A good day

Thursday 23 October 2008

I woke up today on the first day of feeling better, all eager to go to school and had a rewarding warm shower. As it has abruptly gone unseasonably warm, I dressed in a little denim skirt and my blue-and-grey rugby shirt over my good pink English underwear. Jessy was wearing hot-pink tights with her ensemble so I pulled on mine that are black and bright blue stripes, and then my black high-top sneakers with it. Jessy liked that. She laughed.

I actually got breakfast this morning, a toasted English muffin with strawberry jam and a cup of tea, and Roger rolled up with the green car and Jessy and I skipped down the steps to the yard. 'Glad to see you are better, Miss,' he said to me.

'Thank you, Roger,' I said with a smile, and rolled my head round to look about at the sky. It was the first time I'd been out of the house since Monday. At school things seemed the same-- apparently I hadn't missed much. In History Brett said he was glad to see me up and round about again. Of course we have talked since I was out but it was nice of him to say that in front of other people. In Geometry there will be a quiz tomorrow, on stuff I almost completely know, so I will study for it tonight and be all right. In Chemistry I missed a lab about pH, which I sort of had last year anyway.

At lunch I found out that Josie is dating Kevin, Rita has already dumped the unnamed guy I've already mentioned, and Connor, just this morning, asked my sister to Homecoming so she was all agog with that. Of course we were always going to go, all of us including the now-dateless Rita, but it's always nice to go along with someone. Jessy and I will be have Roger to drive us, so our dates will go along with us-- not protocol I am sure, but I'm sure no one cares much for that these days. As long as Daddy is agreeable to it Jessy and I are.

Brett was not at lunch today as he often stays in math and does independent work in marketing and statistics. He's in Honours Accounting and they do that sort of thing. In choir Ryan C heard that Rita is dateless and quite unchivalrously announced he would ask her out. I like Ryan, but I prayed silently that Rita would find someone before he got round to fulfilling this immodest wish. In an American high school it's not unexpected that things of even more magnitude than that can happen between 7th period and the end of school.

And so it was. The 10th grade girls all congregated in the front hall-- Josie's sister had offered them a ride and Roger never comes before the buses leave, so it was me with Jessy, Josie, Anna and this girl Anna has known from CCD called Colleen. Fortunately my friend Blair from lit class happened by so I wasn't the only one not in 10th. Rachel was not there though we might have offered her a lift home to avoid overcrowding in Josie's sister's Hyundai. Just after Blair left Rita came bouncing round the corner, and we learned that she had successfully avoided Ryan C between choir and her history class and instead 'tactfully' mentioned her dateless situation in the company of another guy she happens to like who has recently been dumped by one of the biggest witches in the whole school... so, problem solved. She beamed with glee about the whole thing. The best part is, as Jessy said in the car, is that he's such a bookish 'nerd' type that Rita's reputation can only enhance his, and, as she said, 'a girl's reputation is never in danger with a decent guy who's serious about school work.' Besides, she said, he's pretty cute.,

I forget why I started to write this.

Oh yes-- when we were home and I was about to get undressed-- that is, I was half undressed-- Daddy came up with something to tell me... and it ended up that the band he's been working with wants me to sing with them. It's just backup, of course-- all I ever do is backup-- and, he said, 'maybe throw in a flute part or something. Well, we'll see. Nothing till after this weekend, you know. But if you think Roger can shoot you straight up there after school one day next week, we can get it together.'

I nodded, standing there in my pretty English underwear and the rugby shirt, thinking. 'All right.... I have a test coming in history; you know they have to get two in before report cards.'

He smiled. 'It won't be the day before that, then.'

I shrugged. 'I can always postpone it. I mean, if they need me.... Time is money.'

He smiled at me again. 'Don't worry about it. Tell me what day works for you.'

I nodded and he went out. Jessy came in from the other door and asked me what that was about. I only shrugged again. 'He has some work he wants me to do,' I said. 'I'm sure it's only--'

'Cool!' she said happily. And here I worried that she'd be jealous. The truth is that I fully expect that she'll ride up to Lewes with me when I go, and I'm sure there will be some part for her too. After all Daddy always believes that since talent is spread round the family, opportunities should be too.

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