I want to burrow into a hole, and I collapse into the only empty seat there is in the class. It’s a row over from Tyler.
“Not enough to just know the classic plays and novels,” he says.
“As if you know a lot about poetry,” I counter.
“Sure do.” And he proceeds to recite a popular song from the radio, only he twists around the lyrics, turning them downright dirty.
Even I’m blushing, and it’snoteasy to make me blush.
Still, the teasing from Tyler isn’t as bad. I don’t understand why Brett cares about the puns. Maybe he wants to make sure I don’t try to worm my way into Tyler’s good graces? Not my plan.
Not that anything is going according to plan. I need to brush up on poems, obviously. Mr. August is clearly a fan. I need to learn everything I can.
And I need to keep my head down.
But I did mean that promise I made to Brett. I will learn my place.
Maybe it’s not here in California after all.
Maybe I should’ve headed east instead of west.
I’m not going to run away again. Screw that. Brett’s nothing compared to my father. Nothing at all. I survived my father. What’s a bunch of assholes and some hazing?
But I’m not just tired of running. I’m tired of fighting.
* * *
At lunchtime, I refuse to go to the cafeteria. No way do I want to run into Brett and Corey. Instead, I go to the library. Besides, it’s not like I have anything to eat anyhow.
I really do need a job.
The librarian is busy helping another student, so I just head on over to the line of computers. A girl is sitting there, not Andrea. She looks young, maybe a freshman.
“What’s the login info?” I ask.
She stares at me as if I have three heads.
“I’m new here,” I tell her.
“Oh, ah…” She opens and closes her mouth a few times, but no words come out.
Great. Of course the only other student in the library who might be able to help me is too shy to talk.
The school gave me an email address, so I put that in as the username and then use the name of the school—Elk Grove Academy—as the password. There we go.
I look up job openings. Most of them want someone to work hours that I can’t provide because of school. One has hours from five until one in the morning. Feasible, yes. A smart idea if I want to be able to actually earn good grades?
Why do I even need good grades? Why not just get my GED?
Hell, I forged my way into this school. Why not just create some paperwork so I can get into a college? Not one of the more prestigious ones. They’ll be more likely to check into things and verify stuff. Maybe a state school. Not that I’ve lived in California long enough to qualify, but I can figure things out.
But my morning classes alone prove that I need to go to school. I don’t know everything. Yeah, sure. I can create a bit of magic on a computer and open a few doors that way, and I might have street smarts. That doesn’t mean that I know calculus and economics. There’s more for me to learn, as much as I hate to admit it.
Colleges can wait. Kind of. I might have to falsify SAT scores, but I won't make it over impressive. Mine were decent but not stellar. Top ten percent, maybe. But I really want to get in on my own merit. Not a lot of time left, though, for applying and all of that. Time is running out for me and all because I'm Erika Armstrong now, no longer Erika Slade.
For now, I need to focus on employment. McDonald's. A job with food. Any luck? No. No help wanted there.
Maybe it would just be easier to drive around and try to find a help wanted sign.