One Day Past NaNo Year Four - Chapter Ten, Part One

[niftynovelist]

3:03 pm


Chapter Ten

Past

Lacy Edwards was the queen of fifth grade, reining over the other fifth graders and the rest of the school by the process of elimination. If you didn't meet her standard of quality in either personality or appearance, you were immediately and forever deemed a geek or a loser or someone who wasn't worth her time. At her side, ruling as her lackeys, her right and left hand girls, were Ally and Kaley, a red haired girl with the fairest skin Jess had seen. Anywhere Lacy went, Ally and Kaley weren't too far behind. Lacy's beliefs and ideals were suddenly what Ally and Kaley thought and spoke.

Jess, Elizabeth, and Alex weren't worth their time, passing by the three friends with their noses held high and their skirts swishing around their legs.

"I'd rather not be like them," Elizabeth said one spring day during lunch recess.

They had retreated to the grassy area to sit beneath one of the trees. Eric, who had moved onto the area's local middle school, no longer joined them for lunch recess, the group of five being reduced to a group of three.

Jess looked up from her card game with Alex. "Why are we talking about them again?" she asked, setting a two of hearts down on the grass.

"I don't know," Elizabeth said, leaning against a tree, an old and worn paperback novel in hand.

Alex glanced up for a brief moment before setting a card down on top of Jess's card.

"Ugh," she groaned as Alex's seven of spades won over her two of hearts.

He scooped up both cards and placed them on top of his growing stack of cards.

"Either way, let's not talk about them. Ally's dead to me," she said. "She's out of my life and out of my mind." Jess made a noise through her lips, her hand brushing away her old friendship.

Neither Alex or Elizabeth commented, Alex considering his next card whilst Elizabeth returned to her book. The lunch monitor blew the whistle signaling the end of lunch recess, and Jess, Elizabeth, and Alex scooped up the cards and obediently lined up, the rest of the day passing without notice.

After school, Jess boarded her school bus, plopping down next to Alex who busied himself by staring out the window.

"Hello," she said cheerily. "I love Fridays. I think everyday should be a Friday. What do you think, old buddy?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

Jess leaned over. "What's wrong?"

Alex rounded his shoulders. "I don't know," he said.

"Oh," she said, sitting back up. "Well, do you want to do something this weekend?" Then, remembering something, she added, "Oh, there's something you just have to see."

He looked over at her. "What is it?"

Jess grinned. "You'll just have to come over and see," she said. "We could have a sleep over. We haven't done that since Christmas break."

"I'll have to ask," he said. "I'll call you."

OOO

"Jess, phone, it's Alex," her mother said at dinnertime that night.

Setting down her fork, she stood up and reached for the phone.

"Make it quick, please," her mother said.

"Ok," she said, taking the phone around the corner. "So, what'd Marge say? My mom says you can come over and sleep over."

"I can't," he answered quietly.

"You can't come over or you can't sleep over?" she asked and paused. "Or both?"

"I don't know," he said.

"Well, did you ask?"

"Yes."

"And what did she say?"

"She said that I couldn't," he said.

On Alex's end of the phone, somebody began screaming. "That Penelope?" she asked.

"Mm hmm, she's having another fit," Alex said.

"Jess, two more minutes. Wrap things up, ok," her mother called from the kitchen table.

Sighing through her nose, Jess leaned against the wall. "My mom says I have to go."

"Ok, maybe I'll see you on Monday?" Alex said.

"Yeah, ok," she said resolutely.

"Bye, Jess," Alex said as somebody began screaming, this time someone other than Penelope. "Yeah, I'm off."

"Bye," she said, Alex having already hung up.

Hanging up the phone, Jess returned to dinner.

OOO

Later that night, while working on a set of long division problems, Jess found herself having trouble concentrating. Leaning her cheek against her palm, she tapped the pencil against her desk. Pictures covered her bulletin board, pictures of her and Alex, of Elizabeth and her, of the three of them, and of her family and Chester. There used to be pictures of Ally on her board, but those had been torn down in a frenzied rage of anger months ago. Directly in her line of vision was a photo of Alex, snapped during a moment of innocent obliviousness. Her mind on photos, she turned to look at her closet, thinking of what sat in there. Getting up, she pushed through the curtain of beads and, standing on tip toe, cursing her short stature, she grabbed the old shoe box from one of the higher shelves.

"Jess?"

She glanced up, her father in the doorway.

"Yeah?"

"About finished with your homework?" he asked, a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth.

"Kinda," she said, tapping a finger against the box.

"Get it done, kiddo."

"But it's Friday," she complained.

He stepped into her room. "If you get it done tonight, you can have the rest of the weekend all to yourself," he said, his eyes sparkling. "Think about it." He tapped the side of his head.

"I guess," she said, glancing down at the box.

"Have you taken any pictures yet?" he asked.

Jess removed the lid to the box. "Not yet. You still have to show me how," she said.

"It's pretty simple," he said, picking up the old Polaroid camera and turning it around in his hands. "I'll show you in the morning, but only if you..."

"...finish my homework. I know," she finished.

"That's my girl," he said, handing the camera back to his daughter.

Returning the camera to the box, she replaced the box back on the shelf and sat back down at her desk.

"Have a lot left to do?" he asked, giving his upper teeth a good scrubbing.

"Not much," she said. "Just a few math problems and I have to read a short story for reading."

"Alright, you have a good night," he said, kissing her on top of her head. "Love you, kiddo."

"Love you too, dad."

As her father left her room, Jess returned to her math problems, concentrating on carrying remainders.

"Good night, Jess," her mother said a few moments later, popping her head into Jess' room.

"Good night, mom."

"Don't stay up too much later," she instructed.

Jess glanced back at her mother. "I won't. I'm almost done."

"Alright. Much love."

"Love you too."

Her door closed and Jess returned to her math homework, staring at the problems, tapping her pencil against the desk, and chewing on a strand of hair. Every few moments, she'd glance out the window at the little, yellow house across the street, the windows lit and shadowed shapes moving about within. Sighing, she leaned her head against one hand and returned to her homework.

By the time Jess finished with her math and read the short story she had to read for reading, she could barely hold her eyes open. Changing into her pajamas, she dashed across the hallway to brush her teeth and returned to her room, jumping into her bed, throwing the covers over herself. Leaning over, she shut off her bedside lamp and let out a sigh of air. Closing her eyes, she listened to the nighttime sounds of her house, the sounds of cars passing quietly on the street, her father snoring softly down the hallway, the heat turning on, and her own breathing. Just as she was about to doze off, a tap sounded at her window. Sitting up in bed, she listened carefully.

Right there!

Throwing off her blankets, she quickly padded across her carpet, pushing her curtains away. Alex huddled against the side of the house, his arms wrapped around the drain pipe. Jess heaved her window open.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, pushing up the screen.

Reaching over, he clamped onto the window sill, pulling himself into the room, Jess helping him. He landed in a tumble.

"I can't stay there tonight," he said, standing up. He wrapped his arms around himself, only dressed in a pair of checked pajama pants and a white shirt.

"Here," Jess said, throwing him a blanket.

Catching it, he wrapped it around himself, hiking his shoulders as he shivered. "Thanks," he said.

Glancing back at the door, Jess frowned at Alex. "What happened?" she asked.

Groaning, Alex rubbed his face with his hand. "I just can't..." he trailed off. He looked up at Jess pleadingly. "Please, Jess. I'll sleep on your floor, and I'll be out of here before your mom and dad wake up."

Jess stared at the floor. "Wait," she said, dashing to her door. "Stay here."

Quietly, she opened her bedroom door, closing it behind her as she stepped into the dark hallway. Tiptoeing past her parent's bedroom, her father snoring up a storm, Jess cracked open the linen closet, taking out an extra pillow and one extra blanket, a fluffy yellow one she'd had when she was little. Traipsing back to her room, she found Alex sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Here," she said, handing him the bedding.

"Thanks, Jess," he said, smiling up at her, though he didn't move.

She sat down beside him. "What really happened, Alex?"

He shrugged.

"Why won't you tell me?" she asked.

Sighing, he stared up at her ceiling. "I like your stars," he commented.

"They're really neat when you turn out the light," Jess said, leaning over to shut off her lamp. The stars glowed, jumping off the ceiling.

"I like it," he whispered, standing up and dumping the blanket onto the ground. Kneeling, he pushed them around a bit, making a suitable nest before plopping down.

Jess sat on the edge of her bed for a moment longer before laying back down. Pulling her comforter up, she laid in bed as she had an hour ago, the only difference being Alex's quiet breathing a few feet away. She wanted to ask him about what had happened again; she really wanted to know. However, Alex seemed to only want to sleep. Just as Jess was drifting off, he spoke.

"She was really angry," he said.

"Huh?"

"Marge," Alex answered into the dark room. "She's just been really angry lately."

Jess rolled over. "How come?"

"I don't know," he said quietly. "Maybe it's because Eric's always sick."

"I'm sure it's not," she said.

"I just know it is," he said.

"What about Penelope?"

"Yeah, she's surely a handful," he said.

"That might make me angry," she said.

"But you're not like Marge," Alex said. "When she gets angry...ugh, maybe I don't want to talk about this."

"Alright."

"Jess?"

"We'll be friends forever, right?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied. "You're my best friend."

"Good," he said.

"Why do you ask?"

"I don't know," he replied.

"Yes you do," she urged.

"I really don't," he said, and Jess heard him roll over. "I'm tired."

"Ok. G'night," she said.

"Good night, Jess."

OOO

Alex was gone when Jess woke up the next morning. The blankets were neatly folded and stacked against the wall, the pillow laid across the top. Pushing her covers to the side, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Jess picked up the bedding, darting out into the hallway, putting it back in the linen closet. She could hear her mother and father speaking downstairs in the kitchen, and Jess imagined each of them having a cup of coffee in their hand, her father reading the morning paper as they did nearly every morning.

"Morning," she greeted, smiling as she walked into the kitchen.

"Morning dear," her mother said, smiling up at Jess.

"What's for breakfast?" she asked.

"Whatever you can find in the cabinets," her father said with a wry smile.

"In other words," her mother added. "You're on your own this morning. Your father and I are going to Hayville's Culinary Convention today. I told you yesterday."

Jess nodded. "Ok," she said. "Can I have Elizabeth over today?"

Her mother and father exchanged glances. "We suppose," her mother said.

Turning, Jess reached up into the top cabinet beside the fridge, pulling down a box of corn flakes and a blue and white bowl.

"Jess?" her mother called.

She turned her head. "Yeah?"

Her mother exchanged another glance with her father, their expressions hesitant and uncomfortable. Jess turned fully around, the corn flakes box and bowl in each hand.

"What is it?"

Jess' father cleared his throat. "Might I ask why, when I came to check on you last night, why Alex was sleeping on your floor?"

She froze. "Uh..."

"We, your father and I, understand that he's your best friend, and we have no problem with sleepovers," her mother began. "However, you need to tell us before you do so. Did his foster mother know he was over here last night?"

Jess bit her lip. "Um..."

"Jessica McCann, did Marge know Alex was over here last night?" her father repeated sternly.

"No?" she said meekly.

"Jessica!"

"I'm sorry."

Her mother sighed. "Did you know Marge called us this morning?"

Jess paled. "No. W-Why did she call?" she asked.

"She called wondering where Alex was because he wasn't in his room," she said.

"Oh."

"This is a very sticky situation you two have put us," her father said.

"I'm sorry," she said again. "He needed...I...." She sighed in defeat. "I'm sorry." Jess hung her head.

Her father turned the page of his newspaper, looking up at her over the top of it. "Ok," he said. "Just don't let it happen again."

"I won't." She smiled. "I promise."

"And let us know before hand, ok?" her mother added.

"I will." She set down the cereal and her bowl on the table.

"Promise us, Jess," her mother said.

"I promise."

As her mother and father stood up, setting their breakfast dishes in the sink, Jess sat down at the table. She listened for a few moments as they noisily got ready and left the house, closing the front door noisily. Sighing, Jess slumped at the table, her fingers tapping against the wood. Her stomach