The Pink Sneakers Club. Christian Jr. Bertoni
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and stared at my dinner. Fish and rice. Pescados y arroz. I took a year of Spanish and have never been able to remember a single thing, but now I remember how to say fish and rice. Funny what the mind holds onto. I let out a heavy sigh. I didn’t know what to do. I felt like my mind was going in a million different directions and there was no rest stop.
I had already left a dozen messages for my mom since this afternoon. She never called me back.
I called her again. Voicemail.
Redial. Voicemail.
Again I pressed redial. Again it went straight to voicemail. I sat down on the kitchen floor with my back against the refrigerator and cried.
Randi
Chapter 7
It felt like it had been hours since the tragedy at school but when I glanced at the clock on my dashboard it read: 4:00. Everything had happened in the blink of an eye.
3:05.
Remember when I told you earlier how there would come a moment when everything changes forever? Well 3:05 would soon be our defining moment, although I didn’t know yet.
Deirdre sat in the passenger seat staring blankly out her window. She hadn’t said anything since it happened.
I didn’t think she was in the right frame of mind to be driving so I decided to take her home. I figured tomorrow if she’d like I could take her to pick up her car.
I had heard through the grapevine that school was going to be canceled tomorrow. That’s good I didn’t think I could go right now.
I finally broke the silence, “how are you doing?”
Deirdre said nothing, just kept staring out the passenger window. Out of all of us she was the most sensitive.
“Listen, if you want to talk tonight just call me okay? No matter what time. I don’t think I will be sleeping much tonight anyways.”
Deirdre turned her head slowly towards me, tears still streaming down her face, “thanks but I think I’ll be okay.”
“You sure?” I didn’t believe her.
She turned back around and continued looking out the window, “yeah.” She said barely a whisper.
I arrived home and was immediately greeted with a big hug from my mom. She pulled away, my face in her hands she asked, “Randi I heard, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” she asked brushing the bangs out of my eyes
“Yeah I’m fine.” I lied.
“Are you hungry honey?”
“Maybe later, I think I just want to take a hot bath, okay?”
“Yeah sure honey that’s fine. I’ll keep your dinner warm for you and if you want it later it’s here.”
“Thanks mom.”
I pulled away and went upstairs to my room. Taking care of Deirdre I didn’t have time to process what happened. I turned off the lights and crawled into bed. And suddenly like someone had opened the floodgates I cried.
Kaye
Chapter 8
Caren dropped me off at home, neither one of us talked the whole way. I’d never seen Caren this way. She was quiet and a little freaked out. I mean we all were but she knew the girl.
I stood in my driveway listening to the loud music and laughter coming from the trailer. My mom and her damn parties! I was in no mood for her and her idiot, drugged out loser friends. I realized the whole time I was standing here I was clenching my fists. I took a deep breath walked around the trailer to my window and pulled out a cinder block I kept hidden underneath the trailer. Placed it under my window, removed the screen and slid the window open. There were three guys and some woman I’ve never seen before shooting up.
“Shit.” I muttered.
I looked at my watch: 6:30. My mom’s partying was starting earlier nowadays.
I pulled out my cooler that I kept under the trailer, opened it and grabbed a beer. The ice had already melted so my stash was sloshing around in the semi-cold water. Gotta remember to get more beer and ice. Wiped the beer can, popped it open and headed for the lake.
The lake was my private sanctuary when things would get bad at home. It seems I’d been coming to this part of the lake more and more.
When I was little my dad and I would come here to fish, swim and do a little camping. Then for some reason we stopped coming.
I kept thinking about the girl who fell. Why did she kill herself? Was her life so bad that she had to jump? Had she tried other means? Hanging, wrist slitting, sleeping pills, or car in the garage? Did anyone even know? I mean my life sucks ass and you don’t see me jumping off a building. Christ. “Why!?! Why’d you do it!?!?!?” I screamed and threw my beer can into the lake.
I sat on the grass and watched the moon glimmering off the water.
I kept shaking my head. “Why? Why’d you do it?” I mumbled. I didn’t understand. I wanted to but I just didn’t.
Heading back home I was hoping that the partying would have died down . . . well, I was half right. About a half a mile from my trailer I could see swirling red and blue lights.
“What the hell?” I put out my cigarette and ran home to three police cruisers parked in my driveway.
“Hey what’s going on?” I asked.
One of the cops came over to me, “ma’am you can’t be here.”
“I live here.”
I watched, as several cops were taking out the drug addicts in plastic binds.
“What’s going on?” Like I didn’t already know.
“A few of your neighbors called about the excessive noise. Who knew we’d find this.” He motioned his head towards my trailer. “Do you have some place you could stay for the next few days?”
Shit, could this night get any worse? “Wh-why do I –“ I already knew the answer. Spent too much time with Randi. The cops were never gonna let me stay here, a potential crime scene.
I thought for a moment who could I ask? Well, I knew any one of the girls would take me in. I made my decision.
“Can I borrow a cell phone?”
He looked surprised, “you don’t have one?”
“You’re kidding right? Look where I live.”
He handed me his phone, “hey aren’t you a little young to be smoking?”
“Aren’t you little fat to be a cop?”
He shook his head and walked off but not before he muttered, “smart ass.”
I muttered my response, “fat ass.”
I saw my mom walking out in binds, she looked right at me, “you! Was it you, you little bitch? You turn your mother in!?!?”
I ignored her and made my call then gave the officer back his phone, “listen can I go in and grab some clothes?”
He thought for a moment, “I’m coming with you.”
“Whatever.”
I entered my living room, my short stout little friend following close behind. My mom was great at throwing giant parties. Tons of people apparently were here with plenty of tweak also called meth. The cops were bagging everything. The trailer was trashed, paraphernalia everywhere.
I heard two cops talking about a baggy of bright red meth, “here’s that shit again.