“ Do you like RFK?” Arty asked, trying to keep up the conversation.
“ It’s okay, a school’s a school. But I like that it’s named after Robert Kennedy. My dad said that he was one of the best men that ever ran for president. That’s why they killed him. He was too good for the job. That’s what my dad said.”
“ My dad hates the Kennedys,” Arty said. Then he changed the subject, asking, “How about Palma, do you like it here?”
“ Yeah, I like that it rains a lot. I like the rain and the woods. And I like most of the people. It’s not like a big city.”
“ I can hardly wait to grow up and get away.”
“ Why?”
“’ Cuz I can’t stand my dad. He’s always after me. As soon as I get old enough, I’m out of here.” Arty surprised himself, he’d never talked this way to anyone before. Somehow it seemed natural talking to her.
“ Where did you live before you came here?” he asked, breaking a few seconds of silence.
“ Atlanta.”
“ So that’s how come you have that accent.”
“ I don’t have an accent.” She stuck her lip out and blew the hair out of her eyes again, then laughed. “Well maybe a little one, but I’m trying to get rid of it.”
“ I like it,” he said.
“ We’re here,” she said. Arty was kind of sad when he looked up and saw the school. He felt like he could have gone on talking to her for hours. He had so much he wanted to say, and not just lip flapping, he really wanted to tell her stuff.
“ Race you up the steps,” she said, and she took off, taking the six steps two at a time. She was at the top before he hit the second step.
“ No fair.”
“ Life isn’t fair, Bubba.”
“ Bubba?”
“ My dad used to say that to me all the time.” Then she said, “Come on, we have to get to class.”
“ Good morning class. I trust everybody had a wonderful weekend. I know I did.” Miss Sadler had a grin on her face two blocks wide. “I want you all to know that this is my last year teaching. You’re my last and my best class. Does anyone want to guess why?” She was wearing her hair on her shoulders, instead of the usual ponytail, and she was wearing contacts, instead of her glasses.
Brad Peters raised his hand.
“ Yes, Brad.” Carolina heard the sparkle in Miss Sadler’s voice and saw the joy rumble from her eyes and knew the answer. She also knew there was no way Brad Peters could ever figure it out. He wasn’t only a bully, he was dumber than dumb.
“ Your rich uncle died and left you a million dollars,” Brad said in a deep voice with a touch of mean. He couldn’t be funny if he tried, Carolina thought. He was ornery and ordinary and she hated the fact that he sat in front of her.
“ You couldn’t be more wrong, Brad,” Miss Sadler said. “Anybody else?”
Carolina giggled and she saw Brad’s ears turn red. He was angry, but she didn’t care. He wouldn’t dare pick on a girl.
Miss Sadler walked across the room, looking at the students in that special way she had that made each kid think she was looking at him or her and no one else. Carolina raised her hand.
“ Carolina.” Miss Sadler’s smile should have told the whole class, even that idiot, Brad Peters, the answer.
“ You got married.”
“ That’s right. My name isn’t Miss Sadler anymore, it’s Mrs. Chase. But you can keep calling me Miss Sadler.”
“ From the bank?” Brad shot out, speaking out of turn and trying to make a joke. He was always doing that. He thought he was funny, but no one ever laughed.
“ What are you talking about, Brad?” Miss Sadler said, losing part of her smile.
“ You know, from the Chase Manhattan Bank. Is he a rich guy?” What a stupid thing to say. Carolina felt like smacking him in the back of his big fat head.
“ No, Brad, Mr. Chase lives in Tampico. He owns Miles of Books, the big used book store. That’s how we met. I was looking for some French language books, because I was going to spend the summer in Paris, but I met Miles Chase and now I’ll be spending my summer, and probably the rest of my life, across the way in Tampico.” Most of the folks in Palma referred to Tampico as just across the way.
Carolina watched the glow sparkle from Miss Sadler as she handed out the papers for the test. She was so obviously happy. Carolina wondered if her mom and dad were happy like that once, but she didn’t think so. They never seemed happy together when they were married and it was worse now that they were divorced. They were full of so much hate for each other that it seemed to kill off the love they once had for her.
She fingered her locket and smiled. It proved her father still loved her, and now her mom’s offer to take her to Disneyland, if she got all the state capitals right, proved she loved her too.
It would be just the two of them on the trip. Just them and not any of mom’s new boyfriends. They would have time to talk and get to know each other. Maybe they could start doing things together again, like they used to. She just had to get them all right. It meant so much.
Some of the kids had already started answering the test questions and she hadn’t even gotten her copy yet. She sat in the second seat in the last row, by the door, and Miss Sadler’s desk was on the other side of the room, in front of the first row, by the windows. She always handed out the tests starting from the first row.
When Brad, who sat in the seat closest to the door, turned and handed her a stack of tests, she kept one and handed the others back.
“ Let me copy off you,” Brad whispered.
“ No,” she whispered back into his squinty eyes.
“ You’ll be sorry if you don’t.”
“ I don’t care.” She knew there was no way Brad would mess with her. He might be a bully and enjoy picking on younger and smaller kids, but if he picked on a girl, even his bully friends would have nothing to do with him. She was safe from any of his threats. She knew it and he knew it.
“ You’ll care if I kick shit out of your boyfriend.”
“ I don’t have a boyfriend.” She wished Miss Sadler would look over and see them talking. She usually never missed anything. But she was sitting at her desk, staring off into space.
“ Farty Arty,” Brad said with a snicker barely above a whisper.
“ He’s not my boyfriend.”
“ I’ll kick shit out of him anyway.”
“ Okay.”
“ What?”
“ Okay, you can copy.” She felt defeated. There was no way she was going to Disneyland now, not a chance. She wanted to cry, but she wouldn’t do it in front of Brad. He’d laugh at her.
She looked down at the test sheet and read the first question. Damn, she thought, and it’s so easy.
The capital of New York is.
She hesitated before writing down, New York City, the wrong answer. She looked over at Miss Sadler, who was still lost in her own little world, probably dreaming about Mr. Chase and his bookstore. Then with a guilty quiver, she turned her paper around. There were only twenty questions on the test. She wrote the wrong answer for every one of them and Brad copied them all.
“ Time’s up,” Miss Sadler said, “trade them across.”
Everybody traded papers with the person across from them.
“ Now hand them back.”
Everybody handed their new test paper to the kid behind them and the kid in the last seat took his to the one in the front of the row. Miss Sadler liked passing the papers around that way, so you could never tell who would be
