawson?”
“Who?” Okay, where did that come from?
“The guy who you were going to pick up when you turned your car for him to get in.”
“What? I wasn’t picking anyone up! I told you, my teacher said to go right…”
“So your teacher knows Roger Dawson then, is that what you’re saying?” The officer stood up crossing his arms over his chest. He looked over at Officer Adams and gave him an “I told ya so” look.
“Yes, I mean, no. I mean, I don’t know. He just told me to turn to get out of the way of the police cars. I’m the one who went the wrong way.” Great, now I’m going to get the Coach in trouble. If I get Coach thrown in the slammer there is no way Steve will even talk to me.
“So it was your intention to pick him up?”
“Um no, it was my intention to get out of the way.”
“Did your teacher tell you about picking anyone up before you got to the intersection?”
“No, we didn’t talk about anything.”
“Then why did you swing around to get him?” He slammed his hands down on the table and glared at me.
I guess my mom had had enough at this point and decided to join the action. “Excuse me, but I don’t like the way this is going! My daughter did nothing wrong and if you continue to badger her in this manner, I will be forced to take matters up with an attorney.”
Whoa, you go mom!
Officer Adams spoke up again. “That won’t be necessary, Mrs. Sterns. We just need to confirm that your daughter and her teacher were in no way connected to Roger Dawson and were not in any way trying to aid in his escape. Were you or your teacher trying to aid in his escape, Kate?”
“No, I am just a bad driver.”
My mom leaned in and patted my arm. “You are not a bad driver, dear; you’re just inexperienced.”
Officer Adams stood and opened the door. “I think that’s enough. If we need anything else, we’ll be in touch.”
We left and to my relief I did not get a ticket after all! So maybe, just maybe, things would be all right.
Chapter Three
“I wish I could look back fondly on these last four years of high school, but really, it totally sucked!” —Anonymous
Mom didn’t say a word all the way home. As soon as I walked in the door, dad hugged me, “Kate, this better be the only time you end up in a police station. My heart can’t take it.”
Stacey, my little sister, just said I was a dork and that Jodi had called me like fifteen times and wanted me to call her back.
Dad had evidently been working on dinner while waiting for us because it was on the table. While we ate dinner, the other shoe finally fell.
Dad spoke up first. “I was thinking, Kate; maybe you should finish Driver’s Ed over the summer or even next semester.”
I knew he was trying to be diplomatic about the whole thing because he said ‘thinking’. When he uses this word, he means he wants me to do it, but doesn’t want to be overbearing about it. I know my parents are concerned for me, but WHAT?
I guess I must have said it out loud instead of just thinking it.
“Now Kate, don’t get upset. Your father isn’t saying you should never drive; we just think you might need more time.” Mom said in her usual, need-to-keep-the-peace voice.
This couldn’t be happening. Oh please, this so could not be happening!
“And you know,” Mom added, “Jodi will be taking Driver’s Ed next semester, so you could be with her.”
“But wouldn’t this go against everything you ever taught me? You know, get right back on the saddle and ride your bike or whatever you used to say?” Even though my voice quivered a little on the word ‘say’, I wasn’t backing down. I was not waiting another semester to get my license. My stomach tightened and I looked back and forth between my parents. I could be a wave maker if I had to, if I was provoked. And this was a time for provoking if there ever was one!
I had plenty of reasons why I should finish Driver’s Ed now. I’m responsible. I have good grades, except for the whole Chemistry thing, but they don’t know about that yet. I’m thinking this is not a good time to mention the fact I have to have a tutor. Okay, so I had two reasons, but I could make threats! I would go on a hunger strike if I had to, or better yet, never speak to them again…er…no, they would probably like that one.
Fortunately, it didn’t come to that. Maybe I hit on something with the bike/saddle thing because my parents looked at each other in silence, almost like they were trying to communicate telepathically. I know they can’t actually communicate this way, although I have heard that when people are married long enough they start to think alike. Yeah, I Googled it.
“All right,” Dad said. “But if there are anymore driving issues, that’s it; understand?”
I nodded that I understood.
The phone rang and I grabbed for it. With any luck it would be Jodi and the perfect excuse to end this discussion. It wasn’t Jodi, it was Mr. Mullberry.
“Hello? Yes, this is Kate. Um, yes sir, I’m fine. No, it’s fine. Thank you.” I swallowed hard and handed to phone to Mom. “For you,” I said covering the mouth piece. I narrowed my eyes and giving her my best authoritative look, I whispered, “It’s your boss.”
Mom grabbed the phone twisting her lips at me. I know she wanted to smile and was doing her best to hold it in.
“Hello, Tony, thanks for calling. No, no, it all worked out fine.”
I left before I had to hear anymore. I was sure she was about to break into an explanation about my lack of driving ability which was more than I needed to hear.
I gave her about fifteen minutes and then reached for the phone to call Jodi. My bedroom door opened and my stupid sister stuck her head in. Technically I shouldn’t call her stupid. She is pretty smart for being a tween. She’s already taking some high school classes, which means if I don’t keep up, we’ll probably be in college at the same time which would definitely not be a good thing. Of course, that was another reason to keep the Chemistry tutor information from my parents. I mean, I have enough trouble competing with a brainy little sister. I don’t need Mom throwing, ‘why don’t you just let Stacey help you out,’ into the mix. No way Jose!
“I have a suggestion for you,” she leaned against my door, her arms folded across her chest.
“What exactly would that be?” I asked, still holding the receiver in my hand.
“Well, next time you’re driving all you have to do is remember that right is up and left is down, and then just follow the direction of the little blinking arrow!” Stacey laughed.
“Get out you little twerp!” I screamed tossing a pillow at her head. After missing, I got up and slammed my bedroom door. I could still hear her laughing as she ran down the hall. I really don’t remember being that obnoxious when I was her age.
I walked back and plopped on my bed. Glancing at my daily planner I realized I missed PE, since I had to leave early to go to the police station. Normally, this would not be a big deal except that right now in PE we have swimming. The class rule is that any absence, excused or not, has to be made up. The only way to make up a class is to show up at 6:00 a.m. and swim while the swim team practices. So needless to say, my sorry butt was up and in t
he pool at 6:00 a.m.
The worst thing about swimming with the swim team is that the kids on the swim team are way better swimmers than I am and…um…did I mention it’s co-ed?
Of course the co-ed part isn’t really that bad except for the fact I have to wear a bathing suit that was in style, like, fifteen years ago. Of course, if I had the ability to fill it out better, I wouldn’t feel the need to spend the whole time in the deep end hiding under the water.
The whole having to wear the school’s bathing suit thing never really made sense to me. Other schools allow the girls to wear their own suits, but not Wainscott. No, we have to wear suits that are all the same so no one is “different.” No one, except those of us who were making up a class during co-ed swimming practice, would have to feel self-conscious about how they looked because everyone looked bad! Fortunately for me the guys were getting ready for a swim meet that afternoon, so they paid little attention to me.
After forty-five minutes I finally dragged my pruned self out of the water. I changed and headed into the caf to force down a breakfast bar, the cafeteria’s equivalent to an energy bar, which was exactly what I needed. I grabbed a seat, and after a few minutes, someone tapped on my shoulder. When I looked up, there, staring down at me, were the huge brown eyes that almost melted me yesterday.
I’d hoped I wouldn’t see him until I went for tutoring, or until I came up with an explanation for my ramblings about how cute I thought he was in the car yesterday.
“Seen the paper yet?”
“Um, what?” I mumbled, because this was totally not what I thought he would say.
“Haven’t you seen today’s paper?” He tossed the Wainscott Gazette down on the table in front of me. I looked down and almost choked on my breakfast bar.
There…on the front page…was ME!
Chapter Four
“I wish Elizabeth all my love forever. Have a great summer!” — Scott Green
LOCAL TEEN THWARTS CONVICT’S ESCAPE!
That was the headline, which was right above a hideous, thank you very much, picture of me sitting in the little red Driver’s Ed car. Oh, and Roger Dawson lying flat on the ground.
My jaw dropped. I totally didn’t even remember seeing any reporters yesterday. Not that I could actually remember anything other than that Roger guy laying on the ground bleeding, and oh yeah, Steve staring at me in the rear-view mirror. But still, you would think I would remember people snapping my picture.
Once I was over the shock of my face on the front page, I had to wonder why it was there. On the front page, I mean. Really, was this front-page stuff? I found it very hard to believe that there wasn’t anything more important than what happened during my Driver’s Ed class.
For instance, take the article right below mine. Something about a traveling art exhibit with some extremely rare pieces. Now that was big news. It was very important looking…well sort of. Okay, not really, but it was way more interesting than me. Wasn’t it?
My eyes were drawn back up to my article, kind of like a train wreck. I’ve never seen a train wreck, but I know I would look. So there was this whole story in the paper about the guy, Roger Dawson, who’d escaped from prison downstate, and for some reason, ended up in Wainscott. Why he’d come here is anybody’s guess. I mean, I’ve heard that some people think Wainscott is the toilet paper capital of the world. By the way, it’s not; Green Bay, Wisconsin is. I know; I Googled it. Nor is Wainscott the paneling capital of the world. I don’t know where that is, but I know it’s not here. Not that these two confusions with the name of our town are good reasons to come here, but at least they’re reasons.
The police spotted him and were in the middle of stopping him when I interfered. I’m pretty sure they would have caught him, but the article made it sound like I was some kind of hero who saved the town from utter destruction. Really, not even close.
But Roger was no innocent man. He had a few petty crimes, according to the paper, and he also broke into a safety deposit box a year ago. They didn’t list what was stolen, just the person whose box it was. He was actually due to be paroled in two months. Why would he bust out of jail if he was going to be paroled?
The criminal mind, I don’t get it.
I stared at the paper so long that the words stared to blur in front of me. Something hit my arm and I jolted to see Jackie, Becky, Andrea, Leslie, and Brooke, all the cheerleaders who seemed to travel in a pack, were sitting with me. And it didn’t stop there. Oh no, after the girls sat down, then Bobby, Marc, Tom (my driving partner who was absent yesterday), and some other guys I didn’t know joined us.
I swallowed hard, forcing my breakfast bar down, and realized that somehow I inadvertently sat at the ‘jock’ table. Apparently the 6:00 a.m. dip in the pool must have pruned up my brain as well as my skin.
Now I am well aware that the ‘jock’ table is in the center of the caf because all the groups have their own table. And no one mixes. Anyway, this was not, I was sure, the center of the room. So, whose mistake was it—mine or theirs?
Even though I was technically at the table first, I decided to get up. I just figured that maybe I was sitting at their table, and they were being kind enough to give me thirty seconds to vacate before they totally embarrassed me by making a scene and forcing me to move. Of course, there was also the possibility that my unnoticeable factor had reached an all time high, or I had, as I wished once I saw the newspaper, actually disappeared.
It turned out to be none of those things. “Hi, Stevie.” Jackie sang.
That’s when I remembered that Steve was there, which now explained why they were all at this table. It was because of Steve. He was there. It had nothing at all to do with me. He was there, so they sat there. “Hey Jacks,” Steve looked like he was going to say something to me, but then Jackie said “Hi Kelly,” in a sing-song tone and waved at me. “Um…it’s Kate, not Kelly, and hi.”
“Hey, Kate. Man, I am so sorry I missed Driver’s Ed yesterday,” Tom said.
Did he just call me Kate? I swear that for the past three months he’s referred to me as the brunette chick, which totally surprised me since I wasn’t sure he even knew what color my hair was.
“Maybe you can repeat it for me next week!” He added.
This apparently was very, very funny because everyone laughed. Well almost everyone, because I didn’t laugh.
“Oh Katie, I can’t believe what happened to you.
I mean, I would have been so scared. I would have never made it. I probably would have fainted or something,” Jackie said.
I didn’t doubt that. Although I doubt that it would’ve been real. The fainting, that is. Some of these cheerleaders, I believe, are in the wrong extra-curricular activity. Acting is more their calling.
Why did she have to put an ‘ie’ on the end of everyone’s name? And why was she talking to me?
Did I miss something here? I must have, but I just didn’t know what it was.
“You should close your mouth before something flies in there,” Steve whispered to me as he bent over to pry the paper from my hands.
This, I realized, was true. My mouth was dangling open, my hands had a death grip on the newspaper, and all I could do was stare at everyone. I wasn’t sure if I was more shocked that they had heard about me or that they were actually talking to me.
“See you later, Wheels.” Steve tapped my shoulder with the newspaper he had finally managed to pull from my hands and walked away.
“Wait, what?” I started to say, but he was gone.
Had he called me something? Did he say Wheels? What the heck was that?
I didn’t have time to give it another thought because all of a sudden I was the topic at the table. “Did he have a gun?” someone asked.
“Did who have a gun?” I wanted to know.
“The guy.”
Oh, they were talking about that Roger Dawson guy now.
“Were you scared?”
“Was he cute?”
“Did he
have tattoos?”
“Did he see you before he passed out?”
“He was on the news. Did anyone interview you?”
AHHHH! I wanted to scream. I didn’t know the answers to any of their questions, and really, why were they so interested in me?
Then I saw Jodi. She stood at the end of the table and stared at me. I knew how she felt—shocked. I grabbed my bag and what was left of my breakfast bar.
“Where are you going, Katie?” Jackie, a.k.a. sing-song, asked
“Oh…um…I have class,” I said.
“Well so do we, but we have like five minutes,” she giggled in that sing-song voice, which was highly annoying. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was like that from the minute she woke up. If she was, I don’t know how she could stand herself. Personally I am not a morning person. In my house, no one even talks to me until after 10:00 a.m. on the weekends. On school days, just don’t talk to me.
“Um…I know, but I have to stop somewhere first,” I lied.
“Oh, okay then, see you later. Ta.” Jackie said and gave me a little wave.
I grabbed Jodi’s arm and shoved her out of the caf.
“You better close your mouth before something flies in there,” I said quoting Steve.
“Why didn’t you introduce me to your new friends, Kate?” Jodi snorted and shot me her best evil eye look. Of course, Jodi’s evil eye look didn’t bother me because it really is kind of wimpy. She squints her eyes, scrunches up her nose, and then her lips turn up at the ends. I can’t tell if she’s supposed to be angry or just goofy looking. I guessed she was going for angry, but I still ignored her.
“I have no idea why they were sitting with me. I had to makeup swimming so I was in the caf early; they just came in and sat down.” I shoved the rest of my breakfast bar into my mouth.
“Well, I was just a little surprised to see you with them.” She shrugged.
Yeah, I heard that.
“So, tell me; how bad was it?” “How bad was what?”
“You know…your parents. Did they totally kill you? How long are you grounded for?” Jodi exhaled like she was releasing every bit of breath she had.