"Leaving it All Behind"
by TVaddict
There was a chill in the air as there often was in October in Peekskill. That first week you need to wear your coat everywhere you go. Blair and Jo were headed home after a long day of classes at Eastland. They laughed and smiled as they made their way down the sidewalk, crunching their shoes through fallen leaves. They had known each other for a while now, and although they had shared their differences, it was apparent that they had become friends. They had been through a lot together, and they were finally seniors, which made them even more elated. They insisted on rubbing it in the faces of Natalie and Tootie that they would not have to wear their Eastland uniforms much longer. It was at that point in the conversation that Natalie would remind them that they now had to worry about college and what they were going to do with the rest of their lives. To which Blair would reply, "well, at least we'll look good!"
The seniors finally arrived home with just enough time to relax before it was time for their obligatory kitchen duty. It had been a punishment and a hassle at first, but it had become such a routine that they hardly minded it anymore. Although there were those days where they'd wondered if maybe they shouldn't have gotten so carried away with that paint. Then again, it did keep them from having to move out. They had decided that it wasn't such a bad thing after all.
Jo plopped herself down on the couch, exhausted from the long day at school. Blair sat down next to her, just happy that they had a whole hour before they had to put on their aprons and get to work. "I can't believe we're seniors," Blair said.
"I know, it's gonna go by pretty fast. We're gonna have to start thinking about where we want to go to college and everything."
"Well I know where I'm going, Langley of course."
"Oh, of course. Well you may know, but I have no idea. First I have to figure out if I can even afford college."
"What do you mean? Don't you have like a college fund set aside or something? Savings bonds from grandparents, anything?"
"Not everyone has money comin' out their eyeballs like you, Blair. Some of us have to think about it. And no, we don't have some magical college fund filled with thousands of dollars just waiting for me to pick any school I want."
"Well, I'm sure you can figure out something. I mean, you got to come here, didn't you?"
"Yeah, let's just hope I find a school that's generous with scholarship money, because I'm gonna need every cent I can get."
"Well, if you ever need any help…"
"Don't even think it, Warner."
"Just checking."
Before they could continue with their conversation, the other half of the four musketeers came in the front door. Tootie was in the midst of a story she had overheard and she was doing her best to make sure everyone else at Eastland heard it. Starting with Natalie, of course. It was what resident gossips do best.
"And then she kissed him! And he kissed her back! Even though he's going out with Jane. Can you believe that?"
"He's a guy, Tootie, I believe anything they do. Especially when it involves kissing."
"Not all guys cheat, Natalie. Not when they find the right girl that is," Blair said as she fluffed her hair vainly.
"Wait a minute," Jo interrupted. "Didn't you break up with your last boyfriend Blake because he kissed another girl?" Blair self-consciously stopped playing with her hair as her smile faded.
"Yeah Blair," Natalie added. "Guess he decided you weren't the right girl."
"That was different," Blair said defensively. "He… he was delusional. I didn't even really like him that much."
"Yeah, he was delusional when he agreed to go out with you," Jo said as she turned to Natalie and they both started laughing at her.
Blair struggled to think of something to say, but all she could muster was, "turn blue!" To which the other three girls just laughed harder.
Mrs. Garrett heard the laughter from the other room and decided she needed to see what was so funny. She was more than just a dorm mother for the girls. She was their friend, and she loved having them around. She couldn't imagine life without them. She loved to hear them laugh, and she couldn't imagine what it was going to be like when they all graduated and moved on. She tried not to think about that too much. "What's going on in here girls?"
Jo struggled to regain her composure, "nothing Mrs. G, just laughing at Blair."
"Again? Jo, don't you ever get tired of that?"
"You ever get tired of making strudel?"
"Good point. Well girls, you better do whatever you need to do before we start serving dinner."
Tootie and Natalie walked up the stairs and Jo got up to follow, but stopped when she saw Blair wasn't going anywhere.
"Come on, Blair, you know we're just foolin' around. We didn't mean anything by it."
"Ok, ok. I'll admit I'm being a little over sensitive if you'll apologize."
Jo thought about it for a second. "Nope."
"You are so stubborn."
A huge smile crossed Jo's lips. "I know."
The phone began to ring and Blair continued staring at Jo who said, "aren't you going to get that? It's probably another one of those guys looking for the right girl." It continued to ring. "Get it quick so you can tell them they have the wrong number!"
Blair let out a sigh, knowing she had lost this argument and she went and picked up the receiver. "Hello? Oh, hi Mrs. Polniaczek. Yes, she's right here, hold on. It's for you."
"Thanks, I kinda caught that from the way you said, 'Mrs. Polniaczek.'" Jo took the receiver from Blair and smiled as she stomped off. She loved irritating her, and she loved it even more when she couldn't think of a good way to fight back. "Hey, Ma, how's it goin'?" Jo's face turned pale as she listened to her mother. Not a hint of a smile remained on her face. "What? Well isn't there something you can do?" She was beyond anger at this point, and the rest of the conversation, she found it hard to speak. "No, I understand. Yeah, I mean we tried, right? It's not like I expected this to work out. Ok, bye." Jo slowly hung up the phone and backed away. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. It was like a bad dream. A million thoughts were running through her head and she didn't know what to do next. Her mother had lost her job. They had no money and there was no way she could continue to go to Eastland. All of her hopes of getting a good education and making a good life for herself had faded away with one phone call. She couldn't just go back to public school in the Bronx. She couldn't take that anymore. There was no way she was going to get a good education if she wasn't going to finish Eastland. But she wasn't going to tell the girls what had happened. It was too humiliating. And she didn't want to have to go through the pain of saying goodbye. She was just going to have to sneak out in the middle of the night. In the meantime, she was going to have to do her best to pretend everything was normal.
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Jo entered her bedroom and walked directly over to her bed without saying a word. Natalie was trying to get some reading done before dinner and Tootie was busy on the phone spreading her gossip. "Jo, you're going to have to do something about Blair," Natalie said. "You've actually got her questioning how appealing she is to men!"
"Listen Nat, I don't really have time for this, ok? I got a lot of stuff on my mind."
"You don't have time for your best friend? She is your best friend, isn't she?"
"Well, yeah, but…" Jo tried to come up with something to say. Natalie's words stung more than she could know. All it made Jo think about was that she had to leave her best friends. She couldn't fight with Blair anymore, or talk to each other before they went to sleep. It was all over now. She felt tears start to sting her eyes, and then she got angry. She didn't want to cry, she was too mad at the world to cry. She knew she couldn't give in. So she tried to feign indifference, hoping she could hold back the tears. "Blair will be fine. She'll have 5 new dates by tomorrow. Now excuse me, I gotta get downstairs to help Mrs. G." Jo pushed her way past Natalie to grab her apron and head back downstairs.
"What's with her?" Natalie asked Tootie, who was still on the phone.
"Huh?" Tootie wasn't really listening. She was too wrapped up in her phone conversation.
"Oh, forget you, you're no help."
"What?"
"How do you get all these stories if you can't listen?" This time, Tootie didn't respond at all. Natalie just shook her head. She didn't understand what was going on with Jo. She decided it was probably nothing and she'd better get down to work, too. She grabbed her apron and tapped Tootie on the shoulder. "Come on, Tootie, we have to get to work." Tootie reluctantly ended her conversation and followed Natalie out of the room.
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Down in the kitchen Mrs. Garrett was pulling some fresh rolls out of the oven. Jo was busy getting the silverware out of the dishwasher. Mrs. Garrett could tell something was wrong with Jo from the minute she came down the stairs. She knew her too well by now not to notice. She also knew her well enough to know that it was difficult to get her to admit there was a problem. But like always, she had to at least let her know she was there if Jo needed her. "Something wrong, Jo?"
"Nah, nothin'. Don't worry about me." Jo hated to have to lie. Especially when she knew that this was the last night she would be spending there with Mrs. Garrett. She had been like a mother to her, and she had worked so hard to help Jo along the way. But she couldn't bear to tell her the truth. Why did money have to be an issue for her? Why couldn't she be like Blair and not have to worry about things like that? She couldn't believe what she was thinking. She actually wished she were like Blair. Well, what was wrong with wanting to be like Blair? She was her best friend after all. Never in a million years did she think when she first met her that they'd end up friends. Over the years she'd really grown on her. To the point where she didn't know how she was going to get along without her. And now Jo was going to have to say goodbye.
"Well, if there's anything you need to talk about. I'm here." Mrs. Garrett smiled and went to bring the rolls into the dining room. She was going to miss that wonderful woman so much. She never knew anyone who was always so willing to sit down and listen to any problem she had. She was the reason Jo had made it this far at Eastland, and now it was all going to come to an end. Just a few months short of graduation. Jo found herself fighting the urge to cry once again. She couldn't let them see her upset, not the last time they saw her. She didn't want to be coming back and visiting them, seeing them all still getting to live together and working together and going on to higher education and fabulous lives. It would be too painful to watch. She was going to have to do her best to disappear, and she knew the best way to do it.
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After dinner the girls were busy clearing all of the tables as the last of the Eastland students headed back to their dorms. Jo had remained relatively quiet throughout the evening. So far, nobody had noticed. But before she left she knew she wanted to apologize to Blair for what she had said earlier. It wasn't such a terrible comment, but she didn't want the last thing she ever said to her to be mean-spirited. So however unlike her it was, Jo was going to have to suck it up and take it back. She brought some dishes into the kitchen, where she found Blair tying off a garbage bag. She figured now was as good a time as any.
"Uh, Blair?"
"Yeah?"
"Listen, I just wanted to um… I… well, I wanted to say I was sorry for what I said earlier."
"Excuse me? What was that?"
"I said I was sorry."
"Jo, are you feeling all right?"
"I'm fine. I just think that what I said wasn't exactly very nice and I wanted you to know that I didn't mean it."
"Who are you and what have you done with Jo?"
Jo was starting to get a little annoyed. "Listen, do you accept my apology or not?"
"Of course I do. I just can't figure out why you're apologizing. You've said a lot worse things than that to me before and you never felt the need."
"Well, maybe I decided that I shouldn't say things like that to you."
"Why not? Usually I deserve it." Blair laughed at her own remark and Jo couldn't help but crack a smile. Yes, usually she did deserve it. This time was not an exception. But her conscience wouldn't allow her to leave things the way they were with Blair. No matter how miniscule the comment had been, it would still be the last thing she had said to her. She needed to make sure things were ok between them before she left.
"You did deserve it. But that's no excuse. You're a great person and any guy would be nuts not to want to go out with you."
Blair was a bit taken aback by this sudden sincerity from her usually cynical best friend. But instead of arguing with her, she decided to just accept it. How often could she really have a pleasant conversation with Jo anyway? "I know."
Jo had to laugh at that. "So, are we ok here?"
"Of course we are. I've never seen you try so hard to be nice to me. Does this mean you're not going to insult me anymore?"
Jo couldn't think of a good way to answer. She decided to go with the truth. "I won't ever be insulting you again. I gotta go upstairs." With that, Jo turned and walked up the kitchen stairs, leaving Blair alone in the kitchen.
Blair was more than a little confused. If someone had told her Jo was going to stop insulting her, she'd have thought of it as a welcome relief. But actually hearing her say it just didn't seem right. Something was wrong. Very wrong. However hard it was to admit to herself, she actually liked it when Jo insulted her. It meant she got to insult her back. They knew it didn't really mean anything, it was just their best form of communication. And if anyone else tried to insult one of them, the other one would be right there to defend them. Blair didn't like this one bit. Before she had time to contemplate it any further, Natalie and Tootie came into the kitchen carrying the rest of the dirty dishes.
"I'm telling you, Nat, if I don't spread these stories, who will? The public has a right to know."
"Tootie, because of you what Tom did to Jane is all over the Tokyo evening news."
"It's not my fault these things spread so quickly."
"Now how do you figure that?"
Tootie glared at Natalie, but before she could respond Blair interrupted their conversation. "You guys notice anything funny about Jo today?"
"What do you mean?" Tootie asked.
"I mean she's been acting really…." She struggled to find the right word. She realized what it was, and it was a word she never thought she'd use when describing her best friend. "Nice."
Tootie and Natalie's jaws dropped. "Nice?" Natalie said. "As in, no comments about how rich and spoiled you are, nothing about your lack of intelligence, not even a word about loosening any teeth?"
"Nothing. She even apologized for what she said to me this afternoon."
"Apologized?" Tootie asked. Blair nodded. "Are you sure that was Jo that you just talked to?"
"Yes! I don't know what's wrong with her. I used to wish she'd stop insulting me and calling me names, but now that I've witnessed it, it's… disgusting. I've never seen her act that way."
"Maybe she gave up insults for lent?" Natalie said.
"In October?" Tootie asked.
"She wanted to get a head start. Look, I don't think you should worry about anything unless she really does stop insulting you. I bet by tomorrow she'll be back to her old self and calling you a spoiled brat before you know it."
"I sure hope so. What am I saying?" Natalie and Tootie just laughed.
"Well, let's get the last of this stuff put away. I have a lot of homework to do before bed," Natalie said as they put the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher and went upstairs for the night.
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Up in their bedroom, the girls were just about ready to turn out the lights and go to sleep. What they didn't know was that Jo wasn't going to be there when they woke up. She already had a bag packed and hidden under her bed. She only hoped she could actually make it out of there without being caught. She didn't know what she would do if she actually had to explain herself and say goodbye to her best friends. She also didn't want to have to go through the embarrassment of having to tell them that she was leaving because she didn't have the money to stay. No, this was the easiest way to do it. She wouldn't have to go through the pain of saying goodbye and she wouldn't have to feel ashamed of her own family for not having money. She just couldn't believe this would be the last time she would go to sleep in this room. At least she would always have her memories. However long they would last. Jo didn't expect to last too long back in the Bronx. Not with what she had planned. Not that it mattered, all of her hopes for a good life were out the window. She climbed into her bed and pulled the blankets up around her. She looked around the room and watched Blair finish taking off her jewelry, Natalie packing up the last of her things in her school bag, and Tootie putting on her headgear. She breathed in the scent of the room. All of their perfumes mixed into one, the smell of her sheets that had been recently washed. She took it all in one last time. She never wanted to forget it. The time she had spent there had been the best time of her life. She never had friends like Natalie, Tootie and Blair. And she knew she never would again.
Blair placed her necklace on her nightstand and slid her legs under her blankets. Jo looked at her and smiled. "G'night Blair."
However strange it was, Blair had to admit that the new Jo was a nice change of pace. "Goodnight Jo."
Jo then looked over to the bunk beds where the younger roommates slept as Tootie climbed up top after turning out the lights. "Goodnight Natalie, goodnight Tootie."
"Goodnight Jo," Natalie said.
"See you in the morning," Tootie added.
With that comment, Jo started to cry. She just couldn't hold back anymore. She put her face in her pillow to hide the tears. Luckily nobody noticed because it was already dark. Not only was Tootie not going to see Jo in the morning, but she was probably never going to see her again. Jo was just glad that Tootie wasn't aware of that. Tootie was known for being somewhat emotional, and Jo couldn't bear to see her upset because she was leaving. In a few hours, when she knew they were all asleep, she would pick up her bag and get on her motorcycle and leave Peekskill forever.
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The morning sunlight poured in the bedroom window. Blair rolled over and woke up as the light hit her eyes. She squinted and struggled to see. The first thing she noticed was that Jo wasn't in her bed. She peeked at the clock to see what time it was. 6:15. Jo shouldn't be up yet. They didn't get up until 6:30, and each one of them treasured every single minute of sleep, especially before school. Well, maybe today Jo wanted to get an early start, she thought. She put her head back down on her pillow to catch her last fifteen minutes of sleep.
"Where's Jo?" Mrs. Garrett asked when she came into the kitchen and saw that Natalie, Blair and Tootie were already getting breakfast ready.
"I don't know," Blair said. "When I woke up this morning she wasn't there. I just figured maybe she had something she needed to do before school."
"Well, she didn't say anything about that last night," Mrs. Garrett said. "Well, is her motorcycle here?"
"I'll go check," Tootie offered as she walked into the dining room to look out the window at Jo's usual parking spot. But there was nothing there. She went back in the kitchen to tell the others. "Nope, it's not there. She must've gone somewhere."
"Great detective work, Sherlock Tootie."
Mrs. Garret was beginning to worry. It wasn't like Jo to take off without telling anyone. Well, it was like her when she first arrived at Eastland. But things had changed. She had become a responsible young woman, and she wasn't the type anymore who would just run off and not tell anyone. "Listen, if you don't see her at school I want you to call me immediately, ok?"
"Of course, Mrs. Garrett. But don't worry. I'm sure she'll be there. She probably just had something she needed to do before school and she forgot to tell us." Blair was confused at Jo's disappearance, but she had enough faith that there was nothing to worry about.
"Ok. Now let's get breakfast out there. A whole bunch of hungry girls will be here in about 2 minutes." The three girls followed Mrs. Garrett into the dining room with their trays of breakfast foods. Mrs. Garrett was feeling very uneasy. But she knew there was nothing she could do until she knew that Jo was missing. She just hoped she was overreacting.
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Blair arrived at school a little earlier than normal. She was careful to scan the parking lot looking for Jo's bike. She didn't see it. Maybe she had to bring it to the shop and that's why she left early. She went in the front door of the school and started looking around the hallways. There were girls everywhere. All of them dressed exactly the same in their school uniforms. But she couldn't see the one person she was looking for. Maybe she was already in class. She really hoped that was it. They had the same class together so Blair decided to just go to the classroom and wait. She walked down the hallway, still looking very closely at the faces of every girl she passed. She didn't want to admit to herself that she was starting to get worried. But she was. What if Jo really was missing? Where could she have gone? Blair made it to her first classroom and looked in the door, hoping to see Jo in her regular seat, just waiting there. But when Blair saw the desk, it was empty. Just as she feared. She looked at the clock and noticed she was a little early. There were still five minutes before class started. Maybe she would make it by then. She knew the only thing she could do was sit down and wait. Those were the longest five minutes Blair had ever experienced. She watched the seconds tick away on the clock, and she jumped at the sound of every girl coming in the classroom door. When she thought she couldn't take it anymore, the bell finally rang. It startled her almost out of her seat. She looked around the room one last time, expecting to see Jo. But all she saw was a room full of girls and Jo's empty seat. Now there was definitely a reason to worry.
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After class Blair practically ran out of the room. Before she left for school she had told Natalie and Tootie to meet her in the lobby after their first class to see if any of them had seen Jo. Blair arrived first, breathing hard after walking at an unusually fast pace. Tootie got there second, and right behind her was Natalie.
"Tell me you have good news," Tootie said.
"Nope, she wasn't there. What are we going to do?"
"Where could she be? Well, you better call Mrs. Garrett and tell her" Natalie said.
"Good idea," Blair said. Blair walked over to the pay phone on the wall and put in a dime. Natalie and Tootie stayed close behind. "Mrs. Garrett? Yeah, it's me. She's not here! Where could she possibly be? You just expect us to spend the rest of the day here at school worrying about her? Ok, fine. Let us know right away if you hear anything. Same goes for us, I know. Ok, we'll see you at lunch. Bye."
"What did she say?" Natalie asked.
"She said first she was going to call Jo's mother, and if we don't see her by the end of the day she's going to call the police."
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Mrs. Garrett's face turned pale. She had an awful feeling in her stomach. She hated when anything happened to any of her girls. Especially when there was nothing she could do about it. She hoped Jo was all right. But if she was all right, she was going to kill her the minute she saw her for putting them all through this. She only hoped to hear good news when she called Jo's mother. Her fingers were shaking as she dialed. She hoped she was there, she hoped that she had gone home and there was nothing wrong. Unfortunately, she feared that she was not going to get an answer she wanted to hear. She felt a little better when she heard a familiar voice on the other end of the line. "Hello?"
"Yes, Mrs. Polniaczek?" Mrs. Garrett's voice was wavering. She didn't want to worry her, but there was really no way to keep that from happening.
"Yes, this is she."
"Hi, this is Edna Garrett."
"Oh, of course. Hello Mrs. Garrett. I'm sorry, I guess I should've called and explained."
Mrs. Garrett felt a sudden surge of relief. Maybe Jo was fine after all. Sitting at home in her apartment with her mother, safe and sound. "Oh, so you know where she is?"
"She's not there?"
"No, I'm afraid not"
"I didn't realize she was going to have to leave so early. I thought she'd at least take some time to pack."
Now Mrs. Garrett was getting really confused. "Pack?"
"Well, yes. I mean, moving out does require quite a bit of packing."
"Moving out?"
"Yeah. Since she's leaving Eastland she obviously has to move out."
"I'm sorry, I'm going to have to ask you what in the world you're talking about."
"She didn't tell you?"
"No!"
"I lost my job this weekend. I can't afford to send Jo to Eastland anymore, so she is going to have to come back here and finish in public school. When did she leave?"
"That's just the thing, we don't know. We woke up this morning and she was gone."
"Well then she should be home by now."
"I know."
"Oh, Mrs. Garrett. She probably just wanted to go off and ride around a bit. I'm sure she'll be home soon."
"I sure hope so. Please, call me when she gets there?"
"Of course. Thank you for everything. I'm sure Jo's going to miss you."
"Well, I'm going to miss her too." There was an understatement. Her life wasn't going to be the same without her.
"Thank you for everything. Jo learned so much from you. Thank you for calling, bye."
"Bye." Mrs. Garrett felt awful. How could Jo not have said anything about this? She was hurt that she wouldn't tell her. But she was more hurt at knowing that she wasn't going to live there anymore. She had grown so much from the time she first got there, and now she wasn't going to get to see her graduate. At least she knew that she was headed home and wasn't in trouble. But that was hardly a comforting thought as she suddenly wondered how she was ever going to tell the other girls that Jo was gone for good.
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Blair flew in the kitchen door and unceremoniously dropped her books on the counter. She hoped that Mrs. Garrett would have some news about Jo, and if she did, she hoped the news was good. She became frustrated when Mrs. Garrett was not in the kitchen as she expected her to be. She shouted, "Mrs. Garrett!"
"In here, Blair," she responded from the dining room. Blair pushed through the door and found Mrs. Garrett sitting at a table, and she didn't look well. She looked up at Blair as she came and sat down across from her. When they made eye contact Blair knew that something was very wrong. She had known her long enough to be able to tell that much. She had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach and she only hoped that all of the scenarios she was inventing in her head were a hundred times worse than whatever it was that Mrs. Garrett had to tell her.
She didn't think Mrs. Garrett could bring herself to speak first, so she knew she had to initiate this conversation before the suspense killed her. "So, did you find out anything yet? Do you know where Jo is?"
"I don't know exactly where she is, but I know why she's not here."
All Blair could think was that she hoped that Jo wasn't hurt or sick or anything. She needed some answers and she was starting to get irritated. "So, what happened? Tell me!"
"I talked to her mother about an hour ago. She told me…."
"What did she tell you?" Tootie asked as she and Natalie burst through the door and sat down at the table.
"Oh, girls. I'm so glad you're here. I didn't want to have to explain this more than once." She took a deep breath and looked at her remaining three girls. She knew how much this information would hurt them. But they needed to know. She only wished she didn't have to be the one to tell them. "She told me that she lost her job, and they don't have enough money to pay for Jo to go to Eastland anymore. She has to go back home."
This came as a shock to all three of them. They didn't know what to say. One of their best friends was gone. And worst of all, she didn't even say goodbye. "Why didn't she tell us?" Natalie asked.
Mrs. Garrett just shook her head. "I don't know. Knowing her she was probably too embarrassed to tell us."
"Embarrassed?" Blair asked. "Why of all things would she be embarrassed?"
"You know how she always felt about money issues, Blair. She didn't want people to know that her family struggled with it."
"Well why didn't she ever accept my help when I offered? I could've given her everything and she wouldn't have had to worry. Why did she have to be so stubborn?"
"She was too proud to take your money, Blair. She didn't want any hand outs or charity."
Blair was starting to get angry. She knew that if Jo had just taken her help there would be no problem. "So now it's charity when a friend helps out a friend? Why is she so stupid!"
"Blair!" Mrs. Garrett yelled.
"Well, she is! If she would've just swallowed her stupid pride for one second and let me help her out, she'd still be here. It's her own fault." Before anyone could react Blair ran up the stairs to her bedroom. The other three just sat in silence at the table. Tootie was on the verge of tears and Natalie was still in shock, just staring at the floor. Mrs. Garrett got up and went up to see Blair.
"I can't believe she's really gone," Natalie said.
"Me neither. What are we going to do without her?"
"I just don't know."
Upstairs Blair was lying on her bed with her face in her pillow. Mrs. Garrett opened the door and went in. She sat down next to her and rested her hand on Blair's back. "You want to talk about it?"
Blair's voice came back muffled from the pillow. "No."
"Come on, it might help a little bit."
Blair sat up quickly and Mrs. Garrett could see in her eyes that she was ready to cry. If she knew Blair, she knew she would never shed any tears, but that didn't change the fact that she was more upset than she had ever seen her. "Help? How can it help? I just lost my best friend, and the worst thing is, I could've prevented this whole thing." Mrs. Garrett pulled her into a hug and tried to comfort her.
"Blair, it's not your fault. This whole thing is just awful, but I don't want you to feel like you're the reason she had to leave. Jo wouldn't have cared how much money you offered her. She wouldn't have taken it."
Blair lifted her head off of Mrs. Garrett's shoulder and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "But why did it have to be like that? Why does she have to leave while the rest of us get to stay? Why couldn't she just take my money when I offered it?"
"Blair, you know how Jo is."
"Yeah, I do. But I guess that doesn't matter anymore now, does it?"
Mrs. Garrett didn't have an answer for that and Blair put her head against Mrs. Garrett's shoulder again. She was surprised she wasn't crying right now as she saw how upset Blair was. It was like her own child was leaving her. She was doing her best to stay strong as she fought back the tears welling up in her eyes. After a few moments of silence, Mrs. Garrett spoke up. "Come on, Blair. It's not like she's gone forever. You can still visit each other. It's not like she can never stop by."
"But it's not going to be the same," Blair said as she looked up. "You know how these things work. You say you'll get together, and for a while it happens. But eventually…." She looked at the floor, not wanting to say what would happen next.
"You can't think like that. You girls are best friends. You can't just let the fact that you don't go to the same school anymore change your friendship. Sure, you won't be sharing the same room anymore, but that doesn't mean you can't still be best friends. You two were going to be moving on with your own lives after graduation anyway. You couldn't expect things to be this way forever. If your friendship means enough to both of you – and I think it does – you'll both be fine."
"You really think so?"
"I know so. If you're this scared of losing your friendship, just think of all the trouble you're going to go through to keep it up."
Blair had to agree with that. It even made her smile for a second. But there was just one other thing she didn't understand. "If we're such good friends, why didn't she tell me? Or why didn't she at least say goodbye?" It killed her inside to know that Jo didn't want to tell her the truth. She couldn't understand why she hadn't said goodbye.
"I don't know, honey. I just don't know. But I'll tell you what. Why don't we give her a call in a little while. Who knows, maybe she didn't say goodbye because this isn't really goodbye. This is more like, 'see you later.' She's not gone forever, you know."
Blair looked at her and smiled. Although she had made her feel better, she wasn't entirely sure if that last statement would be true. She had a bad feeling about the whole situation. She really wanted to talk to Jo. She wanted to hear her say that everything was going to be all right. And until that happened, Blair was not going to be satisfied.
**************************************************
It had been a week since Jo moved out. Eastland didn't change, but Mrs. Garrett's household did. Natalie wasn't making everyone laugh, Tootie wasn't smiling, and Blair wasn't even acting conceited. It was like they were all just sort of going through the motions. Losing Jo had left a big hole, and it was going to take a while to get used to it. To make matters worse, they still hadn't heard from her. Mrs. Garrett didn't want to admit she was more than a little bit worried. But she also realized that Jo was no longer her responsibility. Unfortunately, that realization wasn't going to stop her from worrying about her for the rest of her life. She decided she would give her one more week before she called her mother's apartment to check on her. There had to be a reason she didn't want to talk to any of them. Maybe she was still embarrassed, or maybe it still hurt too much. Either way, she needed to hear from her soon. She tried not to bring it up around the other girls, although it was painfully obvious that they were thinking about it a lot. They were taking it really hard. She just hoped they'd recover soon. They would have to.
Dinner was over and the girls had finished all of their kitchen duties. Blair was in the lounge trying to do her homework, but failing miserably. She had found it nearly impossible to concentrate on anything since Jo left. It was too quiet. Nobody was making fun of her, or helping her with her problems. She wanted to call her and talk to her, but Mrs. Garrett told her to wait and let Jo call her first. She thought she needed some time, but when she was ready, she'd call. Blair wasn't sure how she felt about that, but she decided to go along with it. She stared at the blank piece of notebook paper that should have contained the answers to her history homework. The book was open next to it, but the words all sort of ran together. She couldn't believe how much Jo's leaving had affected her. She was mad at her for making her feel this way.
Tootie and Natalie came in the front door and startled Blair. They were at the library trying to get some studying done. Normally upon coming in the door they would've been in mid-conversation. This time, there was nothing. They just walked in, set their books on the coffee table, and sat down. "Hi guys, how was the library?"
"Oh, just fine," Tootie answered. "How are things here?"
"Not so good," Blair answered honestly. "I just can't seem to get anything done. I just…"
"Miss Jo?" Natalie finished her sentence for her.
"Exactly." She felt relieved that they had finally brought the subject out in the open. "It's not like she's gone forever, but things just aren't the same around here. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. Look at us, we don't even laugh or smile anymore."
"I know," Natalie said. "It's so not me. We need to talk to her. Why won't she call us?"
"I don't know," Blair said. "Mrs. Garrett says maybe she's just embarrassed or something, but I don't think that's it."
"Embarrassed?" Tootie said defensively. "After all we've been through together, she's too embarrassed to talk to her best friends?"
"Yeah," Natalie added, "she should know she can always talk to us. We should just call her."
Blair was remembering what Mrs. Garrett had said, but this made sense, too. If Jo was too embarrassed to talk to her, then maybe Blair didn't mean as much to her as she thought. She needed to hear that everything was going to be fine. "You're right. Let's call her up right now and tell her we miss her. Maybe we can get her to come and visit next weekend." They all got up and walked towards the phone, but before they could pick up the receiver, it began to ring. They were so startled they couldn't even pick it up.
"Do you think it could be?" Natalie asked.
"I don't know," Blair said.
The phone continued to ring. "Well, one of us needs to answer it," Tootie said.
"You're right," Natalie agreed, then she shouted, "Mrs. Garrett!"
Mrs. Garrett came in from the kitchen and saw the three girls huddled around the phone. She looked at them, wondering why they wouldn't answer. They all nodded towards the phone, indicating that she should be the one to answer. Instead of arguing, she just picked it up and said, "Hello? Oh, hello Mrs. Ponliaczek!" The sound of the name made the girls' eyes light up. They felt a wave of relief until they saw the look on Mrs. Garrett's face. "Well, no. She left a week ago, she didn't even say anything to us. No, she hasn't been back at all as far as I know." She looked at the girls and asked them, "girls?" They all shook their heads indicating that they hadn't seen or heard from her either. "No, they haven't either. Well yes, of course. I'll let you know the minute I hear anything. Ok, and you let us know too. Ok, goodbye." She hung up the receiver and turned to her girls.
"Well, what happened?" Natalie asked.
"Girls, sit down over there for a minute." They quickly made their way back to the couch and sat. "Jo's mother hasn't seen her since she left here."
"What? She could've been in an accident on the way home, or…"
Mrs. Garrett interrupted Tootie. "No, she didn't see her, but she did make it home. For a minute or two anyway." Now they were more confused than ever. "You see, she brought some of her things home and left them in her room in the middle of the night, but she didn't talk to her mother. She only left her a note."
"Well, what did it say?" Natalie could hardly stand the suspense.
"Basically, it said that she had no future so she might as well go back to being the person everyone thought she was before she made it out of there. Before Jo came here, she was approached to be in a gang. She managed to come here just in time, but one of her good friends didn't, and she ended up dying last year. Jo knew that if she hadn't come to Eastland, she would've probably been there with her. So she thought she needed to go back."
The news was shocking. How could Jo go back to that after all of this? Just because she couldn't finish school didn't mean she had to give up. Worst of all, they knew how dangerous those gangs could be. The few times Jo had opened up and told stories the girls were horrified by what they heard. They knew that she wouldn't last long in a situation like that, and that meant that they would probably never see her again.
The girls all stared in silence, not having any idea what to say. Tootie looked up and spoke first. "Why do things have to work like this? She's a good kid, she should get the same chances as the rest of us."
"I don't know, sweety," Mrs. Garrett responded. "I'm as upset about this as you girls are. I only wish there was something we could do." The last word was said quietly as she put her hand up to her mouth and tried to refrain from crying. She didn't want to cry in front of the girls because she didn't want to give them more of a reason to be upset. But she just couldn't fight it any longer. Jo leaving was one thing, but this was serious. She was most likely never going to see her again unless she came to her senses, and to make matters worse, she could very well turn up dead. She knew how those gangs worked. And she couldn't imagine Jo there with those people. She had a rough life growing up, why couldn't things have gotten better for her? She tried to stop herself, but the thought of Jo dying that way made her cry even harder. She put her hands up to her face to try and conceal herself.
With that, Tootie looked at Natalie and the two of them began to cry. Missing her was one thing, but this was much more serious. There would be no weekend visits, there would be no phone calls to catch up, no reminiscing about old times. Even though they knew she was still out there somewhere, to them it felt like she was gone forever. It just didn't seem fair that this was how it was all going to end for her. She worked so hard and she deserved better than that.
Natalie looked over at Blair, expecting to see her crying also. But when she looked at her face all she saw was an empty expression. It was like there was nothing there. She didn't look sad, she just looked lost. She was staring at the same spot on the table, almost in a trance. Natalie almost wished she were crying. That, she at least would've understood. But this was almost scary. Tootie saw Natalie looking at Blair and Natalie nodded to her to look. Tootie was just as confused as Natalie was, but they were both too upset to even begin to figure it out. They instead looked back to Mrs. Garrett, who was starting to come back to herself as she wiped away the tears. "Is there anything we can do?" Tootie asked.
Mrs. Garrett knew the best thing to do would be to answer matter-of-factly. "I don't think so. Jo's going to do what she wants to do. I don't think there's anything we can do to change her mind at this point. You know how she is."
"I sure am gonna miss her," Natalie said shaking her head.
Mrs. Garrett reached across the table and squeezed Natalie's hand. "I know. We all are, sweety." She then looked up and saw Blair's expressionless face. "Blair, are you ok?"
It took Blair a moment to realize that she was talking to her. She snapped out of it and looked up. "Huh? Oh, sure, I'm fine."
"It's ok to be sad, Blair. You don't have to hide it in front of us."
"I'm not sad. She's gone, we're never going to see her again. There's nothing we can do about it, so there's no reason to cry about it."
"Blair!" Natalie yelled.
"Well it's true! Jo's back where she belongs, we had fun while it lasted. Now it's time to move on with our lives. If you'll excuse me, I have homework to do." Blair pushed her chair out from the table and ran up the stairs. They all knew that wasn't how Blair really felt. Nobody could understand why Blair felt like she needed to hide her emotions. But that's just the way she is.
"Well, it's getting late. You girls should try to get some homework done and get some sleep. If you need anything, you know where I'll be. Goodnight," Mrs. Garrett said as she left the table and went up the stairs.
Tootie and Natalie sat in silence for a few moments longer, not really knowing what to do with themselves. "You really think Blair meant what she said?" Tootie asked.
"Of course not," Natalie answered. "She's just angry about the whole situation. She doesn't know how else to deal with it."
"You sure?"
"There's only one way to find out," Natalie said as she stood up and headed for her bedroom with Tootie following close behind.
When they walked in they found Blair filing her nails a little harder than normal. If she kept this up for too long, she wouldn't have any nails to file. "What was that all about, Blair?" Tootie asked, a little bit irritated.
She wouldn't even look up or stop with the filing. "What are you talking about?"
"You know what we mean, Blair. We know you didn't mean what you said about moving on with our lives. Admit it, you're upset." Natalie responded.
Blair stopped what she was doing and slammed the file on the desk. "Why would she do that? I mean, she didn't have to just give up like that, that doesn't sound like her. And what are we supposed to do now? Just sit back and wait until we get a call telling us she's in jail, or in the hospital, or worse yet, telling us to come to her funeral? I can't just sit back and let that happen."
"Well what do you think you can do about it, Blair?" Natalie asked.
Blair looked at the two of them and told them exactly what she planned to do. "I'm going after her." She walked past them to her closet and looked for a few things to take with her.
They were amazed at Blair taking such initiative. They were pleasantly surprised, but at the same time completely terrified at the thought of what she was getting herself into. "What do you mean you're going after her?" Tootie asked.
"Just what I said. I mean I'm going to the Bronx, I'm going to find her, and I'm going to bring her back."
"You know that might be a little bit easier said than done," Natalie said. "Have you ever dealt with a gang before, Blair?"
"No, but I don't care. I'm sick and tired of watching things happen and not being able to do anything about it. I'm not giving up on her as easily as she gave up on herself. I'm going to get her."
They had never heard Blair seem so determined before in her life. For once she was thinking about someone other than herself. As nice as it was to hear her concern for her friend, they just didn't want to let her do it. Blair could never handle herself in the Bronx. She'd be lucky if she made it three steps out of the subway station. But since she was so determined, they knew it was going to be difficult to talk her out of this. They tried the logical approach first. "Mrs. Garrett is never going to let you do this, you know," Tootie said.
"I don't care. I'm sneaking out. And you two better not say anything about it."
Well, since that wasn't working, they decided to just tell her their concerns. "Blair, you're not equipped to handle a situation like this. You can't just walk in there, grab Jo and leave, it's not that simple. You could wind up getting hurt." Natalie said.
"I don't care. I have to at least try. She'd do this for me, so I'm going to do it for her."
They couldn't argue with that point. So there was only one thing left to do. "Ok then, we're going with you," Natalie said.
"What?" Blair said.
"What?!?!?" Tootie repeated.
"You heard me. We don't want to give her up this easy either. We're going too."
"Yeah, ok," Tootie agreed.
"You kids can't come with me, it's too dangerous!"
"It's just as dangerous for you, and we'll be safer in numbers," Natalie reasoned.
Blair had to agree, as much as she didn't want to. She'd be better off if they came too. "Ok, ok. But we have to be extremely careful, ok? And you have to do everything I say. Oh, I can't believe I'm actually doing this. Or that I actually have to do this. Jo, why do you have to be so insane?"
"Would you want her any other way?" Natalie asked.
Blair let out a slight laugh for the first time in days. It passed quickly when she remembered what she was about to do. "Ok, get your things together. We have a train to catch."
***********************************************************
The three roommates stepped onto the street from the subway station. They wrapped their arms around themselves as they first felt the brisk night air. There weren't a whole lot of people on the train ride over. And it gave them a lot of time to think about what they were getting themselves into. About a hundred times during the ride Blair questioned herself, wondering what she was getting into. But every thought of Jo reminded her that she had to do it. There was just no other choice. Natalie knew she shouldn't have been there, but she didn't want to lose Blair too. Tootie couldn't believe what she had gotten herself into, but what Blair had said got to her. Jo would've done this for her, so she had to do the same. She only hoped Natalie wouldn't mind dragging her most of the way because she wasn't sure she could make her feet move.
Blair walked a few steps, trying to get accustomed to her surroundings. Right now all she could really tell was that it was dark and it was cold. The streets were lined with small brick buildings, probably a residential area. Very few windows were illuminated at the late hour, and to top things off there was a thick fog in the air to add to the vision impairment. But Blair could see the street sign and it was all she needed to see to realize that they had gotten off at the wrong stop. They weren't too far from where they needed to be, but it still necessitated another trip on the subway.
"This isn't it, guys. We have to get back on the train a few more stops."
"Oh good. This neighborhood is creepy," Tootie said.
"Well, wait until you see where we're going next," Blair responded as she went back down to the subway station. Tootie and Natalie just rolled their eyes and reluctantly followed. When they got down the stairs, Blair was already in front of a slowing train, waiting for it to stop and the doors to open. "Come on you two, hurry!"
They began to run to catch the train. It stopped and the doors opened and Blair entered the train. She was momentarily relieved as she found a seat, but then she noticed that Tootie and Natalie were having trouble maneuvering around some people and getting to the train. Blair heaved a sigh and hurried to make it off the train. She made it just as the doors closed and then she looked up to find her friends. All she saw was an empty platform. She knew she had just seen them a second ago. Then she looked up at the train as it started to pull away and she saw their faces in the window, almost trying to will the train to stop. But it was too late, and they were gone. Blair couldn't believe her bad luck. On top of everything else, her little group had been separated. That was ok, another train would be along in a minute and she would meet them at the next station. She hoped anyway.
She heard the low rumble coming from the tunnel, and the light from the approaching train reflected on the wall. She started nervously dancing around with her feet, anxious for the train to arrive. When it finally stopped and the doors opened she pushed through to be the first one on. It was as though it couldn't move fast enough. It was almost a relief though to be worrying about something other than Jo for a change. That didn't last long though. When she finally got to the next stop she jumped out the door and scanned the area. No Tootie and no Natalie. Didn't they know the rules? If you lose someone, you meet them at the next stop. It was that simple. They could've been anywhere by now. She didn't have the time to play musical trains all night. She had to go find Jo. At least Natalie and Tootie were lost together. It would've been worse if she'd only lost one of them. The only thing she could do now was catch the next train to the next stop and try and find Jo by herself.
********************************************************
When Tootie and Natalie realized that they had gone on a train without Blair, they panicked. Natalie decided the easiest thing to do would be to get off at the next stop and then go back the other way and find her. Hopefully she would still be there waiting for her. She wasn't sure what she would do if she wasn't. When they got back to where they had left Blair waiting, she was gone. Not a blonde in sight. "What are we supposed to do now?" Tootie yelled.
"Don't panic now. We'll just go ahead one more station, she probably followed us there and got off to wait."
"I thought you said that the rule was you went back to get the person."
"So I was wrong, now come on."
Tootie rolled her eyes and followed Natalie to the next train back in the other direction. They didn't need any added problems on this trip. But they sure were getting them. They hoped Jo would appreciate what they had gone through to find her. When they got to the next stop and exited the train, they saw just what they were fearing. No Blair. The stood there wondering what to do next.
*******************************************************
Blair finally made it to the stop she was looking for. She hoped Natalie and Tootie were ok, but right now she was more worried about Jo. When she stepped out into the cold air and saw the streets in front of her, she knew she was in the right place. In any normal situation, she would've never in a million years set foot in this neighborhood. Obviously others felt the same way since she was the only one to get off the train at that stop. But Jo's life was at stake. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she watched the cloud of steam rise up from her mouth. She started to walk, even though she didn't have the slightest idea where she might be trying to go. She only knew she had to find Jo.
"Where do you think you're going, honey?"
Blair's heart skipped a beat as she stopped in her tracks and jumped at the sound of the raspy female voice coming from the shadows. She looked over and saw an elderly woman smoking a cigarette on her front stoop. She calmed down a bit since the woman looked harmless enough.
"I'm just looking for someone," Blair said.
"Ain't nobody worth findin' around here," the woman responded.
"Well see, my friend, she isn't supposed to be here."
"None of us are, kiddo. You should get out of here before you get hurt."
"I wish I could. But I'm not leaving without my friend. Maybe you could help me."
"You're a stupid one, you know that? But if you're not gonna leave, I'll tell you whatever you want to know."
Blair decided not to react to the 'stupid' comment since this woman was being nice enough to help her out. "Thank you. I'm looking for my friend Jo, she's been back around here for about a week now, but I think she might be hanging around with one of the gangs."
"You don't want to get mixed up with those kids. You get out of here while you can. Your friend ain't worth findin'"
"Yes she is. Trust me. Could you please just tell me anything?"
The woman took a long drag off her cigarette and flicked the butt of it onto the sidewalk. "These kids you're looking for usually hang around about three blocks that way." She indicated the direction by pointing her finger off in the distance. Blair looked where she was pointing but couldn't really see where she would be heading through the fog. "But I'm telling you, you don't want to go there. You could end up in a lot of trouble."
Blair smiled at the woman. "Thank you very much for your help, but I really have to go."
"Suit yourself. You wouldn't happen to have a cigarette on you, would ya?"
"No, I'm sorry. Thank you again," Blair said as she started to walk off.
"Good luck, kid."
*******************************************************
Natalie and Tootie were completely lost. After much debate, Natalie convinced Tootie that the only thing they could do was take the subway up to where they thought Blair might've been headed, then get off and try to find her. Tootie was trying to figure out how Natalie had made it all sound like such a good idea. Because now they were wandering the streets of the Bronx, and neither one of them has the slightest idea where they were or where they were going.
"Not again," a voice came from the side of the street.
Natalie and Tootie nearly screamed. It could've been anyone. They were somewhat relieved when they looked and saw the old woman on her stoop, halfway into another cigarette. "Um, I'm sorry to bother you, but what did you mean by not again?"
"I mean this is the second time tonight I'm seeing kids like you walking around here where you don't belong."
Natalie and Tootie looked at each other and their eyes lit up. Nobody could've looked more like they didn't belong there than Blair. "This other person you saw tonight, was she maybe a blonde, about 5'5", walking around in her designer boots?" Natalie asked.
"Yeah, sounds like her. Talks like she knows everything."
"Yes!" Tootie shouted. "Well, do you know where she went?"
"Yeah, but I don't think I should send you two after her. You look even more clueless than she was."
"Please! This is really important. We really need to find our friend."
"Don't we all. Well, since you're going to be the same way she was about it. She went off that way. But I'm warning you. Be careful. You don't want to get mixed up with those kids."
"Don't worry," Natalie said. "We're planning more along the lines of get her and get the heck out of there."
"Good plan. I don't want any murders on my conscience, so don't get yourselves killed."
"Thanks… I think." Tootie said as Natalie dragged her off to find Blair, and hopefully Jo.
*********************************************************
Blair had made it the three blocks. She was cold and exhausted, but she couldn't stop now. She was too close. To top everything else off, it started to rain. For once she didn't even think of the damage it was doing to her hair and make-up. She just continued on towards what looked like an abandoned apartment building with boarded up windows. There wasn't a solitary soul in sight. She was utterly discouraged until she spotted something on the street. Her eyes widened as she walked closer. No, it couldn't be. But it was. It was Jo's bike, parked right there in the street. Could she be right there under her nose? Before she could contemplate it she jumped back at the sound of someone coming out of an alley. She ducked down behind a garbage can and watched as the young man, about her age, walked into the street and jumped on Jo's bike and rode it away. Blair had to fight the urge to yell out to him. But she knew that whoever he was, there was a good chance he had a weapon, and confronting him about taking Jo's bike was probably not the best of ideas.
After he was out of sight, Blair decided to look into the alley he had come from. She slowly walked over and peered around the corner. It was difficult to see what was going on through the rain and fog, but as she struggled with her vision in the darkness, she could make out that there were four people down there. And one of them was taking quite a beating. Her worst fears came true when she realized that one person was Jo. She wanted so badly to run out and help her, but she knew there was nothing she could do. She watched helplessly from the alley entrance, just hoping they'd be done with her soon. They wouldn't kill her, would they? She saw Jo give one of them a sharp kick to the groin. She wanted to cheer for her until she saw that that infuriated the individual who then grabbed Jo with two hands to the throat while his friend put a knife to her side.
"That was a big mistake, Polniaczek. We were gonna let you slide, but now…" He choked her harder and she tried to inhale, finding it impossible through his grip. "Now you're going to pay the ultimate price. This is what happens when you want out. You shouldn't of come back here. You don't belong here anymore. Oh, well, it doesn't matter anymore."
He squeezed her neck harder again causing Blair to flinch. Tears were falling down Blair's face. This couldn't have been happening. She wasn't watching her best friend die right in front of her. And once again there was nothing she could do about it. She wanted to scream. She knew if she interfered, she'd be dead, too.
Jo's face had gone from bright red to blue. Her eyes were rolling back in her head. It wouldn't be much longer now. But suddenly the guy with Jo's motorcycle pulled up into the alley. "Come on, let's get outta here. Cops are comin'."
His three friends looked up at him and back at Jo. "But what about her?" Asked the one holding the knife to her side, where blood had already begun to seep through Jo's shirt.
"Don't worry about her. She won't make it. Now come on!" The guy dropped Jo on the ground in a horrific thud that made Blair jump. They all ran off in the same direction, following the motorcycle, leaving Jo to die in the alley.
When she saw the coast was clear, Blair ran as fast as her designer boots would take her to Jo's side. She was face down in a puddle as the rain poured around them. Blair knelt down and rolled Jo onto her back, praying to see some signs of life. She couldn't be dead, she didn't deserve to die. Not like this, not now. It was all happening so fast. Blair hardly noticed her own tears in the rain as she tried to wake Jo up. "Come on, Jo. Wake up. You can do it. Come on!"
Blair looked at Jo's face. She looked dead already. Her lips were purple along with her face. But she wasn't ready to give up on her. She slapped her face lightly a few times, hoping to spark something. "Wake up, Jo. Come on, it's me, Blair. Come back to me, Jo. I can't do this without you. Come on!" Blair was practically screaming now. She was about to break down crying completely when she heard a gasp come from Jo's lips. Blair reached behind Jo's head and lifted it up. She stared at her, hoping what she heard wasn't a hallucination. But there it was again, and again. And soon enough she was coughing steadily. "Jo? There you go, Jo. I'm here. Come on, wake up."
Jo coughed a few more times and then slowly her eyes flittered open. She looked up and saw her friend. Her hair was soaked with rain and matted to her head. Her make-up was completely washed away. And she could tell she was crying. She had never been happier to see anyone in her entire life. "Blair?" The name wasn't more than a whisper.
"Oh, thank God," Blair said as she looked up to the sky. She then looked back down to Jo and wiped some of the mud off of her face and brushed a few wet hairs out of her eyes. "You going to be ok?"
"I think so." Jo tried to sit up but suddenly fell back down in pain.
"What? What is it?" Blair asked with frantic concern in her voice.
"I don't know, my side, it…" her voice trailed off when she realized what it was.
Blair looked down and noticed that there was blood on her own pants. She looked over at Jo's shirt and saw the source. "Oh no, how bad is it?"
Jo winced in pain. "It doesn't feel like it's too deep. I think it's just on the surface. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for everything else."
Blair remembered the beating Jo was taking. Yeah, that would probably make her a little more uncomfortable. The temporary relief Blair had felt when she found out Jo was still alive was slowly fading as she realized she had no idea what to do next. They were in the middle of a really bad neighborhood, it was pouring, and who knew whether or not those guys would come back. Jo began to shiver as she lay in the puddle, and now Blair had to worry about her getting hypothermia. The temperature had been steadily dropping and with the blood loss, she was going to be more susceptible. Blair took off her coat and put it over Jo. She didn't want to tell her she was a ready to panic. Then out of nowhere, she heard a familiar voice.
"Jo!" Blair looked up and saw Tootie and Natalie at the alley entrance. They ran over as the four musketeers were finally reunited. "Are you ok?" Tootie continued.
"She'll be fine, but right now I need you guys to try and get help. As fast as you can, this is so important. She needs an ambulance. Hurry!"
The younger girls jumped up. "We're gone. I know where we can go to call." Natalie said just before they ran off.
"That's great, just hurry!" Blair looked back down at Jo. "You going to make it?"
"I sure hope so."
"You better after all you put us through."
Jo smiled. "One thing, why weren't they with you?"
Blair had to laugh at that. "It's a long story."
******************************************************
A few minutes later the sound of the ambulance echoed from down the street. "I've never been happier to hear sirens in my entire life," Blair quipped. She was trying to keep things light because she was really afraid for Jo. She didn't look good, and she was spending the time trying to keep her from drifting into unconsciousness. Luckily she had succeeded and the paramedics were going to take it from there. And off they went to the hospital.
*********************************************************
Blair. Natalie and Tootie were sitting in the hospital waiting room. A nurse had been nice enough to give them some hot chocolate to try and warm up since they were all soaked. They caught up on each other's stories. Blair couldn't figure out how they had found her. She should've been known it was that strange old woman. What if she hadn't been there that night? What did it matter, she was there. And Blair had to make the difficult call to Mrs. Garrett. She didn't want to give the poor woman a heart attack when she told her what happened, but she figured the same outcome would've been equally likely if she woke up and found them all missing. At least this way she could ask for a dry set of clothes from home. She was actually more relieved to find out that Jo was ok than she was angry that the girls had snuck out.
Mrs. Polniaczek was the first one to arrive. She burst into the waiting room. She was breathing heavily, carrying the added burden of a mother's anxiety over her daughter. "Where is she? Where is my daughter?" She was looking to anyone for answers.
"Mrs. Polniaczek!" Blair yelled.
"Oh, Blair. Oh, thank God you're here." She went over and hugged her. "Where is she?"
"She's fine, she's in with the doctors right now. They said she's a little bruised up, getting a few stitches, but she'll be fine."
The nervous mother heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God. Thank you for coming after her, Blair. I don't want to even think of what would've happened if you didn't."
"She would've done the same for me."
Just then a doctor came out of a room. "Are you Joanne's mother?"
"Who? Oh, yes. Yes I am."
"You can see her now."
"Thank you doctor," she said as she followed him into the room.
"I can't believe what happened tonight," Natalie said.
"You and me both," Tootie responded.
"I know, I just hope Jo's ok," Blair said.
"No, it's not just that," Natalie said. "I mean you, Blair Warner, not only thought of someone besides yourself, but you risked your life for her."
"Yeah, who are you?" Tootie asked.
"Come on, you two. It wasn't that big a deal."
"Blair, your best friend's blood is on your clothes and you cared more about how she was doing than the fact that you ruined your pants."
"Is that really what you think of me? That I'm that shallow and self-absorbed that I'd put my wardrobe before the well-being of a friend?"
"You always have before," Tootie said.
"Listen, I need to tell you something. I may act that way in normal, everyday life, but when it comes to something that really matters, I'd do anything for any one of you. And don't you dare ever tell anyone I said that."
Natalie and Tootie smiled. "We won't. We promise," Tootie said.
"There you are!" Mrs. Garrett's voice came from the hall. "What were you thinking coming down here! You could've been killed!"
"Jo could've been killed too Mrs. Garrett, if Blair wasn't here," Tootie said.
"Oh… I still don't like it. Here are some dry clothes girls, you look soaked."
"We are," Natalie said.
Mrs. Garrett sat down next to Blair and noticed the blood on her pants. "Blair, were you hurt?"
"What?" She noticed what she was looking at and realized what she must've thought. "Oh, no. That's not mine, it's Jo's."
Until then Mrs. Garrett didn't really realize the severity of the situation. "Oh, dear. Is she all right?"
"Don't worry, they said she's going to be fine."
"You did a good thing, Blair. As much as I hate it, I'm glad you did it. I'm also glad I had no idea you were gone until I heard you were all fine."
Blair smiled. "What's going to happen now though? I mean, Jo's not in trouble anymore, but what about Eastland?"
"I don't know, sweety. Maybe you'll think of something."
Mrs. Polniaczek came out of Jo's room. "Blair? Jo would like to see you." Blair smiled at Mrs. Garrett and went into the room.
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Jo looked ten times better than she did when Blair had found her. She wasn't going to be able to get that horrific image out of her mind any time soon. The color had returned to her face although her cheek was swollen along with her lip. Her neck was very red and starting to bruise from the choking. Despite all this, Blair thought Jo looked great.
"Hey," Blair said.
"Hey, sorry about your pants. I owe ya."
"Nah, forget it. I was going to get rid of them anyway. How you feeling?"
"I've had better days. But things could've been worse."
"I know."
"Blair, if you weren't there…"
"Hey, it doesn't matter. It's over."
"What were you doing there anyway?"
"Well, I didn't want to lose you."
"But coming after me like that, it's so unlike you."
"You would've done the same for me, wouldn't you?"
"Well, yeah, but…"
"So?"
"I guess you're right. Thanks for comin' after me. I had no idea you cared that much."
"Well, I do, which is more than I can say for you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm talking about the way you left and you didn't even say goodbye. Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you tell me?"
Jo took a few moments to answer. "Because I didn't want to have to go through the pain of saying goodbye."
"Did you think about how we'd feel when you just ran off?"
"I know, I'm sorry. I just couldn't take seeing you that way. This time I'll say goodbye the right way."
"What do you mean, 'this time'?"
"Blair, my situation hasn't changed. I still can't afford to go to Eastland. Just because you came and got me doesn't mean I get to go running back to Peekskill."
"Well, what if…"
"No Blair, we've been over this."
"No, no. Hear me out. What if we worked out a little deal."
Jo was a little skeptical. "What kinda deal?"
"What if I were to LOAN you the money. No hand outs, no free bees, just one person loaning another one some money to be paid back whenever you can."
"I don't know about this."
"Please Jo. After all we went through tonight, I can't take any more of this worrying about you. I don't know what I'd do without you. Please, come back to Eastland?"
Jo wanted to go back. All her friends were there and it was the hope for a better life. And to top everything off, she didn't realize how strongly Blair felt about their friendship. Nobody had ever gone after her like that. She would have to be a complete idiot to give up a friend like that. She had to admit, this deal might not be so bad. She would pay her back eventually. Even if it took her the rest of her life. After tonight, she couldn't say no. She didn't think she could live without her either. That was obviously proven true tonight. "Ok, you got yourself a deal."
"Thank you, Jo. You don't know how much this means to me."
"Yeah, I think I might."
"And it's only at 30% interest."
"30 percent!"
"Ok, 25."
"Warner!"
"No, I'm just kidding. One thing I'm wondering, why did you give up so easily? Why did you just go back to those guys so fast? I mean, it's so unlike you. You've always been willing to fight for anything."
Jo thought for a minute. "I guess I just got tired of fighting. It happens after you're doing it your whole life. I mean, after a while I just got worn out. And when life just threw me one more huge thing, I figured maybe I was supposed to be this way, and I've been fighting for nothing."
"Don't ever say that, Jo. Never stop fighting. Your life is worth too much."
"I know. That's why I told them I couldn't stay with them anymore. That's when you came in and saw how they reacted."
"I'm glad you realized that. I just wish you realized that before you even went back to them in the first place."
"Don't worry, I think I'm done with the whole gang thing. Thanks for coming after me, Blair. And thanks for the loan. I'm glad that you talked me into it."
"Well, it was a hard thing to do. You know, change Jo, "the most stubborn girl on earth," Polniaczek's mind.
"I don't think anyone but you could have. So how about telling me why Natalie and Tootie weren't with you?"
Blair rolled her eyes and told her the story. "And then I come to find out that they had taken the train back to the other stop while I was waiting at the next one."
"Don't they know the rule?"
"Don't get me started."
******************************************************
THE END