Leaving Serenity by Alle Wells Read Free Book Online

Sometimes I slept through geometry and French; other times I daydreamed through English and b iology. My teachers never bothered me or failed me, probably because of Daddy. My report cards held a D average throughout the tenth grade. I continued to fantasize about running away. One day drifted into another , and I felt trapped.
    Not long after I was attacked, Beth told Mama that she was dating Greg’s older brother, Earl Junior. She met Earl Junior at his parents’ store, where he stocked shelves. Mama said that the Sneeds were beneath us and that Beth could do better. But Jeff stood by Beth and persuaded my parents to accept my sister’s fate. When I heard the news about Beth and Earl Junior, I understood the look Jeff and Beth shared the morning after my attack. Jeff couldn’t come to my defense that day because he was hiding Beth’s relationship with his best friend. My parents accepted Earl Junior into the family, and as Beth and Jeff grew closer, I felt more detached from them than ever.

Chapter 4
    Working Girl
    My stomach growls, and I wonder if the Bluebird Café is still around. Crossing the old railroad track, I see an “Open” sign hanging in the window of the clapboard building painted the color of a Robin’s egg. A wave of grease hits me in the face when I walk in.
    A weathered woman looks at me cautiously. Her face is haggard, and her hair is the color of cheap, orange dye. “Can I hep yee?”
    I look at the familiar chalkboard menu behind her and think, Why not? It’s o nly once .
    “I’ll have a dough burger and a cup of coffee.”
    “You from ’round here?”
    I take the cup from her hand. “Yeah, a long time ago.”
    I take a table near the window and avoid looking at the dead flies on the windowsill. The woman sets a white plate with a solid blue trim around the edge in front of me. The plastic yellow squirt bottle sticks to my hand as I squeeze strands of mustard on the meat, flour, and onion concoction slapped between two pieces of white bread. A wave of déjà vu hits me when I bite into the sandwich. I’m keenly aware of the woman trying to look busy behind the counter. If she only knew how c lose I came to living her life.
    The Bluebird Café 1971
    I slipped out the side door and past the teacher monitoring the hall during third lunch period. Since the kids from the colored school in Prince came to our school, Daddy and the teachers spent most of their time breaking up fights. What I was up to was the last thing on their minds. Skipping fifth period study hall and sixth period PE was no big deal since I had made an appearance in the classes that counted.
    I ran across the school yard, kneeling behind a parked car or tree here and there. When I reached the railroad track, I was too far away to be recognized. Two blocks away at the Bluebird Café, I was home free. Inside the café, I fished two dollars out of my purse.
    “Hey, how ya doin’?”
    I yank ed my head around to see the tall, redheaded boy, who magicall y appeared behind the counter.
    “Oh, hey, I’m okay, I guess. How about a dough burger and a Dr. Pepper ?”
    “Comin’ right up.”
    The boy walked away. Did he kinda smile at me? Or was it my imagination? The boy popped the top off the drink bottle and set it in front of me. I looked around the empty café after he disappeared through the metal door leading to the kitchen. The Price Is Right played on a tiny black and white TV in the corner. Sipping the Dr. Pepper , I decided that t his place wa s a lot better than that smelly old cafeteria.
    The boy came back in. “It’ll be just a minute.”
    He leaned his arm comfortably on the counter.
    “You’re Annette, right?”
    My heart skipped a beat at the sound of my name. “Uh-huh. Do you go to Serenity High?”
    “Nah, I did, but I quit after Christmas. Ain’t the same there no more with the fights and all.”
    A bell rang in the kitchen. He ran back through the metal door and came out with my burger on a white