“I’ll wait and then take you home,” I said.
As I had done, she closed her door of the car and braced against the hood. “Well, thank you. I appreciate it.”
“So, do you have any other family who live in Black Mountain?” I asked, deciding now would be a good time to try to pump more information out of her in a non-threatening manner.
“No. The house we have up here is just one of many vacation homes. It was one of my favorites, though. I really like the area. It’s pretty.”
“So, did you come here by yourself?” I asked.
She looked at me skeptical at first, but then nodded. “I needed a change. My mom was on set when I decided to make the move. She was cool with it though.”
“Where did you go to school before that?”
“L.A., but I’ve been to a lot of schools.”
“What about friends and family in L.A.?” I asked.
“It’s just me and my mom. No family, and friends come and go.” She looked around as if she was praying the tow truck would arrive and save her from the interrogation. I supposed that since no huge truck appeared, she felt compelled to fill the silence. “I have one friend who lives here. We went to school together in L.A. too. Kevin Stevenson. He’s like me. His mom and dad are in the movie business as well. So, he understands… well, we have a lot in common. He was the one who gave me the idea about finishing out the year in Black Mountain. He said he was, since his family has a house up here too, and I thought it was a good idea.”
I was familiar with the name Kevin Stevenson but couldn’t recall much about him. But considering there were hundreds of kids who attended Black Mountain Academy, it didn’t say all that much that he didn’t stand out in my mind. It most likely meant the kid kept to himself, kept his nose clean, and would do just fine until he graduated. I did find it crazy that these kids could just pick up and leave one house to live in another when they got bored and decided a change would be good.
“You really don’t have to wait around,” she said. “I can figure it out.”
Leaving her wasn’t an option, so I just kept up with the questions. “I looked at your transcripts, and you get great grades. Why did you get held back a year?”
“Life,” she mumbled as she opened her passenger door and pulled out her backpack and a stack of books to take with her when the tow truck arrived.
I could tell she wasn’t going to give me any more than that as an answer.
“What about you?” she asked, clearly changing the subject. “Do you like Black Mountain?”
I gave a slight nod. “I do. It’s different than Oakland which is where I’m from. But I do like it here for the most part.” I didn’t know why I was lying, but I couldn’t exactly tell her that I thought the area sucked. The last thing I needed was for that bit of gossip to be spread throughout the school.
Mr. D thinks Black Mountain sucks ass.
She chuckled as she reached behind her head and pulled her dark brown hair up into a ponytail. “For the most part.” She was clearly clever enough to pick up on my hidden dig.
I had studied how to read students for years, and knew she was trying to hide her nervous energy by talking and fiddling with her hair. I was getting too close by asking the questions, and it was obvious that, though Corrine was adept in hiding her feelings, she was slowly revealing just how uncomfortable I made her.
The rumble of a truck in the distance made her perk up as she looked toward the approaching sound. “That was fast,” she said. “We would have been here all night if this was L.A.”
The same could be said for Oakland, and I was glad that I would be home soon instead of wasting away my entire evening.
Once the truck was loaded with her car and leaving the parking lot, I opened the passenger door for Corrine. “Ready?”
She nodded and climbed into my car with her books and bag in hand. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
She didn’t live too far from the school, but as she rattled off directions, I knew it was too far for her to walk. “Do you have another car available to drive to school tomorrow?”
“I should. There are several in the garage. I’m sure one of them will run and the battery won’t be dead. If not, I can call Kevin in the morning. I’m sure he’ll give me a lift.”
It bothered me that I was talking to a student who was completely on her own. I also didn’t like that she had no one to turn to other than a casual friend. It made me sad for her. As someone who kept to himself and didn’t have a large family or friend pool either, I understood how lonely it could be when you needed someone in your corner.
“Okay, well, I’m going to give you my number in case you need any help,” I said, attempting to not think about the ramifications of giving a student my number. “Try not to plaster it throughout the school, okay?” Inwardly, I cringed at the thought of seeing my number written all over the bathroom stalls to “call for a good time”.
“I’ll keep it private,” she reassured me. “But I also won’t bother you. I’ll be fine. I’ve dealt with much worse than a broken-down car in my life. This is a piece of cake.”
Those words also bothered me. No young lady should feel that way. She should feel stressed, worried, hell… I wouldn’t blame her if she cried. Car stress could be one of the worst stresses. Granted, she didn’t have to worry about money or how she would come up with the funds to fix it, so at least she had that going for her.
As we pulled up to her house… actually, mansion would be a better word to describe the massive structure in front of me, I tried not to picture Corrine all alone living inside of it. This was just a vacation home, and my entire condo could fit in one room of it. I wasn’t shocked, however. It was classic Black Mountain lodging for our student body. The house was also gated, so I pulled up to the key box and looked at her for the code.
“5555,” she said.
I punched it in, and then said, “You may want to come up with something a little less easy.”
“Yeah, well, my mom has an awful memory, so welcome to the access I just gave you to break into all aspects of our life.” She chuckled as the gates opened and I drove up the circular driveway.
“Have a good night,” I said as she hopped out of the car and turned to face me.
“I will. Thank you, Mr. D. You didn’t have to stay, but I’m glad you did.”
I gave a slight nod and watched her walk up to the door. I waited to make sure she got inside safely and really hated the fact that she was entering a very large and empty house. At least I was going home to a cozy place where my voice wouldn’t echo in the hallways. I felt sorry for Corrine, although I wasn’t sure how I could help in this situation. Unlike some of the students I had dealt with in Oakland, at least Corrine had a roof over her head and money to buy food. She didn’t need to be my charity case even though something in my gut told me to keep an eye on her.
3
Corrine
It was fair to say that today was a pretty shitty day. Nearly getting kicked out of school, detention, broken down car, and now I looked into an empty refrigerator hating the fact that I was going to have to order a pizza again. There were only so many topping combinations one could do to try to mix up the repetitive meal. Pizza was pizza, and I was sick of it.