Chapter Forty One

My third day back at Ashford was feeling as if I had already been there for three years. Just as Mr. Fredricks had anticipated my short life story strewn out in black and white on a three page spread had thrust me into the unfamiliar world of popularity.

Suddenly, dozens of school girls were saying hi and waving to me as if we were old friends. At breakfast, I had a handful of invitations to sit at tables with groups of girls. In the classroom, teachers smiled and bid me a good morning. During passing times my classmates wanted to hear even more about living with my brothers or testifying in court.

During third hour cooking class the teacher ran short on flour and looked in my direction. "Miss Curtis? Won't you be a darling and run to the cafeteria and fetch a sack of flour?"

"Yes, Mam'" I agreed and headed out of the classroom. I was happy to be in the fresh spring air enjoying a leisurely stroll across the grounds. I didn't mind missing cooking class since I assumed I already knew all I needed to know about cooking. After all, I had managed to help keep my brothers and their friends fed and happy for over a year.

I walked into the dining hall and noticed most of the lights were turned off and the kitchen staff could not be found. I figured I was alone, but to be sure I yelled out. "Hello?"

I walked into the kitchen, past the serving counters and yelled again. "Hello?"

"Yeah!" A man's voice yelled out sounding a little like my brother Darry.

I walked around the refrigerator units and found myself in a familiar and awkward position as I stood face to face with Jackson Wesley.

The two of us looked at each other and then stepped back.

"Sorry," I said politely.

"What do you want," Jackson replied with a grumble.

"I need to pick up a sack of flour for cooking class."

Jackson slammed the wrench in his hand into his tool box. With out a word to me, he marched off through the dimly lit kitchen to the storage pantry.

I followed behind him.

Once in the storage pantry I watched him effortlessly pick up a twenty pound sack of flour and without warning he threw the sack across the pantry to where I was standing.

My mind could barely comprehend what was happening as my instincts reacted just in time to catch the sack before it hit the floor. Upon impact with my body the sack exhausted a white cloud of flour dust.

I steadied the bag in my arms and griped at the boy. "I can't believe I ever considered you my friend."

Jackson bickered back. "I can't believe you led me on the way you did."

"I never led you on!"

"Oh yeah? Well, next time you need a shoulder to cry don't come crawling to me."

My temper flared. "First off, I never led you on! Second, I didn't come looking for you. You came looking for me! You took me fishing! You brought the wine when you should have brought lemonade! You made this problem, not me."

Jackson folded his arms across his chest. "You're saying you were never attracted to me, and if you weren't drunk you wouldn't have kissed me down by the river?"

"No! I mean… no… I mean, I don't know… Jackson Wesley you frustrate me!" Not wanting to be sucked into a conversation I no longer wanted to have I turned and stormed out of the panty.

Jackson yelled from where he was standing, "Yeah Curtis! You frustrate me too!"

I turned the corner of the refrigerators to find two of the kitchen ladies staring at me.

Immediately, my face grew flush with embarrassment and I worried about how much of the conversation they had heard. In order to flee the situation I dropped my gaze to the floor and headed out the back door of the kitchen with my sack of flour wrapped tightly in my arms.

I returned to cooking class, but the only thing that stewed were my emotions. I was angered at the way Jackson had been acting, and the fact that Sodapop was right. I was a heartbreaker. I hated that. I wasn't the type of person who liked to hurt other's feelings, but in this case it was unavoidable.

When the bell rang I gathered my books and headed to my next class which was in another building. Still fuming, I trotted down the concrete steps and headed across the grass.

"Miss Curtis?" A female voice called in the distance. "Miss Curtis!"

I squinted in the sunshine and notice Ms. Lemon coming towards me.

I stopped in my tracks and a feeling of dread fell over me. I worried the kitchen staff had told Ms. Lemon about the conversation between Jackson and me. I closed my eyes and tried to formulate a story for why I had broken the rules by leaving campus, drinking alcohol and having inappropriate behavior with an employee.

I opened my eyes to find Ms. Lemon before me. "Miss Curtis, I am glad I found you. As promised I met with Dean Donaldsen this morning to discuss your situation. Unfortunately, while we do realize how difficult this time in your life may be, but we must hold to the punishment set forth. Your behavior towards Miss McGovern was admittedly uncalled for, and the punishment was more than fair considering that any other Ashford girl would have faced immediate expulsion."

"Yes ma'am." I said and lowered my head in disappointment that I wouldn't be able to speak to my brothers.

Ms. Lemon added, "but the Dean did place a call to your social worker requesting she return his call with an update on how the trial is progressing."

"Thank you Ms. Lemon. I appreciate your consideration." I told the house mother and then wandered off to my next class.

At lunch I met up with Heidi and Karen at the dining table.

Karen noticed my somber attitude. "Why so glum?"

"I saw Ms. Lemon this morning and she told me that she and the Dean have decided they won't allow me to call home to talk to my brothers about the trial while I am still on punishment." I sighed, "I just hate not knowing what is going on."

"That is disappointing," Heidi said, "but maybe Lacey will call Owen again and get an update for you."

I frowned. "She might, but I can't really expect her to use her phone privileges every night for me."

"You know what, Scout?" Karen asked. "You are just too nice. After how Lacey treated you, she should be begging for your forgiveness and offering to call Owen every night for you."

"Maybe," I said politely to agree. I understood why Karen felt that way, but I also questioned whether I wanted Lacey speaking to Owen every night.

"Scout!" Maria called out excitedly as she hustled between tables to where we were sitting. She sat down at the table with a wide grin. "Guess what I got today!"

"What?" I asked as the suspension built.

Maria held up a yellow colored card and waived it in the air.

"What is that?" I asked with a grin.

"It's a telegram from my mother. It's permission to call Sodapop Curtis anytime I want!" Maria jumped up from her chair, stomped her feet with enthusiasm then sat back down.

Heidi and Karen cheered with excitement.

"Let me see that," I grabbed the card to confirm the information. "This is incredible! Be sure to tell your mom how thankful I am"

"I will," Maria snagged the card out of my hand, marveled at the print on the card and sighed with sounds of puppy love. "Sodapop! Sounds exotic doesn't it?"

"No," Karen responded, "Javier is exotic. Sodapop is …is… confectionary!"

Everyone laughed.

Heidi remarked, "Confectionary? That's a new way to describe a man."

Maria swooned, "and when we get married we will have a little girl and name her Pixie Stix"

Karen giggled. "And your other daughter can have the first name Lollie and her middle name can be Pop just like her dad."

I laughed at the silliness and corrected my friends, "his middle name isn't Pop, it's Patrick."

"Sodapop Patrick Curtis," Maria swooned, "that so amazing. At home I can call him Soda and when he is golfing at the club with the other gentlemen they will call him Patrick."

"Patrick, now that's a strong, manly name." Karen affirmed.

Heidi looked at her friends. "Yeah, sounds like a stockbroker or an accountant."

I raised my eyebrows and looked at the girls with absurd disappointment. "I hate to burst your bubble, but Soda pumps gas at a service station, and he dropped out of high school when my parents died. I highly doubt Soda will ever be an accountant."

The mood of the girls grew a bit somber. Maria remarked, "Well, love isn't always about money or earning potential. I think I'd rather be poor and in love than wealthy and wishing I was really in love."

Karen and Heidi frowned as they looked at their friend.

"Being poor maybe harder than you think," I said.

"You'd know best." Heidi said without thinking about her words.

A hush fell over the table and her friends looked at her with a scowl to let her know her comment was not appropriate.

Heidi grimaced and looked at me for forgiveness. "I am sorry, I didn't mean... I was just saying…"

"Don't worry about it." I said and forgave her for her indiscretion. I knew Heidi didn't intentionally mean to put me down, so I cracked a joke. "I guess around here I am valedictorian of that class!"

The table of girls laughed a little.

Karen leaned towards me "Seriously though, what's it like?"

I leaned towards her and acted serious, "What's what like?"

Karen squirmed in her chair a little bit, but proceeded, "…being poor."

"Karen!" Maria interjected to appear concerned for me, but I could sense she was just as interested in my answer as her friends were.

I sat back in my chair and thought for a moment before I answered. "Honestly, it's not really something I was aware of until just a few years ago. Growing up poor you live in a poor neighborhood and all the other kids in your neighborhood are just like you, have just as much as you have… so you don't realize there are so many families who have more."

"I kind of get that." Heidi commented.

"So how did you know?" Karen asked.

I smiled. "I kind of always knew. I just didn't realize kids from wealthier families would feel so compelled to point it out to me."

"Scout, I am not trying to say you are poor or less than us." Karen's interjected sympathetically.

"I'm not talking about now, or here. I mean back in Tulsa, in high school."

"So that's when you knew?" Karen asked, still searching for an answer to her question.

"That's when I started going to classes with kids from neighborhoods other than mine. Once I got to high school, that's when kids began looking down at me and judging me, but I was so young I just kept to my self and focused on my school work."

"That sounds miserable." Maria said.

I remembered getting jumped by a group of socs and quietly added, "Some days it was pretty bad."

Trying to lighten the mood Heidi reminded the group, "But some days had to be pretty good considering you are dating Owen Jasper!"

I blushed and then thoughts of Owen, my brothers, and the trial flooded my mind. I sighed, "Maria, thank you for agreeing to use your phone privileges to talk to my family for me. I really appreciate your help."

"No problem, you deserve to know what is going on at home," Maria smiled with giddiness, "and I deserve to talk to Sodapop again!"

We heard a soft knock on Maria and Karen's dorm room door.

"Come in" Maria called out as she, Heidi, Karen and I watched to see who entered.

"Good evening ladies," Ms. Lemon greeted us and then closed the door behind her.

It was at that moment I got a sinking feeling in my stomach.

Ms. Lemon looked towards Maria. "Miss Kinsley, I received notice you have added a young gentleman to your calling list who appears to have a very familiar name, wouldn't you agree Miss Curtis?"

I looked at our house mother with a bit of anxiety about the situation. "Yes ma'am. Maria had enjoyed meeting my brother earlier this week so she asked for our telephone number so she could speak to him again."

Ms Lemon paused and looked at all four of us waiting for a clue to tell her if my story held any truth. The other girls nodded their heads in agreement with me.

Ms. Lemon smiled with a hint of pride. "Well played, Miss Curtis."

I blinked and looked at the older lady. "I beg your pardon."

"You are a very resourceful young lady. No doubt a skill you have acquired through your upbringing." Miss Lemon looked to Maria. "I will allow the phone calls to Mr. Sodapop Curtis, but Scout you are still on punishment and not allowed to listen in or speak on the telephone. Do you understand me?"

"Yes ma'am." I replied.

The house mother further warned me, "If I hear of you partaking in any part of the call I will inform the Dean and recommend your punishment will be extended."

"Yes Ms. Lemon, I understand and I have no intention of being a part of the phone conversation."

Ms. Lemon smiled with pride and looked at Maria and me. "You two are very intelligent young ladies, and I am impressed with your solution to a precarious situation, very impressed."

"Thank you Ms. Lemon," Maria replied with a grin.

Ms. Lemon reminded us. "Phone calls can begin in a few minutes. Enjoy your evening ladies." Then she turned and left the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

All four of us held our breath as grins grew across our faces and we paused for a moment to be sure she wasn't planning on returning.

Karen was the first to mutter a giggle filled sentence, "I thought for sure we were done for."

Heidi exhaled, "no doubt."

Maria looked at her friends. "Nah, did you see the pride in her eyes when she realized we had found a way around Scout's punishment? She likes to pretend that she's a pristine lady, but really she loves seeing the under dog win."

"Either way, she makes me worry." I told the group.

"Scout," Maria stated, "of all the girls she has ever kept watch over I am sure you are her absolute favorite."

"The ultimate underdog!" Karen called out.

"You got that right," Heidi added.

Maria jumped up from her bed and grabbed the Curtis household phone number off of her dresser. "Ladies, I would love to stay and chat, but I've got a date to call my dream boy."

"Oh Lordy," Karen laughed at her friend and we all followed Maria out of the room.

I stood across the hallway and watched as Maria asked the operator to connect the call. A moment later she smiled wide and held the phone receiver close to her ear.

"It's ringing" She told me as she hopped a little with excitement.

I watched her eyes widen as someone on the other line must have answered the phone.

"Yes, is Sodapop Curtis available to speak?" she asked and then rolled her eyes knowing her question was a little too formal. Maria smiled and looked at me, "he's coming to the phone!"

I laughed at her excitement.

Heidi handed Maria a notepad and a pen, "so you can write down what they tell you."

Maria heard a voice on the other side of the phone and her face flushed with color. "Hello, Sodapop?… this is Maria Kinsley from Ashford Academy, I am a friend of your sister… yes, everything if fine, she's fine…she's wondering, uh I mean I am wondering if you can tell me how everything is going with the court case…no, she can't talk, she is still on punishment, but we thought if you told me I could tell her."

Maria's eyes lit up and she smiled and turned to me, "he says he loves you!"

I grinned and spoke loudly hoping he would be able to hear my voice, "I love him to."

Maria repeated my words to my brother, "she says she loves you too…wait!" Maria furrowed her brow and looked towards me. "He's giving the phone to your brother Darry."

Karen laughed at Maria's misfortune. "Awe poor Maria, passed over by her dream boy!"

"That's not funny, Karen!" Maria half joked as her attention turned back to the other voice on the phone. "yes, this Maria…oh it's no problem, I am happy to help out." There was a long pause as Darry began to tell Maria about the past few days. I watched as Maria listened and quickly jotted down the story. "…okay, I've got it…absolutely…excuse me, Darry? Perhaps, can I speak to Sodapop again?"

Karen, Heidi and I all giggled at the request.

Maria furrowed her brow at us and turned away for some supposed privacy. "Sodapop? Hey, I just wanted to tell you that, well I thought you were a very nice boy…yeah, I was wondering if maybe if I called again we could just talk and get to know each other a little better…I'm seventeen…Oklahoma City…just me…since I was twelve years old…well, my mom went to Ashford so it was just expected that I be an Ashford girl too…"

Realizing Maria and Soda were settling into idle chit chat about themselves I reached over and grabbed the note pad to begin deciphering what she had written.

I read; Owen testified Monday –James yelled at Owen calling him a liar several times. James was removed from the court room and the case stopped for the day. Resumed Tuesday afternoon Owen testified. Jury seemed to believe him. Cross examination Wednesday, attorney questioned everything. Owen did well, didn't crack. Story in paper today about Owen's testimony. Darry took stand today, only talked about family and James and Scout dates. Will probably testify tomorrow and cross on Monday. Loves you very much!

It was nice to read about what was going on, but I wanted more. I wanted to be there in the courtroom listening to the testimony and supporting my brother the way he offered support to me from the gallery.

I looked up from the notes at Maria smiling and chatting on the phone. I wished I could jump through the receiver and be teleported home in an instant.

Maria's voice rang out in laughter, "…you are! You are very handsome…I wouldn't care what they had to say. It's my life, not theirs…the world is changing, maybe I will bring home the bacon and you can stay at home and look pretty…I would…how far away is Tulsa?... four hours! Maybe I could move back to the City, it's only a few hours from there…okay…sure, I will call you again tomorrow to get an update…she loves you too…bye." Maria hung up the phone and swooned in silence for a moment as a ridiculous grin stayed frozen on her face.

Heidi walked over and snapped her fingers close to Maria's face. "Snap out of it lover girl!"

Maria laughed, "It's just not fair! He is so sweet and so gorgeous and so far away!"

"And not a man of money, might I add." Karen said.

Maria presented her friend with a sour face.

"Your parent's would freak if you told them you had fallen for a gas station attendant." Karen reminded her friend.

"Yeah," Heidi added, "you know us Ashford Girls are destined to be rich, forgotten, trophy wives."

Maria looked at her friends. "Outside these walls America is changing and I don't plan to live my life without going for what I want."

"That's a little dramatic, Maria." Karen told her friend.

Maria grinned slyly, "it's not drama…it's a plan of action!"