Page 2 of Relyn
“Ms. Perez!” Marco shouted, voice dripping with mock offense.
“Do your reading and close your ears. The adults are talking over here!” Lydia replied.
Marco started to complain, but Lydia put up one finger, her tight curly locks bobbing around her head. He opened his mouth again, but thought better of it and turned back to his table.
“Please. I called that man last week. Told him that I could get his daughter a full scholarship if he signed the waiver. He basically told me to-” she cast a glance at the room full of students, “to F off. If she signs a waiver, he’s going to kick her out of the house. If it’s God’s will she be taken, then God knows best!” She muttered something else under her breath. Probably more profanity that shouldn’t be said in the classroom.
“Thanks for trying.” Nora’s heart sank. She knew Lydia was Gena’s last hope, and if she’d already tried, then she’d just have to play the odds tomorrow and hope there wouldn’t be a match.
“Ms. Peterson, may I speak with you in private?” Marco said in an overly formal way. Lydia rolled her eyes, and then winked at Nora.
Nora picked up her bag and swung it over her shoulder. She stepped out into the hallway and then nodded at Marco. He scrambled out of his chair and followed her, closing the door behind him.
“First of all, Marco, what landed you in detention?”
“It was Whitmer. I didn’t do nothing. I was just sitting there, minding my own business,” Marco started. Whitmer explained a lot. He was one of those old school teachers that was three yearspast retirement. His default classroom management style was detention, especially to boys of color.
“What did he say you did?”
“Laughed and called him a fuckin’ fart faced bastard, but it wasn’t me. It was-” he caught himself before he ratted out another individual. “It wasn’t me. Besides, you know me, I’m smart enough to curse him out in Spanish if I want. Why would I say something in English?”
That was true enough. She shook her head. “So you chose to take detention rather than tell him the truth?”
“Nah, he gave me detention for arguing with him. A whole week! I can’t serve a week of detention. I’ve got to get home for my job! You know my dad is sick.”
It was a familiar story. Many of the people around here suffered from blue lung. Just a whiff of the remnants of the toxic gas was enough to put a strong healthy individual on disability for the rest of their life.
“I definitely can’t show up tomorrow,” Marco muttered as he ran a hand through his hair.
Nora sighed. Well, she couldn’t do anything about Gena, but she could at least help Marco out.
She opened the door to the detention room and made eye contact with Lydia.
“Marco’s going to help me out with some stuff to serve out his detention with Mr. Whitmer. Is that okay with you?”
Lydia knew what was up. She nodded and picked up his phone from the line in front of her. “Please come claim your property Mr. Sandoval. And try not to pick any more fights with Mr. Whitmer.”
“Gracias, Señora,” he said meekly as he grabbed his phone and his backpack. He slipped out as quickly as possible.
They headed down the stairwell together. “Don’t make a habit out of this, Marco,” Nora said.
“I owe you a big one. A big one!” he said.
He was definitely in a hurry to get out of the building, but when he reached the door, he drew up short. It was pouring down rain.
“Fuuudge.” Marco said, changing the final sound at the last second. “I missed the bus and don’t have time. I’m gonna have to make a run for it.” He put his notebook in his backpack and paused over the copy ofPride and Prejudice.“Gonna get wet. You wanna keep it for me?”
Nora pulled her umbrella out of her bag and popped it open with a sigh. “Tell you what,” she said. “If you promise not to tell anyone, I’ll give you a ride home. That way you can actually do your reading.” He could easily access a digital copy from the net, but Nora found that kids were more likely to do their reading with a physical reminder sitting on their desk.
“Done!”
She’d discovered a few months ago that Marco was her neighbor, living only two doors down. He put the book in his backpack and ducked under her umbrella. Nora pointed and the pair sprinted out to the faculty parking lot to her to beat up Toyota. It was third hand, but it was all she could afford at the moment.
“Wow. This thing doesn’t even have autodrive,” Marco said as he slid into the passenger seat.
“Hey, no knockin’ the ride. Petunia’s… delicate.” Nora pushed the start button and backed out of the space. “She still takes a charge, even though she needs a little encouragement in the colder months.”
“I got a cousin that can set you up with something-”
