“Whoa.” I stepped back, palms raising. I glanced up, but her students were too far away to hear. Or help.
“I don’t care if you think you’re too good for this town to ‘lower’ yourself to help my student.”
“I never?—”
“But Cath is the rare sort of musician that comes along once a generation, and I will bedamnedif I let some spoiled, washed-up rock star?—”
“Hey, now.”
“—ruin her chances to get into a good school. I don’t care if you’re busy. You will make time. You will help this kid out of the goodness of whatever is left of your little, shriveled, dark heart, or so help me God.”
By the time she finished her rant, her cheeks were flushed, and her chest heaved. A flush of red spread from just below her collar to behind her ears. She came to my chin, yet I had never felt smaller. I tried to speak, but having her mad at me took me by complete surprise. I knew this town hated me, but I had thought maybe because she’d taken over for my mom, she was one of the few who would not assume the worst about me.
I had been wrong. Just like everyone else in this town, she thought I was the weird kid or the grown-up, spoiled rock star who thought he was too good for this town. I needed to make her understand, but how?
“I’m not—it’s just that—” Her eyebrows raised expectantly, ready to combat whatever flimsy excuse I could muster. And that was all it’d be—flimsy—because she was right. Not about me being self-entitled and all that (ouch), but because I didn’t want to do it. There was no way I could help a virtuoso drummer get into college. I was an uneducated, unmoored former drummer. Why did this woman evenwantmy help?
But I waited too long to finish the sentence, and she’d made up her mind. Everything she’d suspected had been confirmed in my silence. If only I could ever say what I wanted in the moment, ask for what I wanted.
“That’s what I thought. Welcome home. I looked forward to seeing you again.”
Loser.
I would help if I could, but I was not the person for this job. Not even my own mother knew my reasons for being back in Green Valley. I opened my mouth to argue. The screen door swung open again, and Mari’s demeanor melted into the sugary sweet Southern style from earlier.
I shuddered. She was terrifying, after all.
Janice came back out with a tray of the blondies I made last night.
“I have goodies!” Janice was swarmed by students after her pronouncement. To me, she whispered, “You can make more.”
“Those were for tonight,” I mumbled, once again completely ignored.
“Hurry up and grab a treat. We gotta get back to the school,” Mari instructed her students.
The kid, Cath, glanced up at me and gave a half-smile as quickly as possible before looking away.
Ugh.Whose great idea was this anyway? At least when I enjoyed my retirement around here, I wasn’t hurting anybody else. I was just existing in peace and quiet. Helping bees and hanging with my mom.
“See y’all tomorrow.” Mari waved and bounced away, her blond ponytail bopping as she went.
“She is such a lovely girl,” my mom said when they were all gone.
I snorted.
“She knows how to get things done,” she added.
“You don’t say.”
She shoved me with her shoulder, just above my elbow. “Just wouldn’t want to be on her shit list.” She raised her eyebrows smugly and went back into the house.
I groaned and followed her. No way was I going back to that school. It was bad enough to know the whole town got more gossip for the mill this morning. I was the last person who would be wanted at the precious homecoming game. I wouldn’t be going, and nobody could make me.
CHAPTER 5
MARI
Iyawned into my sad turkey sandwich, wondering if maybe I had gone too far this morning. I had warned the kids not to step on the flowers at all. Mostly for Janice and not Leo. Leo with his stupid black curls and sleepy grin. He hadn’t been what I expected. Maybe I’d watched too many videos of him on stage. I don’t know what I thought he would do, really. Forcing people to do things against their will rarely worked, but I’d felt so desperate. Now I felt so silly.
