I wanted to say. But I am worried about you,
Mama, and even more so with Brenda away and
occupied with her own life, her sports, and her new
close friend, but I didn't say anything. I nodded
instead and left her encased in her own melancholy. I
sensed that there was little I could do to draw her out
of it. and I hoped that somehow she would find the
strength to put it aside and go on. Maybe it was right
to pressure her to see a therapist, and soon, because
maybe he could cure her. I realized my hope was
selfish. I wanted her to go on for me now.
That night. I tossed and turned and fretted in
and out of nightmares, worrying about my return to
school and facing David. Luke. and Jenna. As it
turned out. Brenda wasn't wrong. They looked my
way, but except for their smiles and whispers, they
didn't bother me. Maybe they thought Brenda and
Celia would be back immediately, or maybe, as
Brenda said. I was already old news. They had other
prey to feast upon.
I didn't tell anyone about my frightening
experience, and maybe. because Luke had failed to
seduce me, they didn't brag about it, either.
Occasionally, Jenna would give me a shake of her head as if I were the one to be pitied. A week later, she was caught smoking marijuana in the school's basement and was expelled, not suspended. She had been suspended too many times, and the school had a no-tolerance attitude about drugs. Her parents didn't
do anything to fight the suspension, and she was gone. David got into a bad accident with his father's
car the following month. He wasn't killed, but he was
injured severely and spent the rest of the school year
in hospitals and therapy.
Luke quit school before Christmas, and then I
heard he had enlisted in the army.