“I do sometimes. On special occasions.” She flashes a smile. “Like you moving in with me or the first day of school.”
I’m just about to take a sip of coffee but stop. “My first day of what?”
“School, Starlee. Isn’t that half the reason you came here?” We both know the other half.
“Well, yeah, but I just figured I’d start once I settled in a little?” Got a chance to spend time with my boys.
“School started last week. You’re not even that far behind. I think it’s best you get enrolled today.”
“Today.” I hadn’t been in a normal school for five years.
“Yep.” She piles a plate with bacon and scrambled eggs she already had prepared. “Sierra Academy. It’s down near June Lake.”
Sierra Academy is where the boys go to school. I’d seen it on Jake’s football jersey and T-shirts he wore. The idea of being with them all day makes the fear of school a little less daunting.
A little.
“So you think we should go today?”
“I do.”
I pick up my fork and dive into my breakfast, ignoring the growing nerves in my stomach. I hadn’t eaten since grabbing something in the gas station in Hawthorne the night before. I’d hoped to get some Wayward Sun pastries, but Leelee had other ideas. Lots of them, apparently.
I glance at the clock on the stove. It’s already eight.
“Shouldn’t we do this tomorrow—get there for a full day?” I ask.
“I know you’re nervous and this is a big step, but I think we’ve got to just dive in. I’ll drive you down and get you enrolled. We’ll see how long it takes, okay?”
“Okay.”
She nods, finalizing it. “Finish up and go get dressed. I have no idea what teenagers wear to school these days, but the boys come and go in blue jeans and such.”
The boys.
I can’t help but look at her when she says it, she gives me a small smile. “I know you want to see them, Starlee, and you will, but this move can’t just be about those boys next door. This is about you starting fresh—embracing a new kind of experience and life.”
I stand and walk over to my grandmother. I wrap my arms around her. “You’re right. It is. And I do want to see them, but I can wait. There’s no reason not to dive into everything now—today. Let me go change and we’ll go.”
“You’re a good girl.” She squeezes me. “Oh, and one other thing. We’ve got to call your mother.”
My stomach plummets. “Now?”
She nods.
She’s right. I know it and I take the heavy phone off the wall and dial my mother’s number. She picks up on the first ring.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hello, Starlee.” There’s a surprising lack of emotion in her voice. I frown at Leelee.
“I know Leelee called you last night. I’m at her house.”
“She did.”
Silence.
“Well, I, uh, I’m eighteen now and this is where I want to be.” I hear a sigh and the sound of the phone shifting hands. “Mom?”