Other Shepards by Adele Griffin Read Free Book Online Page B

day.”
    Mrs. Just licks a finger for every page she flips of Geneva’s thick medical record. She moves over to her desk, reaching for the telephone.
    “Mom will be upset to hear this,” I say. “Dad, too. They’ll give you that talk about leaders of tomorrow.”
    “I feel dizzy. I might throw up. You were so mean to me this morning, Holland. It put snakes in my stomach.”
    “You shouldn’t give me so much power that I could send you into such a tailspin.” I try not to sound too much like Mom.
    “My nightmares are not dumb or little, like you said. They’re real. They’re more real to me than today is.”
    “Oh, give me a break.” I look at Geneva’s nose and fight an urge to pinch it. I am impatient with the same old hatful of Geneva’s tricks, but I am angry at myself for thinking that her scenes are anything she can help.
    “She’s asking to talk to one of you.” Mrs. Just sets down the receiver and looks crossly from me to Geneva. I reach for the phone.
    “Mom?”
    “I can’t deal with this right now, Holland. The people from Riverside are here.”
    “So what do you want me to do?”
    “What does she want?”
    “To go home, of course.”
    “Will you put her on?”
    The only words Geneva says after I hand her the phone are that she is going home right now, that she has snakes in her stomach, and that she wants a new day. I am back on the line in less than a minute.
    “Could you just walk her back?” Mom sounds defeated. Geneva has that effect. “Today of all days, it’s impossible …”
    “And then what?”
    “And then I’ll leave here early, as soon as I can get out. I’ll call you at home and let you know when I’m coming. All right?” I make a grumpy sound of agreement. Mom sighs. “Thank you. And you know how I hate for you to miss school, but this is the one day I absolutely cannot—”
    “Don’t worry about it, Mom.”
    “Thank you, really, Holland, I don’t know where I’d be. Now would you put Mrs. Just back on?”
    I pass the phone to Mrs. Just as Geneva uncurls and squirms off the cot. She knows she has won. “I’ll meet you outside,” she informs me, her voice no more than a puff of triumph as she sweeps out the door. I wait for Mrs. Just to finish the call. She hangs up in a huff, obviously annoyed.
    “Your mom told me to go ahead and write up the excuse notes for Sister Nuella.”
    “Thanks, Mrs. Just. I’ll stop off in homeroom to tell Mrs. Garcia we’re going, and to get my assignments.”
    “Know what I think?” Mrs. Just’s expression is severe, and she presses her hand over her heart as if she is about to start angrily reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. I wait, listening. “I think Missie’s got your whole family wrapped around her little finger. You’re a good girl, Holland. You’re never in here moaning for aspirins or sick notes or going on about cramps. But look at you, pulled out of school because your sister’s having another fit, and your mom knows someone’s got to take care of her. It’s plain as pie to me that all Missie needs is a good spanking. She wouldn’t be allowed to play the little queenie in my house, I’m telling you now. I’m saying that in my home, playing possum’d last under three seconds—”
    “You’re right, you’re right,” I say. It’s all I know to say to a speech I’ve heard too many times before. “But still, I’d better go.”
    I collect my things from homeroom and meet Geneva outside. She greets me with a feeble smirk.
    “Mom is going to pack you off to a special school,” I say. “A school for the seriously disturbed and spoiled.” Geneva starts walking, ignoring me.
    “By the way, I’m going back to Ambrose, after I drop you off. This is ridiculous. Mom either should have come for you herself or made you stay in school. I’m not your service bureau of transportation.” I kick a discarded apple core into her path. “There, there’s some more litter to throw away, since you’re so