I waved and rushed into the shop to use the pay phone. The cashier gave me change for my ten dollars, and I called home.
Brenda answered, and from the tone of her voice. I knew everyone had been worried. "Where the hell are you, April?"
I told her.
"What are you doing there? Do you know what time it is? Mama is beside herself. How could you do this to her?"
I started to cry.
"Well, are you coming home or what?" she asked.
"I have no way to get home," I said through my sobs.
"I don't believe it. Just stay there. Celia and I are coming," she said.
I thought about asking to speak to Mama so I could apologize, but Brenda hung up. Then I remembered what Mr. Petersen had said in the truck. and I went into the restroom to wash my face and straighten my clothing. I had one bad mud stain on my jacket sleeve, and washing it seemed to make it worst.
What was I going to tell them? When they heard I had drunk vodka and when Brenda heard I had gotten into David Peet's car. I would be blamed for everything. I was too embarrassed to tell the truth. anyway. Luke had nearly stripped me naked, and they were all looking at me. My eyes filled with tears again. I had to take deep breaths to stop myself from just bawling aloud in the restroom.
I went out and bought myself something I hadn't eaten for months, a package of chocolatecovered graham crackers and a bottle of Coke. Then I sat on the bench in front of the store and waited. I felt tired and achy all over, especially in my legs. My nausea was gone, and my stomach gurgled complaints about being so empty. I had practically thrown up my intestines earlier. It didn't take me long to gobble down the whole package of crackers. I was terribly thirsty and went in to buy another Coke. Still hungry. I bought another package of crackers and had just started eating them when Brenda and Celia drove up.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Brenda asked as soon as she got out of the car.
Celia got out, too, and they both approached me.
"Where?" Brenda demanded, her hands on her hips. "And what the hell are you eating that junk for?"
I looked up at her, and then I looked at Celia, who was gazing at me with some amusement in her eyes. Brenda's were filled with hot rage. I threw away the remaining crackers quickly.
I hadn't come up with any idea of how to explain what had happened to me.
There was nothing left to do but tell the truth.
8 Invisible Tears
. I didn't tell the whole truth. I couldn't talk about what Luke had almost done to me, especially in front of Celia, and even more especially because of the things they had said about Brenda. On the way home. I limited my explanation to getting into David's car, drinking some vodka, and their pulling a prank on me by leaving me on some back road. Of course. I had no idea what I would do if David developed the picture he had taken and then showed it to people. I talked mostly about Mr. Petersen in the hopes that neither Brenda nor Celia would ask too many questions about David, Luke, and Jenna.
Brenda and Celia sat up front listening. Both of them kept their faces forward, neither commenting nor asking a question. At times. I felt as if I were speaking to mannequins. It's so much more difficult to travel through troubled territory, tell half- truths, and leave out unpleasant information when you have to do all the talking. I thought, It's like swimming out in the middle of the ocean without anyone offering any sort of rescue. You just flounder about. hoping. When I finished with some sniffles. which I hoped would bring me some expressions of sympathy. Brenda looked at Celia and then looked into the rearview mirror at me in the backseat.
"I really thought you were a lot smarter than that. April. Ifs not that I didn't warn you about those kids, and why would you drink anything they offered you in a paper bag? How do you know what was really in it? You never drank any vodka before, did you?"
"No, but they drank it, too!" I whined. Celia laughed.
"They did!"
"It was in a paper bag, you said, right?" Brenda
asked. "Yes."
"So they could have brought it to their lips but
not actually swallowed any or very much, and you
wouldn't know. It's a trick college boys pull on girls
all the time. The girls end up drunk or worse, and then
the boys take advantage."