Seriously? Anne thought. She was supposed to pull out her driver’s license to prove her identity, yet she didn’t know who she really was. The name of her grandmother on her mother’s birth certificate was false and the father was listed as “unknown.” After Anne’s father died, her mother told her she went looking for the woman who’d given her up, but it soon became clear no such person existed.
The woman accompanied her all the way to her gate. “Thanks for helping me,” Anne said in parting. “I had no idea what to do.”
“You’re welcome. Have a nice flight. And good luck at school.”
“Thanks again.”
The woman stood frozen in place, remaining there long after Anne disappeared into the crowd of waiting passengers.
After takeoff, the events of the last twenty-four hours caught up with her. Anne began to shiver violently, as she often did during the scary moments in her life. She refused to show weakness but this time she couldn’t hold it in anymore.
A stewardess taking drink orders noticed Anne, curled up tight and shaking. “Are you cold?” she asked. “I can get you a blanket.”
“Yes,” Anne lied, gladly accepting it. A few minutes later the warmth allowed her to relax and doze off briefly. She woke up awhile later and looked out the window at the landscape below. Farms and roads were laid out in squares like a patchwork quilt. The farmland eventually gave way to houses crammed together on small lots sandwiched in between drab commercial buildings. The seatbelt lights came on as the city skyline came into view. Passengers were warned they were making their final descent into Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. The plane flew over Lake Michigan and turned toward the runway, bobbing in the air currents until it touched down.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the stewardess announced with a laugh, “You have just landed in the Windy City. Please remain seated until we arrive at the gate.”
The plane taxied for what seemed like an eternity. Anne wondered if they weren’t half way back to Louisville by the time it stopped. She filed off the plane and followed signs to the baggage claim area. O’Hare Airport was bigger than she ever imagined.
Once she collected her suitcases, Anne went to an information booth. The man directed her to where she could catch a taxi to the city. Public transportation was out of the question since she didn’t know her way around yet. She waited until a cab stopped in front of her.
“Where to, Miss?” the driver asked.
“Do you know the way to Lakeshore University?”
The driver gave her a funny look. “Sure. No problem.”
Anne knew he figured her for some hick from the sticks. But why fret about it? He was right.
At the end of the forty minute ride, the driver parked in front of the Stanton Hall dorm. She was glad she had a lot of cash on hand. The cab ride cost a bundle.
The lady at the desk found her name on a list and showed her where to find room 220. “If you have any questions, let me know.”
Once she was alone, Anne circled around, delighting in every corner of that small dorm room. After all the hard work and practice, then losing the scholarship, she thought this would never happen.
But here I am! I’m not dreaming. This is real!
CHAPTER 3
Anne finished unpacking and put her suitcases in the small closet. She was about to go exploring when someone poked her head in the doorway.
“Hi neighbor. Can I come in?”
Anne shrugged her ascent. “Sure.”
The girl was quite pretty, with sparkling blue eyes and short-cropped, curly blonde hair. “I’m Emma Kowalski, from across the hall,” she said as she took a seat on one of the beds.
“And I’m Anne Marie Clark, from Kentucky.”
Emma’s melodious laugh filled the room. “So what’s your major, Anne Marie Clark from Kentucky?”
“Music. I play the flute.”
“Hey! I’m a Music Major, too. Piano.”
“I just got here,” Anne explained, a bit taken aback by Emma’s outgoing personality. “Thought I’d take a look around.”
“Mind some company? This is my second year. I can show you where everything is.”
Anne was glad she accepted the invitation. The campus was all so new to her. The music building sat on lakefront property; a modern stone structure with an emerald green lawn, bordered by yews, silvery blue junipers, crimson barberries and ground cover roses.
Once inside, Emma showed her a large and a small concert hall on the main floor. Next to these were offices for administrative personnel, and classrooms lining the long hallway. Emma led her upstairs where there were practice rooms and more classrooms on the second and third floors. A cacophony of scales, instrumental repertoire, and vocalizes emanated from the rooms as they passed by.
Anne stopped suddenly. The voice behind one door was pure gold. She’d never heard anything like it. “Who’s that?”
“Roberta Moreno. She plans to do the Met auditions her senior year. She has a good chance of winning.”
Toward the end of the campus tour Emma turned to Anne, her eyes lighting up as she asked, “How would you like an awesome burger and fries? Dorm food gets pretty boring after awhile.”
“Sure,” she agreed. “I could go for fried anything right now.” Anne couldn’t remember when she ate last.
A few blocks away they entered a restaurant called Giovanni’s. Checkered tablecloths and paneled walls gave it an old world European look; warm and inviting. The hostess handed them menus after they were seated. Anne’s eyes widened as she read it. “Wow! Twenty-five bucks for a hamburger?”
“Trust me. They’re worth every penny,” Emma assured. “So what brings you here for summer session?”
Anne’s heart sank at the question. “Guess you might as well know the truth. I got kicked out of my foster home. My mom died when I was six and I don’t have any family, so I had nowhere to go but here.” Anne waited for a reply, bracing herself for rejection.
“How can you afford it?” Emma asked, setting her menu aside. “Did you get a loan or a scholarship?”
Anne let out a deep sigh. “Not really. I received a trust fund from somebody. I can’t imagine who in the world would do that. My grandmother gave up my mother when she was a baby. Mr. and Mrs. Clark had no children and folks thought they were too old to adopt, so they were glad to take in my mom. There was talk my grandmother was mixed up with the mob and went into Witness Protection. I don’t know if it’s true or not. Anyway, my mom got pregnant when she was seventeen. My father died in a car accident before they could get married. Mom said the Clarks took care of her until just after I was born. Then they both found out they had cancer and died within a month of each other. They left some money but it didn’t last long. The men my mother hooked up with spent it all. After that we were always on the run from bill collectors and the latest boyfriend. I guess Mom got to the point where she couldn’t take it anymore. She overdosed on something and killed herself.”
“Whoa! You have a quite a history,” Emma said, with obvious interest. “I just grew up in a boring little town in Ohio with my boring, run-of-the-mill family. Nothing like that.”
Anne stopped for a moment, puzzled over what Emma was saying. “Wait a minute. You mean you don’t mind?”
“Mind? Are you kidding? You’re the first really interesting person I’ve ever met.”
Anne felt tears welling up in her eyes. Acceptance was the last thing she expected. She hoped Emma was sincere but memories of the popular girls back home made her wary. In her sophomore year they suddenly pretended to include Anne in their group and she was so excited to finally be accepted. In the end it turned out to be a cruel joke: just a nasty way to make fun of her. She learned a hard lesson. Never trust anyone.
Despite those painful memories, Emma seemed like someone who could never be mean to anybody, and Anne dearly wanted to bel
ieve it would be different this time.
At Emma’s recommendation, Anne registered for a basic computer course. She hadn’t learned to work with a word processor because Mona only played games on her computer. In July Emma insisted she purchase a laptop and a small recorder for taking notes in class. “There’s no way you can keep up with the lecture,” she advised, “So use the recorder as a backup.”
By the middle of Summer Session, Anne had fallen into a rhythm. Her classes were held in the morning. During the afternoon she joined the myriad of musical sounds coming from the practice rooms, as she played her flute and plunked out the elementary piano tunes Mr. Dusek taught her. Every Friday evening she and Emma went out for a burger and fries.
“So, why did you come to Summer Session?” Anne asked, as they waited for their order. “Is your town really that boring?”
“It is, but that’s only part of the story. I had a boyfriend who dumped me right before prom night, senior year. His parents didn’t approve of me. They were into old family money and had another girl in mind for their son.” Emma folded her arms and sighed deeply. “So, they bribed him with a brand new car to break up with me. And of course, the car won. You’d think they could’ve at least waited until after the prom, but my feelings didn’t matter. In their minds the end justified the means. Right now, Ohio is the last place on earth I want to be.”
Anne shook her head in sympathy. “I don’t blame you.”
“Hey, I’ve got a great idea,” Emma said, quickly changing the subject. “What we both need here is some retail therapy. It’s time to go to Macy’s and get our ‘back to school’ wardrobe.”
The next morning the two headed downtown. Emma suggested they have lunch first at the Walnut Room. “My dad told me this store used to be called Marshall Fields. It was an icon in this city. When they changed the name and the store became part of a national chain, a lot of people weren’t too happy about it.”
After they took a seat at their table and the waiter brought menus, Emma continued: “My dad often traveled here with his parents to visit family. He said Marshall Fields had the most amazing animated Christmas window displays. People would come from miles around just to watch them. Then they’d go to the Walnut Room for lunch or dinner to see the huge decorated Christmas tree in the middle of the room. Can you believe it? We’re having lunch at a restaurant that’s been here since 1905! We’ll have to come back in December and see that gigantic tree. After all, it’s a tradition that’s been around forever.”
When the waiter re-appeared, they both ordered the individual quiche pastry tartlet with a side of Walnut Room salad.
Anne and Emma finished lunch and headed to the clothing department to poke through racks of clothing and study mannequins wearing featured ensembles. Emma pulled out a pair of jeans with holes torn in it and read the tag: “Destroyed boyfriend jeans. Works for me.”
She and Anne exchanged knowing smiles. “Perfect!” they agreed.
They bought shoes, sweaters, tunic tops, and jeans to start the school year, plus jackets, hats, and boots for the winter season. By mid afternoon they were loaded down with bags of clothing and ready to catch a bus back to Stanton Hall.
“I think retail therapy beats psychotherapy any day,” Anne confided to Emma, delighted with the wonderful day they’d spent together.
Students began arriving for fall semester during the first week of September. Anne envied the students whose families came to drop them off, helping them settle in their dorm rooms and kissing them good-bye. It reminded her of everything she never had.
One afternoon as she and Emma were looking out the window, Emma spotted a limousine parking in front. “Wow! Look at that!”
The driver ran around to open the door for the young lady who stepped out on the sidewalk. He followed her, carrying her bags toward Stanton Hall.
Anne couldn’t believe her eyes. “Shit! That’s the girl who won the scholarship I should have won. And she’s coming here in a freakin’ limousine? I don’t believe this!”
“How do you know it’s her?”
“The letter I got said she won. That’s Ashley Montgomery. I remember her from the auditions.”
“Well, I guess she doesn’t really need the money,” Emma commented dryly.
“Well said, Captain Obvious!” Anne shouted, pacing up and down the room. “How could they do that to me? She could buy the whole damn school!”
“I think you may be onto something there. As my dad always says, ‘follow the money trail.’ If she gets the scholarship, her daddy will donate vast sums of money to the university in his eternal gratitude and her career is set for life.”
“That sucks!”
“Politics suck!” Emma shot back. “But they’re a fact of life.”
“My teacher warned me about favoritism but I never thought it would be this bad. I didn’t ask for a handout. I worked so hard and then I was told I wasn’t quite good enough. You know, there was a moment when I actually thought my mother’s choice to end it all was the only way out. Why bother living when the whole world stops you from getting anywhere because you’re poor? If it weren’t for that trust fund, I wouldn’t be here.” Anne pounded her hand on the windowsill so hard it stung. ”I hate her! I really do!”
“I know, but you’re going to have to deal with her sooner or later.”
Unfortunately, it turned out to be sooner. The girl was assigned to be her roommate. Anne strode out of the room without a word as the driver brought in the girl’s things. She headed to the dorm office, hurrying past the reception desk to the inner office. “I need to talk to somebody about my roommate. Right now!” she demanded.
The woman behind the desk glanced up. “I’m Mrs. Albright. Have a seat. What can I do for you?”
Anne ignored her invitation and remained standing. “I want a different roommate or to change rooms. Whatever. I don’t want to be anywhere near that girl!”
Mrs. Albright checked her list. “Is there some problem with Ashley?”
“Problem? You bet there’s a problem!” Anne’s eyes narrowed in pure rage. “For starters, she’s the girl who won the flute scholarship I auditioned for and lost. So, since she came here in a limousine and didn’t actually need the money, I’m sure she’ll be much happier rooming with someone more suitable to...her station in life,” she spat, echoing the preacher’s exact words about her that night she was thrown out on the street.
“I see.” Mrs. Albright leaned forward to illustrate her point. “Ashley Montgomery is a lovely young lady. I think once you get to know her, you might like her.”
Anne folded her arms tightly. “I don’t want to get to know her! We have nothing in common.”
“You may have more in common than you think. Right now Stanton Hall is filled to overflowing and I can’t help you. In a few days or weeks, that will change. Perhaps we can arrange a trade of some kind, or there might even be a vacancy. So why don’t you give it a try for now? I’ll contact you as soon as there’s an opening. We can discuss it then.”
Anne reluctantly agreed. At least it was only temporary. She headed for Emma’s room and flopped down on the other bed, still empty but soon to be filled. “Well, Ashley is my roommate, so I’m stuck with her for now.”
“Yikes!” Emma sympathized. “I wish I could do a trade but mine is coming from back home. I promised her parents I’d room with her. Maybe you should just chill out for now. After all, is it the worst thing that ever happened to you?”
Anne leaned against the wall and heaved a weary sigh. “No. There’s way too much competition for that award.”
Ashley tried to draw Anne into conversation several times without success. Anne barely spoke a word to her. Emma came over for their weekly outing to the restaurant on Friday.
Ashley looked up from her desk with a hopeful expression. “Going somewhere?”
“Yeah, we are,�
�� Anne replied, her voice sharp and dismissive.
“How’s it going?” Emma asked once they were seated at Giovanni’s. “Is she that horrible?”
“No,” Anne had to admit. “She’s really quiet. I don’t know if she’s stuck up or just plain mousey.”
“Either way, she knows she’s not welcome. The climate in your room is so frosty, I almost went back to get my jacket. It wouldn’t hurt to cut her some slack.”
Anne thought about it for a minute and came up with a plan. The only way out of her situation was to provide a blow by blow description of her family history to Ashley. That would surely send her running to the office to beg for another roommate. “I think I can fix this whole mess. All I have to do is tell her my life story and she won’t want anything to do with me. That’ll scare her off, for sure. And if the school cares enough about her father’s money, they’ll make it happen.”
“Seriously?” Emma gave Anne a doubtful smile. “Your background didn’t scare me.”
The opportunity presented itself a few days later. Ashley closed her laptop and asked, “Want to go get a Coke or something? I need a break.”
“I don’t think so. Your parents wouldn’t want you slumming around with the likes of me.”
Ashley tilted her head up with a questioning look. “What do you mean? Why not?”
“Why not?” she echoed, rolling her eyes. “Well, let’s start with my grandmother who dated some Mafia boss. She got pregnant, gave away my mother to an older couple and disappeared. Vanished without a trace. The Clarks gave my mom a good home, so I was told, but they were older and died after I was born. My mom and her boyfriend were going to get married when they turned eighteen. Then he got killed in a car crash. My mother survived but was left with several broken bones, chronic pain, and worst of all...me!” Anne paused a moment to let that sink in. “The Clarks left my mom a small inheritance which her various boyfriends sucked dry. I can still hear one of them saying, ‘Oh Baby, Baby, it’s just a small loan. I know I’ll hit it big this time.’ When the money ran out, so did the boyfriends. I can’t tell you how many times my mother told me she wished I’d died in that accident instead of my father. She said she could always have another baby and couldn’t understand why I had to live.” Anne threw her roommate a scathing look. “Mrs. Albright tells me we have a lot in common. I sure don’t see it. Nobody dropped me off in a limousine my first day at school!”
Prelude to Silence Page 2