Page 12 of September Lessons
“That so? Ain’t so different from how things are back home. The whole going to school with the same people for years, thing. I think we got more new kids than you guys do, though.” Carrie hoisted her backpack over her shoulder, a Spanish II textbook in her hand. “I gotta get going. I know for a fact you ain’t in Spanish II.”
“Nope. Spanish III.”
“Well, pardono me, because I’m a bit behind, huh?” Carrie said that with a bright smile that lingered when she turned around and marched down the hall. “See you at lunch?” Carrie soon called over her shoulder.
The thirty-second warning bell rung. Leigh-Ann was right across the hall from her fourth period class, yet she was the last one to enter. She was too busy wasting those thirty precious seconds standing in the hall while Ms. Tichenor lurked behind her.
“Well?” she teased Leigh-Ann. “You gonna have lunch with her or not? That girl needs Oregonian linguistic lessons.”
Leigh-Ann leaped out of her sneakers and hustled to class. Not until she handed in her homework did she realize she never told Carrie she’d have lunch with her.
Wasn’t it a given by now, anyway?
Chapter 7
CARRIE
One thing was exactly the same between high school in Oregon and Alabama.
There were parties. Duh.
Carrie had heard whispers of a party in honor of senior year, but she didn’t expect to be invited. Sounded like the kind of thing for whoever was “cool,” and that didn’t necessarily mean someone the host liked.More like someone cool enough to not nark.Naturally, the party was held while some kid’s parents were out of town. There would be pot and alcohol, absolutely, but the kid texting invites to people made it clear he was cool with those who didn’t care to partake.“Take care of your body, man!!! Don’t pressure people, keep it COOOL ; )”
Yeah. Sure. Whatever.
The invite landed in Carrie’s inbox the day before the party. Specifically, it landed while she was eating her sad lunch of chef’s salad and a day-old roll with Leigh-Ann.
“That must be about Aiden’s party.” Leigh-Ann broke off a piece of her roll and stuffed it into the pat of butter the school so graciously provided. “He throws one this time every year, because his parents go off to some conference in Vegas for the weekend. You ask me, it’s some sex thing. The conference, that is, although people totally hook up at his parties.”
“Wouldn’t be a party otherwise, right?” Carrie turned her phone upside down on the table. “You going?”
Leigh-Ann bit her lip before drowning her face in salad. “Nope,” she muttered.
“The party sucks?”
“Wasn’t invited,” Leigh-Ann muttered.
“Oh, I assumed… well, that everyone was…”
“I’m not invited to those anymore. Haven’t been to one since sophomore year.”
“Really? The hell did you do? Nark?”
“Nah. I ain’t lame like that.” Leigh-Ann finally sat up again. Did she know she had a little ranch dressing in her hair? Carrie was about to say something when Leigh-Ann continued, “I’ve got some beef with one of his friends. They don’t like it when I come to the parties. Makes them uncomfortable, I guess.”
Carrie let out a low whistle. “You totally started a fist fight, huh?”
“No!”
“Threw up on his mom’s throw rug?”
After a gasp loud enough to startle someone at the next table, Leigh-Ann lowered her voice and said, “It ain’t anything like that, okay? Don’t start rumors around here because someone overheard you.”
“Hmm.” Carrie turned her phone over again and reread the invite. “You think I should go? Maybe you could be my plus one. Really seal my legacy at this school by bringing you with me although you weren’t invited.”
“You should go, yeah. Why not?” Leigh-Ann shrugged. “You’ll probably have fun. Make some other friends beyond me.”
“What’s wrong with you?”
