CHAPTER SEVEN: CLIQUES

In her dream world, Callie spent the rest of the week taking it easy at home. Eventually she started getting really bored with sitting around working on homework and watching TV, so Lena and Stef decided she could go back to school. Callie had to promise that she'd go see Lena if she thought she was overdoing it, but she'd started sleeping upstairs again and was getting around pretty well on her own. She didn't think she'd have any problems.

As the kids walked through Anchor Bay's main entrance, Callie was surprised when Talya approached her. "Hey, welcome back," the red-head told her with a grin.

"Um, thanks." Her confusion deepened as Talya linked arms with her as they walked down the hall toward their lockers. Are we actually friends here? she wondered. They were civil to each other in the real world, but that was mostly because Talya had changed since Callie first met her. In this reality, if Talya was still the kind of girl she'd originally been and the two of them were best friends... that gave Callie a better understanding of her actions before the accident.

"You missed a great weekend," Talya reported. "We had a huge bonfire on the beach - and there was a keg. And then afterwards, since my parents were gone, Wyatt came back to my place." She grinned brightly. "He was totally worth the wait... not that we really waited that long, actually."

"Wow," was all Callie could think to say. She knew that Talya had dated Wyatt at one point, but hadn't ever thought she'd be hearing the details from her.

The other girl's smile took on a slightly mischievous edge. "I told you I had a plan for him. Hey, how come you don't have makeup on? And what are you wearing?"

Makeup? For school? And what's wrong with my clothes? Callie's normal attire was just jeans and t-shirts - something she hadn't found a lot of in her closet. When she was getting dressed that morning, her options had looked more like Mariana's clothes than the wardrobe she was used to. She'd picked something easy and comfortable, but it seemed like her choice didn't meet expectations. "Well, with just one arm, I wasn't really worrying about it," she tried to explain, indicating her cast.

"Oh. You should get Mariana to help you, then."

"Yeah, maybe." The bell rang, warning everyone that first period was starting in a few minutes. "I should get to class," Callie said, untwining her arm from the other girl's.

"Since when do you care about class?"

"Well... I got off easy from the Moms, so I'm trying to stay on their good sides."

Talya laughed as she headed toward her own classroom. "Yeah, like that ever lasts more than a week!"


Callie was very happy to discover that her class schedule was taped to the inside cover of one of her notebooks; she wouldn't have had any idea where she was going otherwise. Math was first period, but her heart skipped a beat when she saw that her second period was an advanced music class. Was she supposed to be some kind of prodigy like Brandon was?

"Welcome back, Callie," her teacher told her as she came in the room.

"Um, thanks."

The woman looked down at her arm. "Although I have a feeling you're just going to be turning this period into a study hall until you get that cast off, huh?"

Saved by the broken wrist... "Yeah, sorry."

"That's fine. I can complete your grade for the period based on your work for the spring concert. And maybe with a little time away from playing, you'll reconsider auditioning for the summer institute at the University? I keep telling Lena that you've got way too much talent not to be developing it." Callie just forced a smile and quickly found a desk in the corner to sit at.

She knew that, in the real world, Brandon had attended several local music programs and auditioned with various exceptional teachers in the area. He and the twins had interests that Stef and Lena encouraged. Callie had assumed that the moms hadn't been pressuring her or Jude about extracurriculars because they were just the foster kids. But they didn't seem to be any more forceful with her here. Could it be that the pressure on Brandon for playing the piano or Jesus for sports actually came from the kids themselves? That the Moms were just trying to support what they thought their kids wanted? Perhaps the expectations were a little more fair and even than she'd thought.


At lunchtime, Talya spotted her in the cafeteria and Callie got sucked into eating outside at a table with her supposed best friend and their comrades. She had wanted to go see her little brother, but it looked like that would have to wait.

"So I've heard there's going to be another party on the beach this weekend," Talya informed everyone. "Some guys from USD are setting it up. Swimsuits are the preferred attire."

The other girls all smiled. "We'll be there."

Talya turned to Callie. "You should wear that blue bikini you got last summer."

"Um, actually, I don't think I'm going to go."

"Why not? You're always up for beach parties, especially with college guys."

"Yeah, well... I still get tired pretty easily. And I don't think the cast goes well with a bathing suit." She held up her right arm. If it didn't hurt, this would be the world's best get-out-of-jail-free card, she thought.

"That's true," one of the other girls agreed with a nod. "Especially with all that stuff all over it. Did some little kid scribble on you?"

Callie looked down at her cast. "No. My brothers and sister signed it."

"Oh... Why?"

Callie was about to give her a choice retort but didn't get the chance. Someone bumped into her as they slid into the space between her and Talya, and she turned around to see that it was Wyatt.

"Hey, babe," he told Talya before kissing her. That was the last straw; Callie wasn't going to stay there any longer.

"I'll see you guys later," she said as she started to get up.

"Where are you going?" Talya asked.

"Lena - I mean, my mom wanted me to check in with her at lunchtime, just to see how I'm doing." The lie rolled off her tongue so easily.

"Seriously?"

Callie faked a smile. "Yeah. So overprotective, right?"

% ^ % ^ % % ^ % ^ %

Once she got back inside the building, she headed for the section of the school that housed the primary school students. Jude's classroom wasn't hard to find, and she smiled as she saw him attentively listening while his teacher spoke and made notes on the board. It really was great to see him as a good student.

After a minute, Jude happened to look in her direction and saw her by the window. Callie offered him a little wave, but he frowned and motioned for her to go away. In this reality, he was an independent boy and didn't need his big sister checking up on him.

Slightly stunned, Callie nodded and turned away. She'd spent so many years wishing with all of her heart that Jude hadn't gone through the things that they'd endured. She still wished that were true, but she'd never considered that without their shared traumatic history, they wouldn't be as close or protective of each other. It wasn't possible to cherry pick the aspects of him that she wanted to keep or throw away. Without all of it, he wasn't her Jude. And in that moment, she really missed her little brother.


Jude had drama club after school, so Callie, Jesus, and Mariana walked home without him. Normally Lena would drive them, but she'd left school sometime after lunch and none of the kids knew where she'd gone.

"How'd your math test go?" Mariana asked her brother as they approached the house. Jesus didn't answer. "That bad?"

"Shut up, Miss Perfect."

"You're gonna get it when Mama finds out."

"I did the best I could! I just don't get algebra."

"Mari, leave him alone," Callie told her younger sister. She seemed to take a little too much pleasure in getting better grades than her twin.

"Oh, great, she's already home," Jesus muttered as he realized that Lena's car was in the driveway. When they came inside, they could hear her talking to someone in the kitchen. Callie followed the twins toward the back of the house, and froze in shock when she saw who was sitting at the table with Lena.

Brandon.


TBC...