Matt was already seated in 212, the room mostly full, when Amanda entered. She was wearing a brace that covered her palm and knuckles and extended to her elbow. She crossed to where Ms. Edwards was sitting at her desk, leaned over and whispered something in her ear, then chose a desk on the opposite side of the room.
Matt tried to keep himself from looking at the clock. He waited as long as he could stand, but each time he glanced at it the numbers had only changed by a minute or two. The papers on his desk shuffled and reshuffled themselves in his hands. He tried not to think about what might be happening at the trailer, but that was impossible.
He stood up and crossed the room. The other students were sitting in circles, absorbed in their discussions. Matt walked to Amanda’s desk.
“Hey.”
Amanda looked up.
“You still doin’ the book drive?”
Amanda showed off her arm brace. “It was hard enough before. Now it’s pretty much impossible.”
“Sorry.” Matt shuffled his feet. He jerked his head in the direction of his desk and all those papers. “Edwards said she’d give me credit if I came in and did stuff for her. TA-type stuff. Today’s alphabetizing.”
Amanda just looked at him.
Matt cleared his throat. “But I’d, uh, rather be out in the car, you know? Than in here. Being in this building after last period is brutal.”
Amanda’s forehead creased. “Matt, if that’s an invitation, it’s the worst one I’ve had all year.”
“Whatever.” Matt turned to walk back to his desk.
“Wait,” Amanda said. She pushed herself out of her chair using her good arm. “Unfortunately, it’s the only one I’ve gotten this year. Let’s go pick up some books.”
Matt checked out with Ms. Edwards and followed Amanda through the door.
They were mostly quiet as the Buick drove through the rain. The windshield wiper on Matt’s side was old and useless; it blurred the words on street signs and smeared the headlights of other cars across the glass. He pulled his denim jacket tighter around his shoulders.
“Sorry about the heater. It only works in the summer.” Amanda gave him a pale smile.
“No problem.”
They stopped for pickups, one after another. Each time after Matt set the box between them, Amanda would look through the books before driving away. “So many good ones,” she said. She held up an old copy of Are You My Mother? “This one used to make me want to cry.” She pulled out Fox in Socks. “My mom and I used to see who could read this one the fastest. I think she let me win.” Amanda looked at Matt. “What were some of your favorites? Growing up?”
Matt studied the dashboard. “Not a big reader.”
Amanda pulled back into traffic, sloshing through puddles. The Buick was at a stoplight when Matt’s phone rang.
He checked the number. The trailer. His stomach went cold. He glanced at Amanda, then answered the call.
“Hey. Everything okay?” Matt spoke in hushed tones.
“Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine.” The raspy voice was unmistakably Jack’s.
“What do you need?”
“Huh? Talk louder. Can’t hardly hear you.”
“What do you want?”
“I need you to pick something up for me.”
Matt couldn’t remember the last time Jack had asked for something from town. “What?”
“Halloween cards.”
“Hallo…” Matt glanced at Amanda. She kept her eyes carefully focused on the road. He shifted in his seat so that he was facing the side window. “Halloween cards?” he whispered. “I told you to only use this number for an emergency.”
“Yeah. Halloween cards. A big box of ’em. I need lots.”
Matt shook his head, the hand not holding the phone clenched into a fist. “Do you know what month it is?”
“Huh? What are you, talking with a sock in your mouth?”
“Do you have any idea how long it is until Halloween?”
“Course I do. I’m not that far gone, you little shit.”
“It’s not that.” Matt tried to keep his voice low. “I just…Don’t you get it? No place will be selling those right now.”
“Just bring me a bunch a them cards.” The line went dead.
Matt took great care in putting his phone back in his pocket, the overly calm gesture a substitute for smashing it against the dashboard.
The Buick slipped under a freeway overpass, the steady pounding of the rain disappearing for a moment before starting up again.
After a few minutes Amanda softly said, “Matt?” He was staring out the window. “Matt?”
“Huh?”
“I don’t want you to think I was eavesdropping. You know, not on purpose or anything. But I think I know a place.”
“What kind of place?”
“That sells Halloween cards. Even now.”
Matt looked over at her. “Yeah?”
“The Dollars Discount store, behind the old business district downtown. They have a seasonal section with all the holidays.”
“I think I know that place.”
“My mom and I go there sometimes.” Amanda giggled. “They sell those marshmallow Peeps in the Easter section. Sometimes we buy a few packages before we go out to the movies.”
“They keep that stuff in stock?”
“Probably not. I think it’s just stuff left over from the last year.” Amanda’s cheeks went pink. “But come on, they’re Peeps. Those things have enough preservatives to survive a nuclear winter.”
“Mmmmm,” Matt said. “Year-old candy. Tasty.”
“Are you making fun of me?”
Matt shook his head. “Not really. I used to like those, too.” It was quiet for a few moments. “Sorry to be a pain in the ass, but do you mind if we swing by there before we pick up the next box of books?”