She waved her hand in the air. “It’s in the past. Talk to me, Clint. What’s going on? What did Cecilia want to talk to you so badly about?”
I sighed. “Ah. That.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“I mean, it’s not. But it also doesn’t shock me. Cecilia finally got in touch with Dad. He confirmed that he was selling the house. That he already had a buyer for it. And that I wasn’t welcome to come with them to their next destination.”
She stopped in her tracks. “What?”
I nodded slowly. “Yep.”
“Wait, can he actually do that? Just… abandon you like that?”
“I’m eighteen. I’m a legal adult. He doesn’t have to take me anywhere.”
“That can’t be right. Clint, that just can’t be right.”
I sighed. “Well, it’s the reason why I haven’t been at school. I’ve been here every morning, giving the illusion I’m at school in case Dad randomly stops by the house.”
“But Cecilia knows you aren’t in school right now?”
I nodded. “She does. We aren’t talking about it. But she does.”
“Why are you coming here?”
I started walking again. “I’m using their computers to do some research. Figure out my options. Find my next moves.”
Rae walked alongside me. “Have you come up with anything substantial?”
“I mean, not really. Some working theories. There are states where, if I live there and declare residency, community college is free. But that’s assuming I can get out of school with the grades I need. Which we both know won’t happen.”
“You never know, Clint. If you get back to school and let me help you, we can easily ace your classes. That’ll bring your GPA up.”
“Yeah, but even if I did that, I’m not sure more school is my route. I hate school. I can’t stand it. I’ll need money, and quickly.”
She nodded. “So what kind of jobs can you get? There isn’t much out there for someone without a high school diploma. Which means you’ll still have to come back to school and graduate.”
I paused. “How did you know that?”
And when she blushed, my heart went out to her.
“Who did you ask?”
She shook her head. “It was nothing. Just a passing question.”
“Rae, what happened?”
“Just a rough conversation with the guidance counselor. That’s all.”
I reached out for her, stopping her in her tracks. “What did you say to the counselor?”
“Nothing that implicated anything was going on. It was just a passing question. Nothing more. Okay?”
“Are you sure?”
She scoffed. “Do I look like I’m lying to you?”
I searched her eyes. The last thing I needed was for someone at the school to be breathing down me and my father’s necks. Things were bad enough. I didn’t need them to get any worse.