Throw Away Teen (25 page)

At the end of the period, he said, “Everyone plan to bring in your 35 millimeter cameras next Monday and three rolls of black and white film. We’ll be taking photos for an end of the school year program.”

The bell rang and the rest of the kids hurried for the buses. I collected my bag and went up to him. “Mr. Lee, I don’t have a 35 millimeter—”

“Well, you can’t use a digital or disposable camera for this assignment, B.J. We’ll be doing photo shoots all next week, so you have the rest of this week and the weekend to get the right camera and film.” He kept packing our assignments in his satchel. “I’ve got a staff meeting, so if there’s nothing else...”

“No.” I turned and walked away. What had I been thinking? I should’ve just let Liz get me into Art. It didn’t matter that I had a uniform like all the other girls wore. I wasn’t like them. I couldn’t tell some teacher that I was a foster kid and the state wasn’t about to buy me a camera or film. And I sure wasn’t spending my precious little cash to get one either.

I headed for the parking lot and my bus. For a moment, I considered hiking up to the city bus stop and heading for Seattle. No way, I was leaving without Guard. And I wasn’t mad at Liz or Ted. I might as well go home. After all, I could always skip Photography next week. It wouldn’t be the first time I cut a class because of a stupid assignment, but it meant I’d lose the fifty bucks Ted promised me for an A. There had to be a better way, a way that I could win.

Two buses pulled out and I ran for mine. Willa stood by the driver, talking away. As I climbed the steps, she gave me a worried look. “Did you get kept after?”

“Kind of,” I said. “Thanks for waiting.”

“
No problem. Glad you escaped.” The driver smiled at me. “Go sit down so we can get out of here. We have places to go and things to do today.”

“
I’ll say,” I muttered and went to find a seat next to Willa. I still had karate and tutoring this afternoon. And I needed to start working Guard on his leash again. Yesterday’s 4-H meeting had added one more thing to my already packed schedule. Guard and I had been sentenced to obedience class on Friday.

***

Between school, karate, and my riding lesson, Wednesday zoomed by. Sarah helped me groom and saddle Windsong. When I told her about Gabe wanting pictures, she pulled a digital camera out of her tack locker. We took about a dozen of the farm and the horses and then I picked the best ones. After our lesson, Fiona let us use her laptop to email them to Carol for Gabe. Next time we talked, I’d make sure he’d received them.

When I got home from school on Thursday, Liz poured me a glass of milk and pushed a peanut butter sandwich at me. “Hurry and eat your snack. We have a four o’clock appointment for Guard at the vet.”

“
Why?” I snuggled him even closer. “What’s wrong with him?”

Liz came over and hugged both of us. “Nothing, sweetie. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. He needs his next set of shots. That’s all.”

“
Oh, okay.” After another puppy kiss, I put him down and went to wash up. Peanut butter and dog hair didn’t mix.

The veterinarian didn’t look much like a doctor to me. She wore blue jeans, running shoes and a red sweatshirt that said she rooted for two teams, the Washington State Cougars and anybody playing the Huskies.

Liz said, “B.J., this is my niece, Dr. Cathy Tiernan.”

She smiled at me and I could see her resemblance to Evelyn. They had the same brown hair and hazel eyes. “Hi,” I said. “I know your mom.”

“
And my aunt.” Cathy winked at Liz. “She’s sharp all right. Now, let’s see how your puppy is growing. Bring him over here, B.J., and we’ll weigh him. Did you bring me a poop sample?”

“
Yuck. Why would you want one?”

Liz handed over the plastic grocery sack she’d brought from the house. “Here you go. The sample tells us what kind of parasites Guard has and if he needs to be wormed.”

“
Wormed?” I hugged Guard closer, but Liz just patted my shoulder.

“
Don’t worry, it won’t hurt him.”

Reluctantly I carried Guard over to Dr. Cathy and she put him on the scale. “He’s definitely gotten heavier. He eats all the time,’” I said.

“
Yup, he’s gained seven pounds since his first visit,” Dr. Cathy smiled. “Good job. He needs to keep piling on the size. He has a lot of catching up to do before he’s as big as his brothers and sisters.”

“
Okay,” I said. “He’ll like getting lots to eat.”

“
Most dogs do. Just make sure you feed him a good diet.” She turned around and picked up a syringe. “Let’s give him his shots.”

Guard cried when she put the needle into the skin layer at the back of his neck. I felt tears burn my eyes. “You’re hurting him.”

“
No, just a little poke, honey.” Dr. Cathy said, and showed me the spot where she’d injected him. “Look here. I barely went into the muscle and it didn’t really hurt him. It’s not even bleeding. He’s fine.”

Guard licked her hand and she petted him. “Good job, baby. Now, we’re going to do it again.”

“
You gotta be tough,” I told him and held him for the next shot. “You don’t want to die of a doggie disease.”

After the shots, Guard got a cookie to chew on. Dr. Cathy gave me a pamphlet about how to care for a puppy. While I read through it and cuddled him, she talked to Liz about Sarah.

“
She missed advanced tryouts for cheerleading,” Dr. Cathy said. “So, she’s still on the Junior Varsity team. She should’ve been promoted along with her friends, but it didn’t happen. When I try to talk to Laurie, I just get the run-around. Now, Adam’s emailing me and demanding answers and I’m caught in the middle.”

“
Who’s Laurie?” I asked.

“
Sarah’s mom,” Liz told me. “And Adam is her dad. He’s in Afghanistan.”

I adjusted Guard’s blue harness and put him on the floor. “Right now, Sarah’s the captain of J.V., right? That’s big. Isn’t it enough for her to be a star and stay with her squad?”

“
They’re holding her back,” Dr. Cathy said. “And that isn’t Sarah’s style. She always pushes herself to be the best.”

“
She’s already the best,” I said and put the pamphlet into my purse. “You should’ve seen her do the routines at the baseball game last weekend. Most of the other cheerleaders struggled to keep up with her, except Rita and Kaitlyn.”

“
And they’re going to be in Varsity in September.” Dr. Cathy pounced on my words like Guard with a chew toy. “She should be with them.” The eager look on her face made it clear she was hoping for my help.

I sighed. “Okay, I’ll ask her what happened and why she’s not with them. If she doesn’t talk, I’ll threaten to ask Rita and Kait, but that’s all I’m doing. I still think it should be Sarah’s choice.”

“
If she chose it, I’m good with that,” Dr. Cathy told me. “But if it’s her mom and stepdad playing stupid mind games and jeopardizing her athletic career, her dad and I are going to kick butt and take names.”

I stared at her, amazed.
Wow, I really envy Sarah
, I thought. I never had an aunt to stand up for me and I didn’t even know my dad. But Sarah had her Aunt Cathy and her dad, even if he was off to war. They were both on her side. She was really lucky.

The next morning I found her taping posters on the wall near the office, advertising for victims to try out for cheerleading. “That so doesn’t sound like fun to me.”

“
It’s a blast,” Sarah said. “You should do it.”

“
Oh yeah, I can see that happening,” I told her. “Not! Besides, I already have karate, horseback riding, and dog 4-H. And if that doesn’t keep me busy enough, puppy obedience starts tonight and Dallas is teaching it. Guard and I may run away from home.”

Sarah giggled. “We only practice two afternoons a week. You could fit us in and Dallas isn’t so bad.”

“
Sarah, she glares at you big-time. If looks could kill like Liz says, you’d be a walking corpse every day in Washington State History.”

“
Yeah, but I can’t really blame her.”

“
What are you? A saint?”

“
No. I’m just lucky. She’s stuck with Smarmy Marvy as her dad. The Colonel adopted me and even if he’s always off fighting wars, he’s a better father...”

“
Okay. Back up and let’s pretend I didn’t grow up here and don’t know all the dirty secrets of Stewart Falls. Do you and Dallas have the same dad or something?”

“
No. We have the same biological father. My
dad
is Colonel Adam Flynn and he’s a hero.” Sarah headed for the next hall. “Come help me finish up.”

“
Wow, this place is like one of those dramas Irene loves,” I said as I followed her.

“
Grandma calls it the
Peyton Place
of western Washington.” Sarah handed me the roll of masking tape. “Of course, she says she knows where all the bodies are buried and some of them aren’t even dead yet.”

“
What’s
Peyton Place
?” I asked.

“
It’s this book about a real disgusting town where people do bad things to each other. My mom told me I couldn’t read it.”

“
So, of course you did,” I said. “When can I?”

“
Look on Aunt Liz’s shelves. She has it in her library.”

“
Cool!” I helped her hang up the rest of the posters and we finished well before the first bell. She insisted on buying me a mocha at the espresso stand in The Commons. Even if I never told anyone, I loved parts of the Academy. Over the years in foster care, I’d attended a lot of different schools, but none of them had their own coffee bars. This private school was so much better than my last high school where the nearest
Starbucks
was three blocks away.

We sat down at one of the empty tables. Rita arrived moments later. “Sorry, I’m late, Sarah. My dad had Spanish Club in Seattle last night with his teacher friends and I had to stay at my mom’s.”

“
Poor you. How’d it go? Did Princess Ariel give you a headache?”

“
Always.” Rita dragged out a chair and plopped down. “We should send her and Princess Priss to the same kingdom, and they could fight over Prince Charming.”

“
Okay, you two.” I made a T with my hands. “Catch me up here. I’m new, remember?”

Rita grinned. “We both have evil stepsisters. Mine’s Ariel and Sarah’s is Priss. And both our mommies always love them best.”

I nodded. This town was a lot like the center. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. “We took Guard to the vet for his shots yesterday and I met your aunt.”

Sarah winced. “Is she still pissed because I didn’t make Varsity?”

“
Not pissed.” I drank part of my coffee. “I’d say worried. She’s afraid you won’t be happy after Rita and Kait move up in September.”

Sarah bit her lip. “I’ll make it work. J.V.’s a good squad and I’ll make it better.”

“
Why don’t you just tell Dr. Cathy what happened?” Rita demanded. “That your mom dumped Priscilla on you during try-outs and you didn’t dare bring the kid over from the elementary.”

A tear streaked down Sarah’s cheek and she wiped it away real quick. “I can’t handle that right now, Rita. My mom says that Varsity’s a big commitment. And there’s no way I can do the three or four practices a week plus the games and take care of the house and Priscilla.”

“
And you didn’t tell your aunt about this crap-fest?” I nudged Sarah with my foot. “Why not?”

“
Because if I do, I’ll be off J.V.” Sarah sighed and then jumped to her feet. “I’ve got to get my books out of my locker before first bell. Catch you later.”

I stared at Rita. “Is the kid that bad?”

“
Worse.” Rita hesitated. “I did try talking to Sarah’s grandma, but she wasn’t real receptive.”

“
Of course not,” I said. “She’d have to pick her grandkid over her own kid. That’s tough to do. I’ll bring Liz in to fix this. Sarah’s been great to me and I owe her. Besides, I’m a foster kid and I’m only here temporarily. I can screw up everybody’s life and nobody can do anything to me.”

“
Good to know. I’ll keep an eye out for you.” Rita grinned at me. “Thanks, B.J.”

The first bell rang. I grabbed my backpack and headed for class. Willa was already in the room and I went to sit by her. “Hey, you weren’t on the bus. What’s up?”

“
High winds last night. A tree fell and took out the power on my road.” Willa rummaged through her backpack. “And we overslept, so I had to scramble to get here on time. At least, I wasn’t tardy. I really don’t want Saturday school.”

“
I don’t blame you.” I fished out my Algebra homework. “Who would?”

“
Rita doesn’t mind it. She hangs out and talks to Fiona.”

I blinked. Wow, for somebody who wasn’t on the cheer squad and who spent all her extra time with her nose in a book, Willa knew more about what went on at the Academy than I did.

The day started out great. I aced the chapter quiz on
Great Expectations,
got my first A in Spanish and almost caught up with the class in Washington State History. Then, I walked into Photography and everything went to hell. Mr. Lee had spent the whole week teaching us about light and shadows.

“
Bring your 35 millimeter cameras on Monday, or it’s a zero in the grade-book,” Mr. Lee said, at the end of the period. “And the Academy has a place for slackers, Saturday school.”

Totally pissed, I stalked out to the bus and sulked in my seat next to Willa. When I didn’t talk, she just kept watching me. “What?” I finally snarled.

“
What’s wrong?”