“Yep, and we ain't had a new student start since Shirley McJones moved here with her family six years ago. Course, she had no problem fitting in since her father made millions in oil,” she said with the same bite in her voice.
“There’s no other school in this area?” I asked, searching for a lifeline.
“Nope, the closest schools are forty-five minutes away in Bozeman. With all the money some of the folks around here have, they could have bused us there, but noooo, they like the small feel of Munford and treat it more like a private school than a regular school. Of course, they still allow us peasants to attend,” she said snidely.
“Well, I guess I better get this stuff inside,” I said, edging toward the door, suddenly sick of all the new information I had just gained.
“Okay, well I’ll see you at school,” she said, turning on heel and shuffling away. I watched her kick at the dirt with the toe of her boot as she walked, making the loose dirt fly up and then fall back down covering her boots with a light dusting. Her shoulders seemed to slump from the weight of the large chip she obviously carried.
I gripped the handles of the duffle bag with one hand and pulled the door open with my free hand.
“What took so long?” Kevin asked as I dumped the oversized bag on the floor and sat next to him, gasping from the exertion I had used to haul everything inside.
“I met some girl that will be in my class at school,” I muttered.
“How do you know she'll be in your class?” he asked puzzled.
“Because there’s only like sixteen seniors in this whole school.”
“Sixteen?”
“Yes,” I said miserably as he started laughing.
“What are you laughing at, dweeb?” I said, a little annoyed that he found the situation funny.
“It’s-s-s ju-just f-funny. I had more kids in my class last year,” he said between his belly giggles.
“Ha-ha, keep laughing it up, punk,” I said, affectionately ruffling his hair. It was nice to see him happy again. The last month of close quarters had been intense, and the strain had definitely worn on both of us.
“KATELYN,” Lucinda yelled down the hall, making me cringe.
“Do you want me to go?” Kevin asked as I reluctantly got to my feet, looking down the hallway with trepidation.
“Nah, I got it. You watch your shows while you still have a chance.”
I slowly made my way down the hall, dreading the idea of entering “their” new space.
“Yeah?” I asked through the thin door, hoping to delay entry into the room.
“We need our cigarettes,” she said through the door with enough aggravation in her voice that it was clear I had taken too long to respond.
“Okay,” I said, relieved it was an easy fix.
I quickly made my way down the hallway and down the steps to the car. I knew from past experience that not being prompt would only make matters worse for me in the long run. I had spent my entire life catering to my mother’s whims and knew what was expected of me.
I grabbed both packs of cigarettes from the dashboard and the small empty tuna can they were using as an ashtray. I carried the cigarettes in one hand and the overflowing makeshift ashtray in the other up the three metal steps taking care not to let the used butts fall out of the can.
“Crap, I forgot their lighters,” I mumbled, annoyed at myself as I pulled the door open.
“Kevin can you dump this in the trash while I grab the lighter out of the car,” I asked, handing him the smelly ashtray.
“Sure,” he said, cupping it in his small hand as I headed back down the stairs.
Within seconds, I headed back up the stairs and on my way down to their room. I knocked on the door lightly and held my breath as I slowly opened it. I was relieved to see that they were at least decent as they waited impatiently for their drug of choice.
“What took so long?” Lucinda demanded as I reached over to hand them their two different kinds of cigarettes.
“I forgot the lighter in the car and needed to dump the ashtray,” I said passively, trying to get a gauge of her mood.