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She couldnt believe shed fallen for the pretty promises again. She knew better. Happy hour at the Tides tavern didnt end until six-thirty.
So why did it still hurt, after all these years? Youd think a heart would grow calluses at some point.
She turned away from the empty road and headed toward the gymnasium. She was almost to the doors when she heard a male voice call her name.
David.
She spun around, already smiling. He got out of the passenger side of a new black Cadillac Escalade and slammed the door shut with his hip. He was dressed up, wearing blue Dockers and a yellow cashmere sweater. Even with his blond hair plastered wetly to his head, he was the best-looking guy in school. "I thought youd be inside already," he said, running up to her.
"My mom didnt show. "
"Again?"
She hated the tears that burned her eyes. "Its no big deal. "
He pulled her into a bear hug, and for those few moments, her world was okay.
"How about your dad?" she asked gently, hoping just this once Mr. Haynes had come through for David.
"Nope. Someone has to denude the rainforest. "
She heard the bitterness in his voice and started to say I love you; the sound of high heels on concrete stopped her.
"Hello, Lauren. "
She eased out of Davids arms and looked up at his mother, who was trying not to frown. "Hello, Mrs. Haynes. "
"Where is your mother?" she asked, settling an expensive brown handbag over her shoulder as she glanced around.
Lauren flashed on an image of her mothers most likely location: slumped on a barstool in the Tides, smoking a bummed cigarette. "She had to work late. "
"On college fair night?"
Lauren hated the way Mrs. Haynes looked at her then. It was the poor Lauren, so pathetic look. Shed seen it her whole life. Adults--especially women--were always wanting to mother her. In the beginning, at least; sooner or later they moved on to their own lives, their own families, leaving Lauren somehow more alone than shed been before. "She cant help it," Lauren said.
"Thats more than I can say for Dad," David said to his mother.
"Now, David," Mrs. Haynes said with a heavy sigh, "you know your father would be here if he could. "
"Yeah, right. " He hooked an arm around Laurens shoulders and drew her close. She let herself be swept across the wet courtyard and into the gymnasium. Every step of the way she focused on positive thoughts. She refused to let her mothers absence impact her self-confidence. Tonight of all nights she had to keep her eye on the goalpost, and a college scholarship to the same school David chose was the touchdown. A field goal was a school nearby.
She was committed to achieving this goal, and when she was committed, she could move mountains. She was here, wasnt she? A senior at one of the best private schools in Washington state, and on a full scholarship, to boot. Shed made her choice in fourth grade when she moved to West End from Los Angeles. Back then, shed been a shy girl, too embarrassed by her horn-rimmed charity eyeglasses and secondhand clothes to say much. Once, long ago, shed made the mistake of asking her mother for help. I cant wear these shoes anymore, Mommy. Rain is getting in the holes.
If youre like me, youll get used to it had been Moms response. Those four words--if youre like me--had been enough to change the course of Laurens life.
The next day she set about changing herself and her life. Project Geek No More had begun. She did chores for all the neighbors in the rundown apartment complex in which she and her mother lived. Feeding the cats for old Mrs. Teabody in 4A, cleaning the kitchen for Mrs. Mauk, carrying packages upstairs for Mrs. Parmeter in 6C. One dollar at a time, she saved up money for contact lenses and new clothes. My, the optometrist had said on the big day, you have the most gorgeous brown eyes Ive ever seen. Once she looked like everyone else, Lauren set about acting correctly. She started with smiles, and then graduated to waves and finally hellos. She volunteered for everything, as long as a parent contact wasnt required. By the time she started junior high, her hard work had begun to pay off. Shed earned her full ride to Fircrest Academy--a Catholic school with a strict uniform code. There, she worked even harder. She was voted class secretary in ninth grade and had retained an office every year since. In high school, she organized every school dance, took photos for the annual, ran the student body as senior class president, and lettered in both gymnastics and volleyball. Shed fallen in love with David on their first date, almost four years ago now. Theyd been inseparable ever since.
She stared into the gym, which was packed with people.
To Lauren, it looked as if she were the only student here without a parent. It was a feeling she was used to; nonetheless, it made her smile falter. She couldnt help looking back at the flagpole. Her mother still wasnt there.
David squeezed her hand. "Well, Trixie, are we ready?"
It made her smile, that little nickname. He knew how nervous she was right now. She leaned into him. "Lets go, Speed Racer. "
Mrs. Haynes came up beside them. "Do you have a pen, Lauren, and some paper?"
"Yes, maam," she answered. It embarrassed her, how much that simple question meant to her.
