Sodapop in Short Hills
I arrived in Short Hills at three o' clock. I gloomily opened the door and almost dropped my bags in shock. I immediately knew that it was going to be a lot worse than I thought. It was a tiny little old lady and a huge bulldog. "My name is Lavinia Lyte, dearie. And this is Buster." She stroked that monstrosity's neck, and he growled at me ferociously. I rolled my eyes and started to take my bags to the room that Ms. Lyte said was mine. After all my stuff was away, which was soon, I went into the living room, where Ms. Lyte was with Buster. I needed to settle some things.
"Um, Ms. Lyte?" I said, trying to get her attention. She was fussing over Buster, and seemed not to hear. I repeated my question a little louder. Still no response. Then, gathering all my energy, I yelled, "Ms. Lyte!" She looked up slowly, and said,
"Yes, dear, did you want me?" I sighed, made a mental note to always speak loud to Ms. Lyte, and then said,
"Ms. Lyte, is there a gas station near here that I could work at?" I almost kicked myself for jumping in with that question, but kept at it. "I work at a gas station at home." She seemed to ponder the quite simple request and replied, "Don't you go to school?" I got nervous. Either one of my brothers could have helped me here. But I was flying solo. "Ms. Lyte, uh, I - "
"It's Mrs. Lyte, dear, but you can call me Lavinia. And do go on." Heh, fat chance of me calling her Lavinia. Wonder what happened to Mr. Lyte. But now my plight was more important than her husband's. "I dropped out of school because I couldn't do the work, Mrs. Lyte." She nodded, accepting the fact that I wouldn't call her Lavinia. "I don't mind learning," I lied, to try and convince her of my case, "but I had problems with the work and dropped out to help support my family."
The forced explanation was really screwing me up. "I'd work around the house after coming home from work if you want if you let me stay in my livelihood." Score one for me! Big words work to people's advantage, I have found out. It rarely works for me, but now, I could see it was working. This was a novelty.
Lavinia nodded absently and whispered, "It's okay. I know that my Johnnie dropped out of school too. He never got a good job. Well, fine. You don't need to go to school if you don't want to. But you will need to go to the Exxon for a job yourself. Be warned that nobody here drops out. I can't be held responsible for how people treat you." I started to feel a bit sorry for the old lady, and then simply nodded and left. I went to my room and started to draft a letter to Pony, and another one for Darry. I sure hope we'll be home soon.
I arrived in Short Hills at three o' clock. I gloomily opened the door and almost dropped my bags in shock. I immediately knew that it was going to be a lot worse than I thought. It was a tiny little old lady and a huge bulldog. "My name is Lavinia Lyte, dearie. And this is Buster." She stroked that monstrosity's neck, and he growled at me ferociously. I rolled my eyes and started to take my bags to the room that Ms. Lyte said was mine. After all my stuff was away, which was soon, I went into the living room, where Ms. Lyte was with Buster. I needed to settle some things.
"Um, Ms. Lyte?" I said, trying to get her attention. She was fussing over Buster, and seemed not to hear. I repeated my question a little louder. Still no response. Then, gathering all my energy, I yelled, "Ms. Lyte!" She looked up slowly, and said,
"Yes, dear, did you want me?" I sighed, made a mental note to always speak loud to Ms. Lyte, and then said,
"Ms. Lyte, is there a gas station near here that I could work at?" I almost kicked myself for jumping in with that question, but kept at it. "I work at a gas station at home." She seemed to ponder the quite simple request and replied, "Don't you go to school?" I got nervous. Either one of my brothers could have helped me here. But I was flying solo. "Ms. Lyte, uh, I - "
"It's Mrs. Lyte, dear, but you can call me Lavinia. And do go on." Heh, fat chance of me calling her Lavinia. Wonder what happened to Mr. Lyte. But now my plight was more important than her husband's. "I dropped out of school because I couldn't do the work, Mrs. Lyte." She nodded, accepting the fact that I wouldn't call her Lavinia. "I don't mind learning," I lied, to try and convince her of my case, "but I had problems with the work and dropped out to help support my family."
The forced explanation was really screwing me up. "I'd work around the house after coming home from work if you want if you let me stay in my livelihood." Score one for me! Big words work to people's advantage, I have found out. It rarely works for me, but now, I could see it was working. This was a novelty.
Lavinia nodded absently and whispered, "It's okay. I know that my Johnnie dropped out of school too. He never got a good job. Well, fine. You don't need to go to school if you don't want to. But you will need to go to the Exxon for a job yourself. Be warned that nobody here drops out. I can't be held responsible for how people treat you." I started to feel a bit sorry for the old lady, and then simply nodded and left. I went to my room and started to draft a letter to Pony, and another one for Darry. I sure hope we'll be home soon.