The Parting of the Red Sea

Veronica unpeeled two stamps and stuck them very carefully on the top right-hand corners of the envelopes containing her apology letters. It was very important to her that each stamp line up with the corner of its envelope perfectly. When she dropped the letters in the mailbox she felt an ounce of misery slide down the chute with them.

On her way to school the next day she realized everyone probably already knew about Sarah-Lisa’s party and what the girl with the overactive scissors had done there.

She imagined all the telephone calls and texts as one girl told another girl and another girl and another girl all about Veronica Morgan, the Wiccan in the sixth grade who wore her dead dog’s ashes around her neck and cut all of Sarah-Lisa Carver’s cashmere sweaters into little pieces.

Mrs. Harrison would ask Veronica what kind of person avoided assignments and purposely let another girl do all the work on a project designed for two. Regardless of the fact that Veronica wrote Sarah-Lisa and Sarah-Lisa’s mother apologies, Mrs. Harrison would ask what kind of person would destroy another person’s property. Then Mrs. Harrison would answer the question herself, kindly explaining that the kind of person Veronica apparently was was not the kind of person who belonged at Randolf. Well, getting thrown out might be better than staying. Oh God. Her anxiety was overwhelming. Sleep had been the only escape, but now she was awake.

She turned down the block to Randolf and girls who usually ran past, busy with their own lives and their own popularity, were obviously acutely aware of her.

Everyone looked at her as she walked by.

Everywhere Veronica went, the girls dispersed as if Veronica gave off a negative ionic charge. By the time Veronica got to her classroom, so many people had moved away from her she felt like Moses parting the Red Sea.

Athena whisked Sarah-Lisa out of the way as though Veronica was dangerous, as though she was going to cut them both with a pair of scissors.

If only, Veronica thought. If only I could cut this whole school into little tiny pieces.

At her table she unloaded her backpack trying to gauge, without looking up, who was watching her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sarah-Lisa. She hadn’t had time to replace her sweaters. Sarah-Lisa was cardigan-less, like everyone else.

*   *   *

The spring science expo was in a few weeks and Mr. Bower was beside himself in anticipation. Mr. Bower didn’t like to judge people on tests as much as on their creativity, so this project counted for half their overall grade and they had just three weeks to complete it. Each two-person team had to create a three-dimensional project pertaining to energy, power, or photosynthesis. Veronica’s heart pounded as he explained the instructions. If Mr. Bower paired her with Sarah-Lisa she would absolutely die. Writing the letters was one thing, but spending time with Sarah-Lisa was another. Veronica was going to have to do household chores until she was forty-seven years old before she’d be able to pay her parents back for all that cashmere.

Plus, she doubted the Carver family would ever welcome her in their home or anywhere near their precious daughter, so how would she and Sarah-Lisa finish their project? Come to think of it, no one would want to work with her. What an awful thought.

“Becky Shickler,” Mr. Bower said as he studied a list, “you and Tillie Allen are a pair, Liv O’Malley and Darcy Brown will work together, and Veronica Morgan, you and Sylvie Samuels will be paired.”

Veronica was shocked. Sylvie? Oh my goodness. Sylvie, who had been right there and saw her try to hit Sarah-Lisa with a Prada shoe? In reality, everyone probably had had a good view. And if they didn’t they got the verbal playback. Ugh. No. She couldn’t work with anyone. They would all avoid her and do what she’d done to Melody with the Monet project, except they wouldn’t put Veronica’s name on the final project. She was going to flunk the expo and it was half her whole grade. No pressure. She couldn’t wait to go home and go to sleep.