Shem Creek by Dorothea Benton Frank Read Free Book Online Page B

know. Four hundred stations?”
    “The problem is that it’s dull! I mean, in Montclair I can see Manhattan from the hill!”
    “But how often do you go there?”
    “Actually, more than you might think. We have this new train connection that takes you there in less than thirty minutes for under five bucks.”
    “No kidding.”
    “Yep, no kidding.”
    “Well, Gracie, here’s what I think.”
    She folded the damp kitchen towel, hung it over the oven door rail and sat next to me at the table, slapping my hand for picking the sweet crust from the sides of her pound cake. I smiled at her then. My aunt Mimi was so smart and she listened really well—for a grown-up, that is.
    “Shoot,” I said.
    “I think that if I were your mother, I’d be worried about you—even as sophisticated as you are—going off into Manhattan at your age by yourself.”
    “I never go alone,” I said, hoping that would make her see I wasn’t completely out of control or something.
    “No! I’m sure you don’t. But, here’s the thing. If you lived here, the pace of living—which is slower, I’ll admit—that alone would make you take your time about other things. Decisions that are more important. You can only be a kid for two more years and then you’re cooked! You have college, graduate school, career, marriage, kids and that’s it! Boom, boom, boom! One after another. High school is the last level playing field you’ll ever have!”
    “What do you mean? You don’t think teachers are mean as hell to students and pigeonhole kids in high school? And, you don’t think kids try to ruin your reputation because of any reason they think up?”
    “Not at all. That’s the same everywhere. What I mean is everybody has the same textbooks, the same tests, and at least on paper you have the same chance at excellence as everyone else. When you get out in the real world, other factors carry more weight. Your personality, your appearance . . .”
    “Aunt Mimi? No offense, but that’s a bullshit argument.” She raised her eyebrows but didn’t give me hell for saying bullshit to her. So, I continued. “Look, your personality and appearance make a huge difference to teachers. If they like you, they cut you some slack. If they don’t, it can make a B turn into a C.”
    “Okay, that’s probably true. I guess what I’m saying is that you have one cloister left, unless you become a nun, which is highly unlikely. And, high school is that cloister. Being with your mom is that cloister. In two short years, you’ll be gone and on your own. If you were really as smart as I think you are, instead of kicking the fence to break out, you’d see the value in having the time to slow down, be with your mom and with me and learn something more from us. You don’t have to be grown-up today. You can grow up later on . But you can never be a kid again. This is your last chance.”
    So, she had me on that. I knew she was right. I had been caught in some pretty bad stuff recently. Mimi knew all about everything that had been happening in my life and maybe that was part of why she and Mom wanted to get me out of Jersey.
    “Well, I don’t mind spending the summer here, but there ain’t no way I’m moving here forever! Stinking Lindsey has all the luck! Just because she was born two years before me . . .”
    “Look, Gracie, sometimes we do things for other people, right? Your mom is entitled to a life too, don’t you think?”
    “Yeah, I guess.”
    “And what kind of a life did she truly have in New Jersey?”
    “Zero.”
    “So, you must have some opinion on this. Why do you really think your mom is suddenly so anxious to move back here? I mean, I’m thrilled, but I’m a little surprised.”
    I didn’t really feel like getting into it. The whole thing was so complicated that if I got started telling my side, we might be in the kitchen all day.
    “Uck. Aunt Mimi? I wouldn’t even know where to begin telling you and I’m not even sure there’s