The clerk takes the package. The same shoebox that sat on my porch less than twenty-four hours ago; rewrapped in a brown paper bag, sealed with clear packing tape, exactly as I had received it. But now addressed with a new name. The next name on Jade West's list.
Cat Valentine.
I leave the post office and went off to school. The closer I get to school, the closer I come to collapsing.
I want to collapse. I want to fall on the sidewalk right there and drag myself into the ivy. I enter the always-open door to first period.
At thr front of the room,facing the students, will be the desk of Mr. Dickers
He'll be the last to receive a package with no return address. And in the middle of the room, one desk to the left, will be the desk of Jade West, the love of my life who swallowed a bunch of pills two weeks ago.
Empty.
A shoebox-sized package is propped against the RV's door at an angle. The RV has a tiny slot to shove mail through, but anything thicker than a bar of soap gets left outside. A hurried scribble on the wrapping addresses the package to Beck Oliver, so I pick it up and head inside.
I take the package into the kitchen and set it on the counter. I slide open the junk drawer and pull out a pair of scissors, her favorite thing. Then I run a scissor blade around the package and lift off its top. Inside the shoebox is a rolled-up tube of bubble-wrap. I unroll that and discover thirteen loose audiotapes.
Each tape has a dark blue number painted in the upper right-hand corner, possibly with nail polish. Each side has its own number. One and two on the first tape, three and four on the next, five and six, and so on. The last tape has a thirteen on one side, but nothing on the back.
Who would send me a shoebox full of audiotapes? No one listens to tapes anymore. Do I even have a way to play them?
Ah! My dad bought an stereo from a garage sale for no reason. He gave it to me. It plays tapes.
I drop my backpack to the floor, then sit down. I press Eject on the player. A plastic door eases open and I slide in the first tape.
