"Annie, get up!"
Beth's seven-year old sister snuck further under the covers. "No," came a muffled response from under a pillow.
Beth sighed. She really didn't have time for this today. She only had half an hour before she had to meet up with Rio. She was so not in the mood to deal with her bratty sister right now.
Grabbing a pillow, Beth swung for the lump under the mound of blankets. "Annie! Barbara! Marks!" she yelled, each word punctuated with a blow to her sister. "Get up!"
"Ow!" Annie whined, slowly emerging and rubbing her back side. "That hurt."
"Well, you should have gotten up the first five times I asked you. I have somewhere I really need to be and we have to get to school so Ruby can watch you while I meet someone."
"Oooh, are you gonna meet Dean so you and him can make out?"
For one so young, Annie sure was obsessed with the opposite sex and the idea of boyfriends and girlfriends.
"Yeah, Annie, I'm gonna get up at the crack of dawn in 30 degree weather to make out with my boyfriend."
"Why are you getting up at the crack of dawn?" Annie asked as Beth not so gently helped her dress in jeans and a sweater.
"I think I've found a job, but if I don't get there on time I might lose it. So I really need you to hurry up."
Grabbing her sister by the hand, she grabbed the car keys, a ziplock baggie of Lucky Charms, and an orange juice. "You can eat these in the car on the way over."
"My favorite!" Annie responded gleefully, taking hold of the bag that was more marshmallows than cereal.
Beth glanced at her watch as she paced back and forth under the bleachers. 6:45. Where was Rio? Had he changed his mind about working with her? She determined that she'd give him five more minutes before leaving. She couldn't believe he would stand her up like this. What a jerk!
At 6:49, she saw a black Honda Accord roll up next to the curb. Rio leisurely got out of the driver's side. As soon as she saw him, she wanted to yell at him, asking him where he'd been all this time. But she didn't dare. She couldn't risk losing this opportunity.
"Hey sweetheart, haven't been waiting long have ya?" he asked in that half-smug way of his. He knew exactly how long she'd been waiting.
Choosing not to take his bait, Beth focused on the matter at hand. "So...what will I be doing? And what days do you need me to work? Because depending on what day it is I might need to rearrange my schedule."
Rio held up his hand. "Hold ya horses, girl. We don't even know if you have any skill in this line of work. Nah, we gotta do a trial run first."
Trying best to keep the disappointment off her face, Beth replied, "What does that entail?"
"Entail? What did you just get out of ACT prep?"
Beth couldn't keep herself from rolling her eyes. "What's the plan? What do you want me to do?"
"Meet me by the water fountain in the English hallway five minutes into last period. A returning customer of mine needs to restock his supply."
As if that was more than enough explanation, Rio turned and headed back to his car.
More than a little confused, Beth shouted, "Wait!"
Rio stopped in his tracks and cocked his head sideways. Running towards him, Beth stopped a few feet in front of him.
"What is it that I'm going to do? How does all of this go?"
"They give you the money. You give them the weed. Simple transaction," Rio stated, shrugging his shoulders as if he couldn't be more specific than that.
This was completely unhelpful to Beth who always liked being prepared. She liked knowing all the details so there wouldn't be any surprises. "Can you give me more info? Like how will they know I'm selling? How much money should I get? Do we take checks? How do I give them the product," she said in a near whisper, "without teachers noticing?"
"One, you'll be with me so they'll know. Two, a bag is $50. Cash only. You hand them a book with the baggie inside. And the teachers won't notice because they'll be busy teaching while you're skipping class," Rio said ticking off the points on his right hand.
Queasiness filled her stomach. Beth didn't like the thought of skipping class.
"Of course, if you're too scared to miss taking notes on Mrs. Beechman's lecture on The Scarlet Letter..."
Beth vehemently shook her head. "No, I can do this."
"Good, because if you screw up no second chances."
"I'm not going to screw up."
"Aiight. See you at 2:15."
As Rio walked away, Beth continued to repeat her mantra. I'm not going to screw up. I'm going to do just fine. I'm not going to screw up. I'm going to do just fine.
"Hey, want to go off campus for lunch?" Dean whispered in her ear as she put her books in her locker.
"No, I've got plans to study with Ruby." More accurately Ruby was going to help talk her off a ledge. She couldn't believe what she was going to do in just 3 short hours.
"Come on," Dean whispered, blowing in her ear. "I'll make it worth your while."
Beth seriously doubted it. Most of the time she spent in his car was with her back being pressed into something hard and plastic as she tried to evade his groping hands.
"Rain check," she said.
"Hey Beth, how are you doing?" asked Cindy as she walked up with Dean's friend Roy. Cindy was an old friend of Beth's from elementary school who had ignored her for all of middle school and the majority of freshmen year, but as soon as she'd started dating Dean they'd become almost, sort of, friends. OK, it was more like Cindy was just a girl she talked to while Dean and his friends goofed off on group dates. "We're going to the Tastee Freeze. Are you coming with?"
"I'm sorry. I can't. I've got to study for my history test."
"Oh, that's a bummer," Rebecca, another girlfriend of one of Dean's friends replied. "We'll miss you. More power to you for keeping up your grades. You'll get a scholarship for sure."
Dean laughed, roughly side-hugging Beth. "She won't need to go to college. We're practically all set since I'll get my dad's car dealership when he retires. Beth can focus on raising the kids instead of having to go out and work."
"Oh my gosh, Dean! You're such a caveman," Cindy whined, playfully slapping his arm causing Dean to guffaw and blush a little. "What do you expect her to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen all the time? It's the 90s. Get with the times."
As the group said their goodbyes and walked away to get lunch, Beth realized Dean's ideal of life wouldn't be so bad. A husband with a good paying job, lots of kids running around, a real home, a stable life...that sounded like heaven to her. She loved her family but they weren't what anyone would call reliable. She definitely wanted something better for her future kids.
"You shouldn't do this," Ruby declared. "This is a bad idea. A very very very very bad idea."
So much for the pep talk she was hoping Ruby would give her. She was currently receiving the opposite.
"Do you want to ruin your life?" her friend continued. "Because that's what you're going to do. You're going to lose your chance of getting into college, get expelled, go to juvie or jail, and you'll probably lose Dean too. Actually, that's the one positive that could come out of the situation, but still..." Ruby leaned in for emphasis. "It's not worth it!"
"What other choice do I have Ruby? Please enlighten me. The only other thing I could think of to get the kind of money I need this fast is prostitution and that seems WAY worse than selling some marijuana," Beth angrily whispered at her friend. The weight of school, a clingy boyfriend, and being the primary caregiver for both her sister and her mom was taking its toll. She felt like she might snap at any moment.
Ruby must have noticed how thin a thread she was hanging on, because her face softened and her tone changed. "You could talk to one of the counselors or my pastor. We can find a way to get you the money. You're the child. None of this should be your concern. You deserve better," Ruby said, rubbing Beth's shoulder.
"They'll just call Child Protective Services. They have to by law. My mom's a drunk who basically neglects her children and my dad? Who knows where he is!" Beth said almost hysterically, throwing her hands in the air. "They'll put both of us in foster care so quick it'll make our heads spin. I could handle it, but Annie and I would most likely be separated. I couldn't do that to her. Most of those people are looking to make a quick buck. They don't care about the kids. And you're right. I do deserve better, but it is what is. I have to do this, Ruby. And you can either support me or not."
Ruby sighed, "Can I support you but not like what you're doing at the same time?"
Beth nodded as Ruby embraced her.
"Hate you," Beth whispered, sobbing softly into Ruby's shoulder.
"Hate your face," Ruby whispered back.
Beth nervously tapped her fingers against the side of her thighs as she waited five minutes after the bell had rung by the water fountain like Rio had told her to. She half hoped he wouldn't show. She wasn't sure she was ready for this.
But as he strolled down the hallway, she breathed an unexpected sigh of relief.
"You weren't in Biology today," Beth said.
Rio smirked in response. "Miss me?"
"No," Beth retorted. It was only a half-lie. If he'd attended Biology, she wouldn't have known what to do. She would have been too nervous. On the other hand, it had been kind of lonely to sit in class all by herself.
Rio grabbed a book out of his bag and handed it to her.
"The Feminine Mystique?" Beth asked.
"Yeah, it was only a dime at the used book store. When he comes over, you give him the book and he'll slide the money into your hand. Pretty easy. Hard to screw up."
Beth flipped through the book and found a small baggie tucked inside. Snapping it shut, Beth looked up to see a white guy in dreads, a Bob Marley t-shirt, and flip flops approaching.
Rio's hand shot out and pushed her towards the lockers. "Lean back," he muttered. "Don't look so tense."
"You got the stuff?" the guy, Beth thought his name was Josh, asked as he caught up to them seconds later.
Smiling, Beth lifted the book and waved it to show the sale was ready to go. Unfortunately, she shook it a little too hard and the bag inside fell to the ground. As she scooped to grab it from the floor, they heard bold footsteps approaching. Josh split just as she got upright.
Before she could even grasp the potential consequences of the situation and formulate a plan, she felt cold metal against her back. "Stick it in my pants," Rio whispered before his mouth closed over hers. Amidst the onslaught of what Rio was doing to her mouth, she located his front pocket and stuffed the bag into it. Taking two fingers, she shoved it further down. She wasn't quite sure but she thought she heard Rio groan.
With that task completed, all that was left was the intensity of Rio's kiss. It was different than anything she'd experienced with Dean and surprisingly far less wet. Just as she was trying to decide if she should push him away, they heard the sound of someone clearing his throat.
"Mr. Sanchez, Miss Marks, what do we have here?" asked the vice principal, Mr. Hawkins.