The following day, at school, I realized I forgot there was a test going on. In class, we were studying for a bit until it was time. I was spacing out. Mrs. Mason noticed something was wrong. I couldn't focus on a test.
Later, on my way to lunch, I could hear my name going to the principal's office. I went there.
"Is there something I did?" I asked.
"No, but we would like to talk to you," said the principal.
"Um, okay," I said.
"I can tell something is bugging you," said Mrs. Mason.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
She gave me the test graded a F.
"I noticed you were spacing out," said Mrs. Mason.
I was a bit embarrassed because she's one of my favorite teachers.
"Whatever it is, you can talk to me," said the teacher.
That was when I opened up and told her everything. "I totally forgot there was a test."
"It's okay to be angry at yourself to let things happen," said Mr. Gomez.
"I don't know how to bring it to April," I said.
"She's lucky to have a friend like you," said Mrs. Mason.
"I wish I would've known that the guys were bad," I said.
She gave me great advice on how to talk to April. At lunch, I managed to go over to her.
"Did you knew Andy is on drugs?" I asked.
"He is?" asked April.
"He tried to get me to start doing it, but I said no," I replied. "Rick and Jack started doing that to me, too."
"Wow," said April.
"Dad knows about these things and he's glad I didn't go for it," I said.
"I had no idea," said April.
"I was telling you these things because I care," I said.
"I get that, but I'm the one who is in the relationship," said April.
"So you're saying you don't care?" I asked.
"That's not what I was...," started April
"Forget for what I said," I cut off as I walked off.
After school, I collected the mail and noticed a phone bill. I opened it and noticed it wasn't too bad. I barely text anyone except for my friends or Logan. I went to my purse and noticed my wallet was missing. I panicked when I saw that.
"Oh, no," I said to myself.
I know I didn't drop it anywhere. I bet it was Rick who did that. How could I not noticed that yesterday when I found weeds in my purse? I ran out of there going next door.
"What's going on with Mary Anne?" asked Kayla.
They came out on the porch.
"Mary Anne? Are you okay? You're out of wind," said Kaylee.
"Let's sit on the porch," said Kayla.
I sat down as I told them about what happened.
"What?" asked Kaylee.
"I knew who it was," I said.
"They are jerks," said Kayla. "I knew they were trouble from day one."
"I don't know what to do for money," I said.
"You should tell him. He had always helped you before when you're stuck," said Kaylee.
"I know," I said.
"I could hear your heart beating a mile a minute. I'm concerned you to get stressed because of them," said Kayla.
"All because of what's happening, I had a hard time focusing on my test and I learned I failed. Mrs. Mason knew what was bothering me. She was concerned. She said I was right to be worried about April," I said.
"She's great for that," said Kaylee.
"She gave me advice on how to talk to April, but that didn't go well," I said.
"What do you mean?" asked Kaylee.
"She didn't even listen on what I told her about what Andy was doing," I said.
"Are you serious?" asked Kayla as I nodded.
"At least you were smart to tell me what was going on," I said.
"I know," said Kayla. "And, you didn't ignore it like she did."
"Dad reminded me of something I didn't think of. They wouldn't force me to do anything if they were my friends," I said.
"Honestly, he's right," said Kaylee.
"Glad you see the red flags," I said.
"I just hope April notices it, too," said Kaylee.
"I told him I'm not looking forward seeing them tonight," I said.
"We'd come, but we have to watch our siblings. Mom is working late," said Kaylee. "We don't have anyone until after 4 pm."
I wasn't looking forward doing that alone, either.
"But you can tell us about it," added Kayla.
That night, I went to the diner. After dinner, Andy said, "Do you need a ride home?"
"No, I'm all set," I said.
Why did I say that? I could smell weeds on their clothes.
"Dad's going to pick me up," I said.
"Yeah, right," said Jack.
At that moment, I went to the bathroom to call him saying I was ready to get picked up. I noticed my wallet was near them, so I took it.
"Hey!" Jack yelled when he saw that.
"Does this wallet have your name on it? This is mine," I said.
"No," said Rick.
"Yes, you do not take anything that doesn't belong to you," I said.
I ran out of there before he could try taking it from me. I went outside in time when Dad showed up.
"I could smell weeds on their clothes," I said. "I didn't want to tell you that on the phone in case they were nearby."
"I'm glad you called me," said Dad.
"They almost didn't believe me when I told you were picking me up," I said.
"It's okay to say a white lie. You did it for a good reason," said Dad. "Were you able to talk to April?"
"Yes, but she didn't seem to care on what I told her," I said. "She said she's the one who's in the relationship with him."
"She said that to you?" asked Dad.
"Yes," I said. "I told her I was telling her because I care."
"Of course," said Dad. "She's wrong to ignore you."
"I know," I said. "I could not focus on the test. My grades went down because of them."
At home, I said, "I'm going to take a shower so I can get out of these clothes and going to call the girls."
"Okay," said Dad.
When I went to go upstairs, I noticed my wallet was empty knowing my money is still missing. Plus, it was torn up. I know it wasn't me that did it. I felt better after taking a shower. After that was done, I put them in the hamper. After that, I felt great being in my nightgown. I looked at the clock, so I went to get the portable phone to call the girls.
"Is this a bad time?" I asked.
"No. Mom had just walked in," said Kayla.
"Oh, good. I didn't want to call in case you were still watching the kids," I said.
"No worries," said Kayla.
"I'm just glad to be home," I said.
"How did it go tonight?" I could hear Kaylee in the background.
"Let me put you on speaker," said Kayla as she did.
"That's why I was calling you girls. The guys tried to offer me a ride home, but I said no," I said. "I could smell weeds on them, so I called home for Dad to pick me up."
"You made the right move," said Kayla.
"And, they should know when you said no means it's no," said Kaylee.
"Oh, I found my wallet," I said.
"Where was it?" asked Kaylee.
"Who did you think had it?" I asked.
"I'm not surprised," said Kayla.
"One of the guys tried to give me a hard time about it," I said. "I fixed them good by asking 1) I asked if it had his name on it and 2) they don't take things that doesn't belong to them."
"Good," said Kayla.
"But my money is still missing," I said.
"I won't be surprised if they spent on drugs," said Kaylee.
"Plus, it's torn," I said.
"Wow," said Kaylee
"Was April with you?" asked Kayla.
"I didn't see her," I said.
"Maybe she opened her eyes after you told her about him," said Kaylee.
"Maybe you're right," I said. "He didn't say anything to me."
After I finished talking, I decided to call April's mom and told her about it. She had no idea Andy was on drugs.
"When I tried to talk to her about, she says that she's the one who's in the relationship with him," I said.
"It doesn't make any difference, she had the right to know," said April.
"So I knew the only way to get it through her was to tell you," I said.
"I'm glad you called me," said April's mom. "You're a good friend to watch out for her."
"Dad didn't like the way she ignored me," I said.
"Neither do I," said her mom.
After I had a long talk with her, I felt good knowing what I did. I put the phone away for the night before I was getting ready to go downstairs. I'm a bit nervous about telling him about my money although I know he'd be glad I went to him.
I was in my room talking to myself in the mirror trying to figure it out on what to say. I'm just stuck in this part even though I have been telling him everything this week. Then, I felt ready to go talk to him. I was just getting ready to go talk to Dad about my money issue when Sharon stopped me halfway.
"What was with the weeds on your clothes?" asked Sharon.
"From those idiots," I replied. "The guys have been trying to bring me home, but I declined and called home."
"Good," said Sharon. "I just put them in the plastic bag."
"Oh, I didn't think of that," I said.
"That's alright," said Sharon. "I've been concerned about you these days."
"You were?" I asked.
"Of course, I love you. You're like my second daughter to me," said Sharon.
"I'm sorry if I haven't told you about any issues. I never shared them with you before. I just wanted to take small steps before I do," I said. "I'm just used to talk to Dad since he was the one who taught me about drugs while I was little."
"I understand," said Sharon. "You are still welcome to come to talk to me anytime."
"Thanks," I said as we hugged. "Do you know where Dad is? I just needed to talk to him."
"He's in the living room," said Sharon.