Deborah got up from the table and went to the upstairs bathroom. She undressed from the waist down and threw her wet things in the hamper. She walked bare-bottomed to her room and got dressed into some clean clothes.
She heard an annoying tune. Her phone sat on top of her bed where she had dumped everything out and a light on it was flashing. She picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Are you okay?” the voice asked.
Deborah looked at the display on the phone. “Lia?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Are you all right? I felt bad leaving you in the nurses office, but I had to go to class. The whole school is talking about your accident.”
She’s the blonde girl with the glasses, Deborah thought. “I was afraid of that? Do you think they will make fun of me for the rest of time, or did I just lose temporary coolness points?”
“Alison, we are both in AP courses and we are in the top ten percent of the class. We never had coolness points.”
“Oh,” she said disappointed, “Any other bad news?”
“Umm, yes,” said Lia, “but I can’t tell you because it will make you cry.”
“Go ahead,” Deborah said.
“It’s about Evan Fiscus.”
She had no clue who the guy was, but the way Lia was going on, she probably should know. “Is this news going to change any of my plans?”
“Yes. He is being a bastard about your accident. He told me to tell you he won’t take you to prom anymore. He asked that ho, Julia Grass instead. I’m so sorry, Alison.”
“Oh, darn,” Deborah said. She really didn’t care about Alison’s boyfriend and it was just as well. It was bad enough replacing a daughter that was executed in her place. A complex relationship was just too much.
“You’re taking this well,” Lia said. “I hope you’re not getting depression. If you’re sad you can talk to me.”
“It’s nothing,” I said. “I just had a really bad day. I actually forgot how to speak Spanish.”
“What? You’re the best Spanish student in the class. Just re-read the conversation over and over. We have until Monday to get it down. We can practice this weekend.”
“Well I suppose you called me about homework. I finished Pre-Calculus and Physics.”
“In English, just read the last three chapters of Brave New World. Miss Crampton is going to have us compare 1984 to Brave New World in an essay we have to write. That’s not due until next week. In Spanish: just work on our conversation. You wrote the whole thing in your notebook. You know this backward and forward.”
“Okay, so I just memorize my part and we read it together like in a play?” I ask.
“Yes. Are you sure you are all right. You don’t sound like yourself.”
“I’m okay,” I said. “I’m so grounded though.”
“For how long?”
“Friday.”
“This fundamentals of computers class: I don’t have the book at home with me. What do we have to do in there?”
“You’re usually the organized one. The Powerpoint thing is due Friday.”
“The power what?” she asked. Oh God, I am so screwed, she thought.
“Your Powerpoint Presentation.”
“Oh,” she said, “Powerpoint.” The Internet really took off while she was in prison. She had limited access to computers, but she could get magazines and read about them. She had had plenty of time to read.
“You’re acting a little weird.”
“Sorry, I am really drained because I had the worst day of my life today.”
“Well I will let you go. I will see you on the bus.”
“Bye,” Deborah said and closed the phone.
