“Sure. I can’t help long, I have stupid math homework again.”
“Homework is not stupid!” Mary said, already halfway up the stairs.
“Calculus is,” Penny whispered to Misti before grinning and dashing up the stairs. Misti grabbed one more cookie and her sock before rushing after them. The light was on and Mary had swung the first suitcase up onto the bed. She did not open it. Instead she opened the closet door and a few drawers in the dresser.
Misti opened the suitcase and let it fall back. Although it was a large suitcase, it contained very little. While she pulled out her sketchbook and her pencils, she saw Penny and Mary exchange glances.
“I didn’t bring much,” Misti heard herself lying. She didn’t know how to tell them that this was all that she had in the world and that moving in two suitcases had been a regular thing for her. Nothing new there. Having her own room and eating homemade cookies that she didn’t have to worry about being laced with something a little stronger than chocolate was different. Her bed was comfortable and the cleanest she had ever slept on. An uncomfortable silence pressed down on the room as they started taking out her clothes. Mary attempted to keep a neutral face but Penny did not. She looked startled, disgusted, and sad. Misti regretted allowing them to help. She took notice of their clothes for the first time and saw that, although they were not designer, her aunt and cousin were the original owners.
“What’s the school like?” Misti asked, attempting to divert attention. It worked on Penny.
“It’s like most high schools, I suppose. We only have one gym but most schools have two now. We just had a homecoming. The teachers are really good for the most part. Except Mr. Hill. He’s worthless.”
“Penny,” Mary scolded, while she refolded Misti’s shirts to inspect them. Misti wanted to snatch her things, throw them all into the suitcase in a messy pile and run for it.
“Well, it’s true! He won’t move on in teaching until everyone agrees with him that the Moon landing is fake!” Misti must have made the right face because Penny continued eagerly. Aunt Mary put the shirts in the drawer. “Like, seriously. I refused to admit it and we wasted three weeks of sophomore year watching stupid YouTube videos about the conspiracy theories surrounding the Moon landing. Dad finally told me to just say that I believed so we would learn a little biology before Christmas.”
Misti only had the pants she had on and one other pair that Aunt Mary set carefully in the drawer. Perhaps she thought they would crumble in her hands.
“Why don’t they fire him?” Misti asked, closing her now empty suitcases.
“They won’t. He’s the basketball coach and our team has almost made it to state for the last three years or something like that.” Mary took the bags from Misti and tucked them up on the top shelf in the closet. “After dinner, we can go through my yearbooks and I can show you a little. I’m the yearbook editor. I have them all from the last three years!” Penny looked around and sighed. “I guess I’ll go do my homework.”
Misti wanted to smile. The girl sounded defeated.
“You’ll live, Penny,” Mary said. She did not seem to pity her daughter in the least.
“Are you a math genius, Misti?” Penny sounded hopeful.
“No. Math is my worst subject.”
“Mine too!” Penny paused. “Maybe you’ll be in my class and then we can suffer through together!”
Misti nodded, but she would never be able to handle calculus. And she secretly didn’t want classes with her cousin. This first day chit-chat did not mean they would be friends. It would be hard if they got close and Misti left. Because that was the plan. Although this place was nice and comfortable and safe, she was not going to stay here.
Misti went back downstairs with her aunt. Mary turned on the news and puttered around in the kitchen. Misti offered to help twice, but Mary waved her away, telling her to relax.
A long silence occurred between them. Misti felt her aunt watching her, not the news. Misti did not watch the news either; she waited for something, anything, to happen.
“Misti?”
Misti recognized that tone. She was about to be asked serious questions. She suddenly wished she had stayed in her room. She must have tensed because Mary moved and sat next to her. Not touching her, but she could simply reach out a little and there would be contact. “I’m not going to ask anything. The social worker explained most of it over the phone. I just want you to know that if you ever want to talk about what happened, I’m here.”
Misti relaxed and pulled her eyes away from the TV. Her aunt had the same eyes as her mother, only calm and sincere. “Thanks, Aunt Mary,” Misti said. She was okay. Despite what everyone kept saying. Because what happened was over. And no amount of pondering or talking about it would change that. She had always been waiting for it to happen. It was a release when it did. Not a relief, because it was terrible. But she was glad it did happen. Mary smiled at her, patted her knee a few times and moved back to the kitchen.
Uncle Bill came home just after 5. He greeted his wife with a kiss and nodded a hello to Misti before going upstairs to change. Misti and her aunt watched the news until he came back twenty minutes later, freshly showered. He told them about the mess of the building he was working on that week, replacing the old knob and tube wiring with today’s standard. He complained about someone named Andrew.
Just before 6, Penny emerged from her room, looking a little flustered, but she confirmed her homework was complete for the night. She didn’t think she had done any good on the problems and would probably be failing the test on Friday.
They sat down just after 6, the TV on mute at the island. They ate roasted chicken, carrots, and mashed potatoes. Misti couldn’t help but take a second helping.
Penny filled her in on the school gossip. “Amelia Hopkins supposedly snuck out on Saturday night and didn’t come home until Sunday afternoon. She spent the whole time with her boyfriend, Michael Anderson.”
Misti perceived that this should be shocking, but teenage girls spending weekends away from home was not something unfamiliar to her.
“Shame on her parents for not going out to find her,” Aunt Mary said. “If either of you did that, Bill and I would drive the streets shouting for you until you were so embarrassed you’d never leave the house again.”
“Sure, Mother!” Penny rolled her eyes. Misti was not one to sneak out and spend time with her boyfriend. Not that she ever had a boyfriend. She was too busy taking care of her mother to have time for one. And she never really stayed in one place long enough to form the connection she needed.
Misti helped Penny wash and dry dishes and load the dishwasher while Aunt Mary put leftovers into clear containers with colorful lids.
“Are you a buyer of lunch or a taker?” Aunt Mary asked as Misti dried the roasting pan. Misti blinked in confusion. “Do you want to take lunch or buy it there?”
“Take it,” Penny said to her. “Lunch is disgusting at our school. Like, the meat is not meat, and the mashed potatoes—and there are always mashed potatoes—taste like cardboard. Don’t even get me started on the gravy.” She shuttered over dramatically and Misti caught herself smiling again.
“Okay. Pack what you want.” Aunt Mary poured herself a large glass of wine and opened a beer bottle before retiring to the sofa to lean against her husband. Penny gagged herself quietly before opening the cupboard for them both. Inside were the most snacks Misti had ever seen. There was jello, pudding, crackers, chips, pretzels, and Cheez-its. Penny grabbed a bag of chips, a jello, and retrieved an apple from the basket on the counter. Misti grabbed a pudding and a Cheez-its bag. She also got the bread and the peanut butter. Penny made herself a ham sandwich while Misti made a classic peanut butter and jelly.