13. Dealing With Burdens 2

"How bad was it, yo?" Adam asked. He and Grace were walking down the hall the next morning on their way to Joan's locker.

"You remember my seventh birthday?" Grace asked him.

"That bad?"

"Worse. Dean and Tom got into a fight over the brisket. Guess who won?"

"Dean?"

"No. It ended up landing on Chole and Michelle's heads. So I tried to leave, but the door at the top of the stairs was locked, because Zeke had already locked himself up there. But he's only five, so he got stuck..." Grace explained as she and Adam reached Joan's locker.

"Dude."

"I'll see you in chem. Later Rove," Grace said, leaving because of Joan.

"You guys in a fight again, yo?" Adam asked. Joan closed her locker.

"We're always in a fight," Joan told him. "I just don't get her. What's her problem?"

"She doesn't like May, yo," Adam said as the warning bell went off.

"Bye Jane," Adam said, leaving. A tall red haired girl walked over to Joan.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"My best friends are insane," Joan told her.

"They aren't insane, Joan," God said.

"Okay, Adam has serious reason to hate November. But why does Grace hate May? What did May ever do to her? Both of her parents are still alive. And what does that have to do with the fire?"

"Everything's connected, Joan. Don't be late for French," God said, walking away with the signature wave.

"That's just... That's great. Thanks a lot!" Joan yelled down the hall as the late bell went off.

*

"Jane? Jane, wake up," Adam whispered. Joan picked her head up.

"Hm? What?" she asked.

"You fell asleep, Lischak is looking at you like she's going to kill you," Adam told her. Joan looked to the front of the room where Ms. Lischak was swinging her pointer in a circle and glaring at Joan.

"Good morning Miss Girardi," Ms. Lischak said.

"Sorry.." Joan said. Ms. Lischak went back to teaching the class and Joan turned to Adam.

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem," Adam said as Joan then turned to Grace.

"So Grace, what do you have against May?" Joan asked.

"I'm ignoring you Girardi," she responded.

"Come on, just tell me," Joan said.

"What part of no can you not comprehend?!" Grace snapped. The class went silent and turned to look at her.

"Miss Polk, save your conversation for after class," Ms. Lischak told her. Joan turned to Adam for some kind of answer but he just shrugged.

"Not my story to tell, yo," he told her.

*

"Why does she have to be so stubborn?" Joan asked Luke that night.

"I don't know," Luke said, going through the TV channels.

"Well has she said anything to you?" Joan asked.

"Why would she have?"

"Well, you two have been hanging out a lot since the fire.." Joan told him.

"She saved my life, needless to say I'm thankful," Luke told his sister.

"She saved your life? Wow. You two are so about each other," Joan said.

"We are not. I like her, the feeling's not returned, I've tried everything. We're just friends."

"I'm sure you haven't tried -everything-," Joan told him, standing up and heading up to her room. Luke opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, an idea hitting him.