Mary Anne sat in homeroom waiting for the bell to ring, and class to begin. There was so much going on at home that she desperately wanted and needed something that would take her mind off things. At this point, even algebra would be a welcome distraction. She craned her neck, trying to spot Kristy in the hallway. Instead, she saw Logan making out with Miranda Shillabar against a row of lockers. She grimanced. That was the last thing that she needed to see right now.
Luckily, Kristy walked in the classroom at just that moment, and slid into her seat. Though she outwardly appeared normal, Mary Anne could tell that something was up.
"Good morning," Mary Anne greeted Kristy. "How are things going today?"
"There's a lot going on. We'll talk about it at lunch, okay?
The bell then rang, signaling the start of the school day.
"Where's Dawn?" Kristy asked "If she's not in here with us, she must be in Abby's homeroom. Or is she still in the office filling out paperwork?"
"We'll talk about that at lunch too," Mary Anne whispered.
"Okay," Kristy whispered back.
Ms. Faller, their homeroom teacher, walked over the where Mary Anne and Kristy were seated. Mary Anne squirmed in her seat, thinking that they were about to be scolded for talking after the bell rang.
"Mary Anne, you're supposed to report the main office during your study period today," Ms Faller said.
"Is there any reason?" Mary Anne asked, her voice wavering. She had never been called down to the office before.
"I'm not sure," Ms. Faller admitted. "But I'm sure you're not in any kind of trouble, Mary Anne. Don't worry about it."
"Okay, thanks," Mary Anne replied. Still, this didn't calm her fears. She knew that she would be nervous until she found out what was going on. She turned to Kristy, who shrugged, with a confused look on the face. When the two of the walked out of homeroom to their respective classes, she gave Mary Anne a reassuring pat on the back.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. I'll see you at lunch."
Mary Anne continued to worry throughout her World History and English classes. Finally, it was her study period, and she headed down to the office with a lump in her throat.
Mary Anne walked up to the desk where the school secretary sat.
"Hi, um, I'm Mary Anne Spier. Ms. Faller told me to come down here during my study period."
"You can have a seat over there," she said, pointing to some chairs lined up in front of the windows, where Julie Stern was already sitting. She didn't know Julie very well, but she didn't seem like the type to get into trouble either. At least she wasn't alone.
'Do you know why we were called here?" Mary Anne asked Julie
"I'm not sure, but Emily Berstein said that she was coming too," Julie responded.
Just as Julie said this, Emily walked through the office door and joined Mary Anne and Julie by the windows.
"Good, you're all here," said the secretary. Mrs. Ochs will be with you in just a few mintues.
Mary Anne knew that Mrs. Ochs was the head of academics at Stoneybrook High, but she had never met her. A straight "A" student, she had never had the need to. She looked over at Emily and Julie, and saw that they had the same quizzical looks on their faces.
"Maybe we're getting some kind of award," Emily said.
Mary Anne rolled her eyes. Emily was the classic overachiever- she was editor of the newspaper, sophomore class president, and a member of the French club. She was nice enough, but hard for Mary Anne to stomach sometimes.
Emily and Julie, who were in the same group of friends, started talking while the three of them waited. They weren't intentionally ignoring Mary Anne, it was just that they didn't know her very well. Mary Anne knew this, but it hurt her a little nonetheless. Thankfully, she didn't have much time to dwell on it, as Mrs. Ochs walked into the office a few minutes later.
"Hi girls, thanks for coming," Mrs. Ochs said, greeting them warmly. "I bet you're wondering why you're here."
"Yes ma'am," Emily said. Mary Anne nodded, while Julie shrugged her shoulders.
'Well it's nothing to worry about," Mrs. Ochs continued. "You girls are exactly the type of students that we pride ourselves in here at SHS. In fact, that's why I've called you down here today. We're starting up a peer tutoring network, and we would like to know if you three would be the representatives from the sophomore class.
The three girls looked at each other for a moment, and all nodded in agreement. Mary Anne was obviously relieved.
"I just knew this would work out!" Mrs. Ochs exclaimed, beaming. She then handed each of the girls an envelope.
"Inside your envelopes you will find the names of the two students you have been assigned. Also, the general program guidelines have been included. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Otherwise, you can return to your study halls. Thanks again."
As she didn't have any questions, Mary Anne received a pass from the secretary, and walked upstairs to her study hall. Once in her seat, she opened the envelope that Mrs. Ochs had handed her. She was very curious about whom she had been assigned to tutor. She hoped it wasn't anyone too popular.
The first name on the list was Howie Johnson. That wasn't bad. She didn't know Howie that well, but they had been in school together for years. Though he was somewhat immature, he was generally a nice guy. The second name was Claudia Kishi. This made Mary Anne smile, remembering her goal for the school year. She knew that it would be a quite a task tutoring Claudia, as she was severely challenged academically. However, it might be just the thing that would bring them closer together, perhaps to the point of restoring their friendship.
Finally, Mary Anne let herself relax. It felt almost like she had been holding her breath since Ms. Faller had informed her of the meeting in the main office. Now that this was out of her way, she had time to think about the more pressing things that were going on in her life. She could tell that Kristy had something important to tell her at lunch, and she wasn't sure if it was going to be good or bad. And of course, she was worried about whatever was going on with Dawn, though at this point, Dawn was making it somewhat difficult to worry about her. Frustrated as she was, Mary Anne wouldn't give up on her sister.
Mary Anne pulled out the beginning of an English essay she was writing on The Scarlet Letter. She worked on this for about fifteen minutes, until the bell rang, and it was time for her to meet Kristy for lunch. They had quickly fallen into a routine where they would meet in the downstairs hallway in front of the trophy cases, and take their bag lunches outside to eat in the courtyard. Mary Anne liked the solitude this gave them. They both needed space where they could be alone with their thoughts, or rather, together with their thoughts, for at least part of the school day.
Neither Kristy nor Mary Anne said anything until they reached the picnic table under the maple tree that they had claimed as their own.
"You won't believe what happened this morning," Mary Anne started to say.
"I can't believe what is happening now," Kristy said at the same time.
Mary Anne and Kristy looked at each other and grinned.
"You first," they said in unison.
As was the case in their childhood, Kristy took this opportunity to take charge. She started talking before Mary Anne could even think of it.
"Watson is being released from the rehabilitation center tomorrow," she began.
"That's great, isn't it?" Mary Anne questioned
"Kind of," Kristy replied. "He's going to be staying in a hotel room for about a month, which I knew was going to happen. That's not the problem. It's just that…"
Kristy paused for a moment here, and Mary Anne could tell that she didn't want to go on. She gave Kristy a quick hug, something that the old Kristy never would have accepted. Now she welcomed it, and Mary Anne could tell that she needed it more than ever.
"I heard mom and Nannie talking last night. I had come down to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and I guess that they thought that all of us kids were asleep. Mom was telling Nannie that the counseling she and Watson are going to isn't really going very well. Even though Watson was never officially going to come home right away, mom wants to have a permanent separation for six months, and then decide what to do from there."
Kristy was shaking as she was talking, and it looked to Mary Anne like she was about to break down at any second.
"Mary Anne, what if they decide to get a divorce? Would I ever get to see Karen and Andrew? And what about Emily Michelle? I don't know if I could take another divorce!"
At this point, Kristy burst into tears, and wrapped her arms around herself. She didn't accept the hug that Mary Anne tried to give her. Wordlessly, Mary Anne reached into her backpack and pulled out a packet of tissues. She was always prepared for a crying jag, though it was normally herself that she had to worry about. She handed a tissue to Kristy, who used it to dab her eyes.
Mary Anne didn't know exactly what she was supposed to say to Kristy. Nothing really seemed fitting. Instead, they sat together for the remainder of the lunch period, picking at their meals and individually reflecting on what was going on in their respective lives. Mary Anne knew that this was one of those times where Kristy would appreciate her silent support more than anything. Mary Anne never did tell Kristy what had happened that morning with Dawn. It was probably better that way.