“What did you say?” he demanded as his face and bald head turned a vibrant shade of red.
“I said. Not. Particularly,” I emphasized, dragging out each of my words.
“Look here, Ms. Cole, just because you’ve had a bump in the road doesn’t mean everyone is going to cater to you for the rest of your life. It’s time to grow up and move on,” he said loudly, towering over me.
I stood up suddenly, shaking with rage. “Fuck you,” I said quietly, looking him dead in the eye. The class around me seemed to gasp as one at my words.
“You just won yourself a one-way ticket to the dean’s office,” he said, shaking with his own rage.
“Whatever you say,” I said in the same condescending tone he’d been using on students for years. I snatched up my bag of the back off my chair and sashayed out of the room, letting my middle finger speak for itself. Enough was enough. No one understood what I was going through, and I was sick of all of them.
“GO TO THE OFFICE!” Mr. Mathews' hollered after me.
I felt like the weight of the world had just been lifted off my shoulders. That little act of rebellion at Mr. Mathews' expense had somehow liberated me and for the first time since the accident, I felt in control of a situation. Classroom doors opened down the hallway as curious teachers responded to the ruckus. I could hear the students crowing in each room as I walked by. I was just about to walk out the double doors when it occurred to me that one last act of anarchy would make this a truly monumental grand exit…
The sirens from the fire alarm shrieked loudly behind me as I climbed into my car, watching the students pile out of the building hooting and hollering.
I couldn’t help but giggle at the sight of the teachers and administrators trying to discourage the students from leaving. It was completely exhilarating to do something so blatantly defiant that I had never done before. I felt alive, taking in a deep breath of the fresh air around me.
I felt so good I headed toward Megan’s school, deciding my hooky day would become her hooky day.
The parking lot was nearly empty with the exception of the teacher’s cars. I pulled up front and leaped from the car relishing the lightheartedness I felt.
“Why Kassandra, you’re early today,” Mrs. Mimi exclaimed. “And my, you look different.”
“I do?” I asked, looking down at my scruffy jeans and t-shirt that had become my customary school uniform lately. Puzzled, I reached up to touch my hair, not remembering how I had styled it that morning.
“It’s your eyes, they look lovely today,” she said, answering my puzzlement.
“Oh, okay?” I said, walking over to the elaborate gilded mirror that ran along the wall.
Her words made sense after studying my reflection a little. My eyes did have a certain sparkle in them that hadn’t been there in a while. Maybe being a bad girl suited me.
“Are you picking Megan up?” she asked, breaking into my reverie.
“Yeah, I thought we’d have a hooky day together,” I said, glancing away from the mirror.
“I think she’ll enjoy that,” Mrs. Mimi said, punching in the door code so we could walk in together.
Megan was happy to see me, though she studied me critically.
“I thought we’d go see that new Disney movie, what do you think?”
She nodded her head enthusiastically and slid her now cast-free hand into mine. Mom was supposed to take her to have it removed, but wound up backing out at the last moment and begged me to take her place. I tried to decline, knowing she had to leave the house eventually, but when she turned her pleading eyes on me, I couldn’t help relenting. The only time we got her to leave the house was for Thanksgiving, and I know that was only because the memories of past holidays at home were painful.
Removing the cast had been no picnic either. The doctor accidently cut Megan with the saw while removing the cast. To make her feel better, I entertained her with stories of my many cheerleading injuries, including a broken arm, just like hers. Knowing I had gone through the same thing seemed to help, and she put on a brave face while the doctor finished removing the cast. Her poor arm underneath was a grey, dusky color, but the doctor had told us it would pink up in no time. His words proved to be true, and within weeks, you couldn’t tell the difference between her two arms.
My lighthearted mood continued throughout the movie, and Megan was obviously having a good time also, the way she sat there beaming at the screen. The sun was just beginning to set by the time we got into the car to head home. I steered into the driveway, surprised to see a maroon sedan in my usual spot.
“Wonder who that is, Peanut,” I said, helping her out of her car seat.
She shrugged her shoulders which made me smile.
I opened the front door for us, juggling the Chinese takeout I had picked up on our way home. Mom had pretty much stopped cooking since the accident, and once all the sympathy casseroles ran out, I took over the job of making sure dinner got put on the table. Needless to say, we’d been eating a lot of takeout.
I was surprised to find my mom in the front sitting room considering we rarely used it. That is until I saw Mrs. Leighton perched on the opposite loveseat.
Crap. Mrs. Leighton had been trying to get me to come in to talk to her for months, but I had deflected each of her attempts.