The List

5. the new kid

The List

-forget-me-not-

5

the new kid

As promised, I arrived on the Fletchers’ doorstep at 8.30 am, Monday morning, October 1st. My first day of school had never felt so intimidating.

I woke up, showered and glanced at the weather report delivered by my phone and was relieved to see that it had cooled down considerably since yesterday and was promising proper fall weather for the rest of the week. Jeans it is, I decided. I made sure I had my mother’s chain and pulled on a red sweater which looked nice enough. For the first time since I was thirteen, I fussed over whether to leave my hair up or down, finally sweeping it all up in a hope of looking somewhat…put together.

Gloria had already prepared a cooked breakfast for Dad and I, though I insisted that the Pop Tarts she would be shopping for this afternoon would serve me for the rest of the week. Dad drank his coffee, never looking at me, humming whenever Gloria made a suggestion.

I grabbed an apple and my wallet, thinking I’d take it easy today and order what Louise ordered at the cafeteria and headed out the door. When Gloria wished me a good day at school, I half-heartedly wished her a good day back and kept my eyes on Dad for a few moments before exiting without another word.

At 8.30, I rang the doorbell and Mr Fletcher answered, looking surprised to see me. “Miss Hart, how are you today? Not feeling ill I hope?” he asked, kindly.

“She’s here for Louise, darling.” Ms Stewart’s voice rang out from deeper within the house before I could answer. “If that child would hurry up.”

“Perfection takes time!” Louise called back playfully as she bounded down the corridor and came into view beside her Dad. “Hey Rose, you wanna come in for a minute while I pack? I’ll just take a second.”

I let Mr- sorry Dr- Fletcher leave with a smile and entered the house, taking the familiar spot on the couch. I waited for five minutes, listening to Ms Stewart and Louise banter as she rushed around, grappling with her keys and notebook. Ms Stewart was obviously not going to work until later because she took great delight in what sounded like gently smacking Louise with a wooden spoon or something.

They teased each other nonstop which made me ache a little. I missed that. I used to tease my own mother and when she was gone, Emily and I kept going, making a game out of it.

Now all that was left was silent Dad and perky Gloria, who would probably take my teasing badly. I sighed, leaning back on the couch, wishing it could absorb the ache in my chest along with the butterflies in my stomach.

“Right, you ready?” Louise asked, breathlessly. I nodded and slung my bag over my shoulder as I stood.

“Giving in, darling?” Ms Stewart called out to us, mockingly as we exited. Louise cursed under her breath.

“I’ll get you when I get home, old woman.” She called back, her tone light and loving. Ms Stewart’s laughter could be heard even as Louise opened the door to her car. It was a small, dark grey piece of machinery that didn’t look new or fashionable but was good enough to seem reliable and relatively attractive. I hopped in alongside her and immediately the radio began blaring at the top of its volume.

Louise flinched and wrenched the dial backwards. “My Mom likes to play practical jokes on me,” she explained, pulling out of the driveway. “She thinks it makes her young.” She seemed embarrassed by it.

“My sister used to do that,” I blurted out. I’d been thinking about Em and the words just came spilling out. “She’d put rocks in my pillow or swap our notebooks for class.”