Two months past and I hadn’t heard from or seen my dad. Every morning I woke up, I told myself that today was the day that he’d show up and ask me again. This time I’d say yes. I wouldn’t even think about it. Things had to be better living with him then staying here. After a week everything went back to normal. The upper hand I seemed to gain completely dissipated and what little friendship I had in my siblings seemed non-existent. Occasionally, Leah would play dolls with me, but only until Janet would call her away. She mostly played with the neighbor girl, Tessa, and they would tease me. No matter how much they tried to make me cry, I wouldn’t. Not in front of them anyway.
On the last day of school I had made cards for all my teachers. I had one for my art teacher, my gym teacher, the principal, my music teacher, and the nurse who had cleaned up a scrape I got when I fell on the black top. When the last bell rang I went to all the classes to give them their cards. Ms Renee was so grateful that she gave me a purple calculator. She knew purple was my favorite color.
When I was finished, I walked out the doors to join my siblings who were waiting for Janet to pick us up. Just as I was walking out I saw her pull off. I couldn’t believe my eyes at first. She wouldn’t leave me, but then I thought well its Janet. Of course she’ll leave you. I watched as her tan brown mini-van disappeared at the end of the road.
At first I panicked. I didn’t know how I was going to get home, but then I immediately calmed down. I knew the way home and even if I had to walk all the way there I was just going to have to do it. I wish I knew my dad’s number. I could call him and have him come rescue me. “Uh rescue you, Chloe. What are you some damsel in distress?” I said to myself. “Chill out on the fairy tales, dummy.”
I sighed seeing the long stretch of road in front of me. “Step one. Take the first step,” I said again to myself. I was going to turn this into a game. A fantastic journey. I was going to enjoy this time by myself and the upside was if I wasn’t home, I wouldn’t have to do any chores. No sooner had I thought that that my stomach growled. Great. I was hungry, with no food, no money, and at least an hour or two away from home.
“Hey Chloe,” a girl yelled to me. It was Deanna. She was kind of my friend but she only played with me when the other girls were mean to her.
“Hi Deanna,” I said.
“Where is your sister?”
“She left already,” I said nonchalant.
“Without you? Isn’t your mom going to be mad?”
“Well I had something I had to do after school so I told her it was okay,” I lied.
“Oh. Well when you get home can you give her these cookies?” she said as she held out a baggie full of chocolate chip cookies. “I was supposed to give them to her at lunch but I forgot.”
“Yes, I can.” My mouth began to salivate as I thought about eating the entire bag.
“You can have one if she says its okay,” she said as she skipped away in the opposite direction. Deanna always walked home. Her house was at the end of the block across the street from the school and she always had a lunch box full of homemade goodies. You wanted to be her friend just to see what type of lunch you could swap with her.
I held the twisted part of the bag tight in my fist as I held the straps of my backpack and began my long journey home. The smell of the cookies seeped through the bag and into my nose. I rationalized again and again that it was wrong to eat Leah’s cookies and more than likely Deanna would ask her how she liked them and Leah would know that I didn’t give them to her and that would be cause for a whooping. I stopped once I reached the corner and took off my backpack to stuff the cookies deep inside where they would be out of sight.
Just as I was about to cross the street a black Cadillac pulled up in front of me and stopped. The passenger window rolled down and a very pretty woman starred back at me. She had jet black curly hair and milk chocolate colored skin. Her skin was flawless and she was beautiful. She was the beauty I wanted to be when I grew up.
For what seemed like a long time she just looked at me with very sad eyes. I just stood there. I didn’t know what she wanted.
“Hi Chloe,” she finally said.
Startled, I said the only thing I could think of. “How do you know my name?”
“Your dad told me.”
“My dad?” I smiled a little.
“Yes. Do you want to get in?”
“I’m not supposed to take rides from strangers.”
“Okay. Well how bout I get out and walk with you, is that alright?”
I shrugged. I really didn’t know. I wasn’t taught this part.
“Okay, well let me park and I’ll come back.”
I waited and watched as she drove a short distance to the next house and parked. When she got out she was tall. Much taller than Janet and she was prettier too. She wore dark colored jeans and a white ruffled blouse. I expected someone as fancy looking as her to have high heels but she was wearing sneakers. I watched as her curls bounced as she walked and the smile that came across her face as she came closer to me.
“Okay Chloe,” she said once she was standing next to me, “where are we headed?”
“Home,” I said.
“Oh. Okay. Well you lead the way and I’ll follow.”
We walked for a block without saying anything. I don’t know if she was nervous or if she really was going to follow me all the way home. I don’t think she knew how long the walk was going to be.
“What’s that you got in your hand?” she said breaking the silence.
Without saying a word I showed her the calculator.
“I like the color. Is purple your favorite color?” she asked.
I nodded.
“I like purple too. Especially purple flowers.”
I smiled. She was being a grownup. A weird one at that.
“Do you know what the color purple means?” she asked.
I shook my head.
“It means royalty and peace of mind.”
I stopped. “What does peace of mind mean?”
“It means you’re happy. You don’t have anything in the world to worry about.”
“Oh! Well, what color means the opposite of what purple means?”
She kneeled down next to me. “I don’t know, maybe gray.”
“Well that’s me then. My favorite color should be gray.”
“Oh honey,” she said reaching out her hands to give me a hug. I backed away.
For a while we just stood there. I could tell she was looking at me even though my eyes were focused on the sidewalk.
“Can I show you a trick with your calculator?” she finally said.
I nodded and handed the calculator to her.
She typed some numbers into the machine and then handed it back to me. The numbers read 0.7734. I was confused. “What does this mean?”
“Turn it upside down,” she said with a wink.
I did and the numbers perfectly spelled out the word hello. I was amazed. “Wow. Can you do any others?”
She laughed. “No, that’s the only one I know. Maybe you can practice and then teach me some.”
“Okay,” I said feeling good that she actually wanted me, a kid, to teach her, a grownup, something. I smiled and then a thought came into my head. Who was this woman?
“How do you know my dad?”
“Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t tell you my name. I’m Paris. I thought he said he mentioned me.”
“You’re Paris!”
“It’s me, in the flesh.”
“Oh. You’re cool.”
“Thanks,” she smiled.
Again it was silent. I didn’t know what else to say. She starred at me as I looked at the rocks on the sidewalk. I stepped on one feeling like a giant that could crush anything but the rock remained. Even after I pressed my entire weight on top of it, it still remained solid. I grew frustrated with it and kicked it. Ha. Not so tough now, I thought.
“What do you say we go for that ride now, huh, since we’re not strangers anymore? We can go to my house and I’ll make you some cookies.”
“Cookies?” I said and then I remembered Leah’s cookies in my bag. “No, I have to get home.”
“Well then let me give you a ride. Seems like an awfully long way for you to walk.”
How does she know? “You promise, just a ride?”
“I promise.”
“Okay then.”
She reached out her hand and I grabbed it as we walked back to her car. The car was big and roomy and she let me ride in the front seat. I never get to ride in the front seat because one of my brother’s would always claim it. I don’t think I would be allowed to ride in the front seat anyway.
“Thanks for giving me a ride,” I said to break the silence.
“No problem. You’re your dad’s daughter and I’m his wife so we have to stick together, right?”
“Right,” I said chuckling. This lady was completely crazy.
“Hey, Chloe, I wanted to tell you something.”
“What?”
“Your dad loves you very much. He talks about you all the time. From the moment I met him, it was his passion for you that made me fall in love with him.”
“Really?”
“No kidding.”
“Wow.”
“He really wants you to come and stay with us. We have a room set up for you and everything full of toys and clothes and a lot of pink stuff.”
“Pink?” I said. “Pink is for Leah. Purple is for me.”
“Who’s Leah?”
“She’s my older sister. She gets a room to herself because she’s more special than me.”
“Who told you she’s more special?”
“Janet did, oh I mean my mom. I call her Janet behind her back because I know it makes her mad but she’s mean to me so this is my way of being mean back.”
“How is she mean to you?”
“Because Leah gets the bows and ribbons and curls and I just get these black rubber bands. She even treats my brothers better than me. I don’t know what I did. I don’t know why she doesn’t love me like she does them.”
“Listen to me, okay Chloe. It’s not your fault, okay. Janet treats you that way because of Janet. Not because of you. You didn’t do anything wrong, okay.”
I said okay but I really didn’t understand what she meant. She pulled up into the driveway and it was then that I realized I didn’t tell her how to get to my house. I let the thought go. I had to get inside quick.
“Hey Chloe,” she said just before I got out of the car.
“Yes.”
“If you need anything, give your dad or me a call okay?” she pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it.
“Okay.”
“And maybe you can reconsider living with us so we can be a family.”
“Okay,” I said with a smile.
I got out of the car with a little jump from the seat. As I walked inside the house, Janet was standing right by the door with a switch.
“Was that your father?” she said as if she’d be scared of the answer.
I knew he had a power that could make her treat me differently so I lied. “Yes, that was him.”
“Where were you after school?”
“I was giving cards to my teachers since I’ll be at a different school next year.”
“Your sister said she looked all over for you.”
“Why did you leave me?” I asked.
“I did not leave you!” she snapped. “I knew your father was coming to get you and I thought you wanted to spend time with him.”
I immediately knew she was lying. I don’t know if I liked having this power because it only made Janet weird and deceitful.
“Oh,” I said as I began walking to the back hall to change out of my school clothes.
“What’s that in your hand?”
“Nothing important,” I lied.
“Well than let me see it?”
“It’s nothing.”
“If it’s nothing than let me see it,” she said as she reached down and snatched it from my hand.
At that moment I was wishing I had went with Paris to her house because if something bad happens I have a place to run to. I watched her as she read the piece of paper and then unexpectedly she gave it back.
“What on earth is that garble-dee-gook?”
I looked at the paper trying to understand what she was talking about. It wasn’t a number at all. What was this Paris had given me? The only thing the piece of paper read was "SSS-BIhE calculator." What in the world was "SSS-BIhE calculator?"
“It’s a game,” I said quickly. It was the only thing I could think of.
“Well take ya game and go on somewhere. Get out of my sight!”
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