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“Yes, and no. I always felt like I was being watched, and in many ways I was. Being the daughter of Cora Parker wasn’t easy. Photographers camped outside our house, so I just assumed my uneasy feeling was that. I didn’t really feel it was a single person watching me until I made the move. I was pretty sure my move wasn’t worthy of paparazzi following me here. Plus, there were staff in the L.A. house so I never truly felt like I wasn’t under some sort of watchful eye. It took being alone to feel that someone was really watching.”
“And being held back a year in school?”
“Long story,” she said softly. “Not one I really want to discuss. But I was held back in fourth grade. Not high school. Not because of this stalker guy.”
Fair enough. She had already opened up enough, far more than I’d expected, and I didn’t want to disrupt her safe space talking with me by being too pushy.
She yawned which was a good sign. She then repositioned herself on her pillow and asked, “So about that detention?”
I chuckled. “Consider it rescinded.” I stifled a yawn myself, not wanting her to feel like I was being put out as she said. “But you aren’t going home tomorrow until we reach your mom or figure something out. So, come to my office after school if you haven’t heard from me all day. Deal?”
She nodded. “Deal.” She pointed to the hallway. “Go to bed, Mr. D.” She gave a reassuring smile. “I know you’re as tired as I am.”
“Did you get your uniform dry?” For some reason, I wasn’t ready to leave her.
“Yes.”
“Feel free to use whatever I have in the shower tomorrow. There are clean towels under the sink.”
“Ooh, so I get to smell like Mr. D all day tomorrow. Gotta love it.”
Her joking around with me did bring up something that I needed to address again. “Corrine, about all this—”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell a single soul. I know how it looks. I know how much trouble this could get you in, and frankly any drama right now goes far beyond my mental ability to cope.”
“I’m going to take you to school, but maybe I should drop you off a block away. For both our sakes. I’m sure it won’t look cool to your peers to be arriving with me.”
“I couldn’t care less what any of them think about me, but yes, I agree.”
“And I promise you, it will get better. You aren’t alone anymore.”
I didn’t make promises lightly, and I rarely tried to raise false expectations, but this was one promise I would make. No, Corrine was not a troubled youth in Oakland involved with gangs, or poverty, but she was someone in need. It was my job to help her, and I planned to take it seriously.
I got out of my chair and stared down at her. I didn’t want to leave her but knew we both needed sleep. “Goodnight, Corrine.”
“Goodnight, Mr. D. Thank you.”
“If you need anything…”
“I know where to find you.”8CorrineAt least I was on time for school today.
No doors to close. No need to run to a car.
It was the first day in a long time that I actually felt somewhat human and rested as I got ready to enter history class. I even had my homework done thanks to Mr. D playfully nagging me to do it.
This was what normal felt like, and I liked it.
“Corrine!” Kevin called from the west-wing hallway. I stopped and waited for him to get close. “I’ve been looking for you all day. Where have you been?”
“Just trying to get to classes on time and catching up with work. I’m on thin ice.”
“I swung by your house this morning to pick you up just in case you couldn’t get a car working and was too stubborn to call me for help. But you weren’t home.”
“Yeah… I slept someplace else last night.”
“You did? Why? Where?”
“Crazy story, but I couldn’t stay there.” I hated to lie to Kevin because that just wasn’t the kind of friends we were, and I never had to lie before. “I stayed at a bed and breakfast.” But I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t risk him slipping up and telling someone. I didn’t think he’d judge me, but he did have loose lips, especially since he was trying so hard to sit at the cool kid’s table. Having some juicy gossip could aid him in that quest.
He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “Okay…” He waited, and when I refused to say anything more, he thankfully moved on. “There’s a football game tonight. Wanna go?”
I shrugged. “Friday night football’s not really my jam.” I didn’t think it was Kevin’s either, but I understood he was trying really hard for that fresh start. He was simply playing the game that I sucked at. “Don’t worry about me. I have to deal with some stuff with the house and need to get hold of my mom this weekend somehow.”
