Author's Note: Thank you Beverly and shadow shippo for your reviews on last chapter. (Thanks for the thing to keep in mind, Beverly, but I'm sure her past won't be noble to you once you read through all of it.) This is once again her flashback. The whole chapter is her flashback. There will probaby be more next chapter. Read, drop a review if desired, tell me what you think, and, above all, enjoy!
We were good students. We always have been. And even on the days we didn't feel like being good students we were forced to be by the other. Today was one of those days for me. But Alice had practically strapped me to the chair at the table, plunked my math book (turned to the right page) and my graph paper with a pencil in front of me, grunted, and watched me proceed to do my math homework. We ended up finishing very early, speeding through the assignments, as usual.
However, not everything was as it was…as usual.
We rolled out our sleeping bags and crawled into the cocoons of warmth nearing ten o'clock. We'd always go to sleep a little early on school days so we would have chance to talk at least two hours away. Alice's parents didn't mind. They were the bright, cheery, loving type that had a pearly white smile on their face no matter what.That kind of creeped me out.
The lights were out as I snuggled farther into my bedding. I could hear Alice shifting around beside me, her sleeping bag making a swish swish sound. I turned to face her in the dark.
"So, what are you going to do?"
"What am I going to do about what?"
"You know what I'm talking about, Lori. You can't keep skirting the edges. What are you going to do about your family? Your life?"
I sighed and turned so I was directly on my back again. "Wait for my dad to drink himself to death and then get sent to an orphanage?"
Alice breathed out in a way that said, not funny. "Now is not the time to joke, Lori. I'm worried about you."
"Okay, okay," I said. "I'll probably call a social worker or something and have them take me away. I don't know. Or I could continue living with you guys."
Alice sighed this time. "You know we would love to have you, but you can't stay here forever. You have to figure out something, Lori." She turned over so that she was facing away from me now. "I'm really tired today, Lori. I'm going to sleep, okay?"
I turned away from her as well. "Fine with me. Good night, Alice."
"Good night, Lori. Sweet dreams."
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The next day was a boring school day. Math class. Blah blah blah blah blahing blahing blah. I could have slept through the whole class and still have gotten an A. Math was one of my easiest subjects and I was good at it. I just didn't let anyone think that I was from outside appearance.
Today, I was just about to put my head down on my cool desk to take a short nap when a new boy walked in. I immediately jerked my head back up. Who is this? He gave me a grin as he walked across the front of the room to go to the teacher who was at the podium that was a couple desks down from me. She was preaching about something or other but seemed fine with the interruption. She conversed with him for a bit, which just seemed like mumbles to the rest of us in the class. Finally she pointed to the empty seat to my left. It had always been kept empty before for whatever mysterious reason, but now apparently this boy had gotten an exception. I could understand that. I would be willing to make exceptions for him.
As he walked by me again, he winked. A shot of something or other ripped through my spine. I smiled back, hoping that it was one of my better smiles and not a hideous grimace. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he sat down in one graceful motion, dropping his black backpack down to the ground with ease. The teacher didn't seem to care. She never really does care about me, because I get everything right. And right now all she cares about is drilling into our brains what the Quadratic formula is.
In the middle of an overhead demonstration (about, you guessed it, the Quadratic formula), a little piece of folded up graph paper landed square on my desk and bounced a couple times before skidding to a halt. I looked up and scanned the room, surprised that someone would lob a note at me. I had never gotten a note before. Then my eyes landed to the new guy, who was grinning like crazy at me, his eyes twinkling and smoldering at the same time. I smiled as I looked down to unfold it.
Hey, what's up? I'm Robbie and I'm new here at this school as you probably can tell. What's your name?
I didn't look back up at him and proceeded to write somewhat neatly (neater than his handwriting) on the line underneath the ones he had taken up:
I'm Lori. Nice to meet you. Did you just move here or something? And why are you passing a note to me, of all people? Just curious, because no one ever has before.
I tossed it onto his desk quickly. The teacher droned on. I detected faint snoring sounds in the back of the classroom.
The paper came back.
Nice to meet you too. Yeah, I did just move here, hence being new and all. And I decided to pass a note to you because, well, you were the prettiest one here. (I'm kind of embarrassed to admit it.) And also, you seemed like you were friendly.
I stared at the note and didn't know what to say. I was speechless for practically the first time in my life. Wow, so many firsts in one math period…all because of Robbie…
Wow, that's…really sweet of you! Thank you for that. Just so you know, you seem pretty friendly too. I am flattered.
I passed it back to him and he suppressed a laugh at my last line. I smiled. And then somewhere in the back of my head, my brain woke up from its mathtime slumber. You know, he could be lying to you. He could be faking it. Don't believe him, Lori. Don't fall for it.
Shut up brain, you don't know what you are doing.
The note passing went on and on that period. And when it was over (which, for once, I didn't want it to be) I was clutching a three-page note in my hand and floating along in heaven. Robbie bumped into me at the door. "Don't lose that note," he said, grinning at me. "And I'll see you around."
At the end of sixth period, I was about to die of relief when I spotted Robbie right outside the door, leaning against it casually, his eyes surveying the people as they walked by.
When he noticed me approaching him, his face softened up into a sweet grin. "I told you I would see you around."
I melted. He had been waiting…for me. But I kept my composure on the outside and punched him softly on the arm, like we were old friends. "Stalker."
He stuck his tongue out at me and, to my surprise (but it was a good one), took my hand gently in his. "Do you want to go somewhere?" He led me away from the classroom door and away from the school.
"Yes," I replied gratefully. "Anywhere but home."
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"Well, your relationship with Robbie is going…fast."
My dad had disappeared for the night, for once leaving a note to tell me where he was going. He must have written it when he was sober enough to, another first. Said he was going to spend the night at Bill's blah blah blah. I added onto the note for him that he was going to have a couple of drinks and most likely get drunk and go out driving under the influence and either get arrested and thrown in jail or die by crashing his car into a pole or maybe a wall. And then I crumpled up the note and threw it away.
And then Alice called me.
"Robbie? What about him?" I practically lost myself in daydreaming just at the mention of his name. I strained to hold onto reality.
"Oh, nothing. He's great, really. It's just the minor thing of him kind of sort of TAKING OVER YOUR LIFE."
I laughed into the phone. "Oh, Alice, no he isn't!"
"Yeah? Well, let me ask you this. When was the last time you actually had a conversation with me at school? Like, face to face?"
"Oh, well I've done that loads of times," I dismissed it with a wave of my hand. "Let's see." I fell into silence as I tried to think back. I realized that I didn't remember Alice being in my life at all in the past few days. Everything had Robbie in it. "Okay, so I don't talk to you anymore, but that's not like we aren't friends!"
"That is the basis of friendship, smarty-pants Lori! Communication! And let me have a little communication with you right now, okay?"
"Okay, whatever."
I could hear Alice take a couple of deep, calming breaths on the other end of the phone line. I stuffed a hand in my mouth to keep from laughing out loud. She sounded funny when she did that over the phone.
"I've heard…stuff…about your boyfriend Robbie. I don't know if its true, but the stuff is kind of worrying me. And making me worried about you…"
I cut her off angrily. "Alice, I would expect you of all people to not believe in rumors! I can't believe that you were prepared to tell me a load of crap. Alice, there are stories about you! There are always stories! But that doesn't mean all of them are true!"
"No, Lori, you don't understand…"
"Shut up, Alice, shut up. True friends don't tell their friends a bunch of lies."
With that I hung up the phone and flung myself unto the bed. Then I tried deep breathing, like Alice had just done.