Pick-me-up by Cecilia La France Read Free Book Online Page B

time didn’t help. Plus, she
was not athletic.
    Katelyn had failed math in eighth grade, the
first class she had ever failed. She didn’t do most of the
homework. Then, the work just grew harder, and she bombed the
tests. Still, the F was a shock, a punch in the gut.
    Failing came easier now. Last quarter she had
failed two classes. Now, she was targeted for Study Café and her
schedule had been automatically changed to switch her to an easier
math class..
    Katelyn sighed. She could try harder. Science
was a lost cause, but she could do some PE make up sessions. She
wasn’t that far behind in English, either. She needed to turn in an
essay, a poem, and about a million grammar worksheets. The Romeo
& Juliet journal was worth 100 points in itself and they had
just started that. Katelyn perked up. I could do a couple entries
tonight, she thought.
    She turned to look at her dresser where she
usually put her books if she brought them home. Nothing. That’s
right, she remembered. She left her few school supplies in Gorman’s
secretary’s office. They still had her phone, too.
    Katelyn reached into her hoodie pocket and
took out the phone battery. She went over to the dresser and put it
on top with the loose change. Her phone charger sat uselessly.
    What was Tim thinking? she wondered.
He never received her last message, so that left him without an
answer to how she felt about him. Katelyn flared again. Finally, a
boy liked her and now it was all messed up.
    She flopped back on to the bed, face down
buried into the pillow, and held her breath. The world was still
and her ears began to ring with lack of oxygen. She arched up and
took a deep breath, turning her head to lie sideways. She caught
her reflection in the mirror and instantly became self conscious.
The look on her face was hard, ugly even.
    Katelyn released her face and examined her
reflection. A white line was exposed above her nose where the skin
had previously been pinched. So, that’s where mom’s wrinkles come
from, she thought.
    Katelyn massaged her face muscles and looked
again. Better. She practiced a smile, but it looked cheesy in the
mirror. Yet, her dimples, which everyone used to make such a big
deal about, took over in her cheeks. They always made people say,
“She’s so cute.” She never heard “beautiful.” She shook her hair
forward, its blonde length falling forward in one clump. She ran
her fingers through it and it instantly flowed better as she swayed
back and forth.
    Am I attractive? she wondered. She
tried to see what she must look like to Tim. Even in the two
occasions that they’d spent together, she could pull from memory
now how he would look at her. At first Katelyn had been uneasy
about his confidence and had to look away from his direct look, but
when she looked back up at him, he’d be watching her still and
welcome back her gaze with a soft smile.
    The CD had ended with one of its softer
songs, a ballad on pain. Katelyn noticed the quiet now. She went to
her pocket automatically to check her mobile for the time before
she remembered again that she didn’t have it. That was priority
number one tomorrow, she thought. Get the phone back! She rolled
over to the other side of the bed and unearthed an alarm clock on a
night table barely distinguishable from all the wrappers, empty
soda cans and glasses, and other strewn about objects. It’s time to
clean the room, she thought. The clock read 11:34 in digital red
numbers, but then she remembered it was set 15 minutes fast, a
trick intended to help her get up in the morning. It didn’t
work.
    Katelyn should sleep, but she couldn’t. She
was tired, but her mind was restless.
    Katelyn grabbed all the wrappers and old
papers and stuffed them in the small garbage bin by her door. She
picked up the cans and empty glasses and carefully maneuvered her
way to the door, oddly turning the knob with the sides of her
hands, which were cradling her load. The door released and she
nudged it open