| |
Misunderstandings
CASSIE FOLLOWED THE teacher into the office, squeezing her hands together as she went. The woman picked up the phone and handed it to Cassie. “Um, it’s just,” Cassie whispered.
“What?” The woman leaned closer. “I couldn’t hear you.”
“I don’t know my phone number,” she whispered.
The teacher sighed and put the phone down. She went behind the desk and opened up a filing cabinet. “What’s your last name?”
“Jones.”
She thumbed through and stopped on one. “First name?”
“Cassandra.”
The thumbing resumed until she found what she wanted. She pulled it from the cabinet and picked up the phone. “Is this a cell phone or a landline?” she asked, punching the numbers into the phone.
“Landline,” Cassie answered.
The woman handed the phone to Cassie. She pressed it to her ear, listening to the monotone ring. Then it stopped, and her mother’s voice on the machine picked up.
“You’ve reached the Jones’s. Leave us a message, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can!”
She hung up before the beep and shook her head. “No answer.”
“Well, she must be on her way here.” The teacher didn’t look too pleased. She ushered Cassie back into the hallway and disappeared into the office with another student.
“Did you reach Mom?” Emily asked, chewing on her fingernails.
Cassie looked down at her own nails. She’d broken the chewing habit just this summer, but she had the urge to start up again. “No. She’s probably almost here.”
The words were barely out of her mouth when the blue van pulled into the parking lot, coming to a hasty stop at the curb in front of the doors. Emily and Scott bolted from the hallway. Cassie followed behind, her relief morphing into anger. First day of school. How could she do that to them?
She climbed into the front seat and settled her backpack on the floor as Emily blabbed away about what a great first day it had been. Putting on her seatbelt, Cassie interrupted. “What happened? Was there a car accident? An emergency.”
Her mother shot her a weary look. “No, Cassandra. No emergency. I’m very sorry I’m late.”
And that was it? No further explanation? Cassie wasn’t ready to let it go. “First day of school, Mom. And you weren’t there.” She didn’t feel like talking about the way the teacher had looked at them, the way it felt to be forgotten with the other kids who expected to be forgotten. “Why weren’t you there?”
Her mom pressed her lips together. “We live farther away than I thought. It won’t happen again. From now on, you’re on the bus.”
Cassie leaned her head back and released a sigh. That was something, at least.
“What about you?” her mom said, attempting conversation. “How was school?”
Cassie shrugged. “Fine. It was fine.”
They pulled away from the curb, but didn’t head the direction Cassie expected. “Where are we going?” she asked.
“To the new house.” Her mom gave her a smile. “We should have everything ready to move in this weekend.”
“Really?” Cassie gasped.
“Yay!” Emily cheered in the back. Even Scott looked excited, and nothing excited him. Anette didn’t look up from her dolls. She probably didn’t care.
They took back roads out to the countryside. No wonder her mom hadn’t been on time. Cassie looked at the plantation-style house, more anxious than ever to move into it. The two-bedroom apartment they were staying in was way too crowded for the six of them. She wanted her space back.
Mr. Jones’s small green sports car was already parked in the driveway, a large white moving van in the circle drive. He greeted Mrs. Jones with a kiss, and then the kids exploded out of the van, heading for the house.
“Grab a box,” he shouted, gesturing to the moving truck. “Don’t go in empty-handed.”
“But we don’t know where things go,” Cassie said.
“Just put it inside somewhere.”
They trudged back and Cassie picked up a smaller box labeled “kitchen.” Okay, so maybe she could figure out where this one went. She pushed open the front door, walking through the tiled entryway and to the kitchen. Both tables had already been set up. She put the box on the dining room table and headed for the bedroom she shared with Emily.
She sighed in contentment. It wasn’t a big room, but it would just be the two of them, instead of all four like it was now. The bunk bed was already set up. Cassie pulled open the accordion doors that shielded the closet. There was a bookshelf for her books. Suddenly she wanted to get all those boxes into the house. She couldn’t wait to start unpacking and make this place hers.
*~*
IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG to settle into a routine at school. Each day remained relatively predictable. Cassie had Danelle, and the comfort of having a good friend took away the unease she had at other new activities.
By the end of the weekend, the Jones were mostly settled in their new home. Mr. Jones surprised the family with a dog and cat from the local animal shelter to christen the house. The kids were delighted and named the cat Baby Blue, because she was a Siamese with big blue eyes. The dog they named Pioneer. Cassie wasn’t sure her mother was as delighted.
This Tuesday Cassie was especially excited, because it would be her first Girl’s Club meeting. She’d been a part of the same unit for five years in Texas. One of the first things her mom had done was sign her up here.
Ms. Dawson handed out little blue books to everyone. Cassie opened hers up. It only had one page inside: a white sheet with twenty blank squares centered around an ice-cream cone.
“What is this?” Emmett Schrimmer asked.
“This is your reading log,” she said, stepping to the front of the class and smiling at everyone. “When you finish reading a book, you come and tell me, and I’ll give you a sticker. Put it in one of the squares. It has to be a chapter book, not a picture book. Once you have all your squares filled in, I’ll take you out for an ice-cream cone.”
This announcement was met by cheers and excited chatter from the students. Cassie grinned. Twenty books. She could get that done in a month.
*~*
“CLEAR YOUR DESKS AND put your books away,” Ms. Dawson said. “Then everyone line up.”
Cassie glanced at the time. Morning recess. She got in line behind Riley, the blond who never said a word to her. Cassie turned around and smiled at Danelle, who winked at her.
“Let’s go!” Ms. Dawson said.
Cassie started after Riley and nearly tripped. Glancing down, she saw her shoelace was untied. She stepped out of line to tie it, pausing to tighten up the other one, too.
The class continued without her. When she looked up, everyone had gone, including Ms. Dawson.
Cassandra jumped to her feet, anxious to catch up with her class before anyone noticed she was missing. She knew her way to the play yard, at least. She headed that direction, folding her arms in the hall so no one would question why she was out by herself. She marched so that her ponytail swung like a pendulum. Her shadow on the walls entertained her until she got outside.
The first place she headed was the swings. Cassie let herself ride higher and higher into the wind, enjoying the exhilarating feel of freedom that accompanied her. In a moment, she knew Danelle would notice her and come and join her. Until then, she’d just pump as hard as she could. Her eyes swept the play yard, trying to locate her friend with the shoulder-length brown hair. She didn’t spot her. She slowed her swinging a bit as she turned to search the soccer field, just in case Danelle had decided to play.
For that matter, she didn't see anyone she recognized.
Cassie’s momentum stopped as a feeling of trepidation crept through her chest. She hopped off the swings and ran over to the monkey bars. She climbed along with the other kids, feigning calmness, all the while looking for a familiar face, another classmate. She jumped down and made her way to the other side of the play yard, checking the younger grades’ playground just in case.
Her class wasn’t here. Cassie was sure of it now.
Maybe they’d gone back to the room. Maybe Ms. Dawson decided to do indoor recess today just for a change.
No one objected when she hurried back into the building. Her heart pounded in her throat, and she could just imagine the trouble she’d be in for losing her class.
The classroom door was open, and she took a deep breath before stepping inside.
No one. The room was empty.
Cassie stood there, blinking back tears. Now what? She was all alone and had no idea where to go.
