“Did you and Peyton have fun today?”
Crap! How did she know? I know I have to have that deer in headlights look and nothing is coming to me. “Wh…what do you mean?” I finally ask slowly.
“You should have buried the pint of ice cream a little deeper in the garbage.”
Shit! Who looks in the fucking garbage for evidence of a crime?
“She came over. I didn’t ask. Really. But, she was here, I had all my work done…”
Mom just laughs. “You’re a good kid, Kelsey. You’ve also worked hard getting this house cleaned.” She nods to the laundry. “I didn’t even ask you to do that.”
My face heats. I did it as a cover for my crime, not that I’m going to tell her that.
“I think you’ve learned your lesson.”
Excitement shoots through me. “I get my phone back?”
“No!”
“But you just said I learned my lesson.”
“Which you will quickly unlearn if I give you back everything I took away. Punishment still stands, but I won’t add to it because you broke the rules and spent time with Peyton today.”
“Thanks!” I guess. So much for freedom. Had it for about a millisecond before it was snatched away again.
“Put those away.” She nods to the laundry. “Then come back downstairs. I picked your homework up from school. Your assignments for yesterday, today and tomorrow are there. I suggest you work on it until dinner is ready.”
“But it’s my birthday,” I whine. And I have letters to read, not that I dare take them out of hiding while she’s at home. “Can’t I work on it tomorrow?”
“You know the rules, Madison. Homework before anything else.”
“I don’t go back to school until Monday, almost a week.”
Mom just lifts an eyebrow and gives that look. She’s not going to budge.
“Fine!” Maybe there isn’t so much. I mean, how much can there be for two and a half days of school?
Fifteen
Were the teachers afraid we wouldn’t have anything to do over the long Thanksgiving weekend? Geez, there are a ton of things to do for every class. Do I do the stuff I hate first and save the easy assignments for last? Or, do I get the easy stuff out of the way first? But do I really want to spend the weekend on math and science?
So much for the best birthday ever!
But, I may have just found the perfect reason to lift the computer ban, and if I works out that I get my iPad back, all the better. “Mom,” I call into the kitchen.
“Yes?” she calls back.
“I have two papers I need to write. One for English and another for history.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll need the computer and the internet.”
There is silence and I wait, even crossing my fingers.
“When are they due?” she finally asks.
Crap! “December 23rd. Right before break.”
“You’ll have your stuff back in a week. Work on something else.”
I get up from the table. “But you are the one who insists on homework first and all that.”
Mom narrows her eyes on me. “You aren’t getting around me that easy. Now, go do the math you’re avoiding.”
The woman may not understand me, but she does know my hatred for math. If someone could explain when I’ll use trigonometry in my life, I might enjoy it more, but that hasn’t been answered yet.
After dinner I worked on my homework some more and I’ll be working on it tomorrow and probably on Thanksgiving. Not one of the assignments due on Monday requires the computer or the internet, which bums me out. I’d hoped that I could sneak in searches about Kelsey Fry, Brandon Lange and Baxter when nobody was looking. I don’t think I’ll get a chance until school. I’ve already decided that I’m going in early so I can use the library computers.
Monday is going to take forever to get here. Worse, those letters are sitting, waiting to be read, but Mom and Dad are going to be home. Who knows when I’ll get to read more? It might not be until next year at this rate, and that really, really sucks!
Sixteen
“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the parade?” Mom asks as she stops in my room.
“Mom, it’s not even light out yet,” I whine. She knows I hate parades and circuses and all of that stuff. Plus, the crowds downtown are going to be horrible. And, it’s cold.
“We want good seats so we need to be there early.”
I glance at the clock and groan. It’s only six in the morning.
“It’s a chance to be free for a bit,” she tries to tempt me.
I’d rather be locked up in solitary than be at the Thanksgiving Day Parade. “I’ll just stay here and hope for time off for good behavior.”
Mom just shakes her head and frowns as if disappointed. She should have known I didn’t want to go. I didn’t go the last two years.
“Turkey is ready to go. Put it in the oven at one if we aren’t back yet. Instructions are on the counter.”
“Sure thing.” They won’t be back in time. They never are. Thank goodness I’m staying back so we can eat dinner at a decent time.
Plus, I’ll have the house to myself for the next seven hours at least.
As soon as they are gone, I hop out of bed and grab the letters. To hell with homework and turkey. I’ve got letters to read.
The first one I read is from her first week of college. Kelsey is studying music and majoring in education. She wants to teach piano and voice. She has nothing in common with her roommate, but they get along okay. I think it’s funny that Kelsey pukes every time she has to perform. I used to feel like I was going to throw up too, but not so much anymore. Maybe if Mrs. Dosek was in the audience I might feel sick.
Pretty much her freshman
