Happy Accidents

Kate

"Oh, my god!" My sister said to me as we drove home from the funeral, "What a bitch!"

"It's not really a big deal Vic," I mumbled.

"Yes, it is! It's not like it's your fault you tripped. And you weren't a jerk about it. You offered help, but did she accept? Nooooo, because apparently, she's so much more perfect than all of us! If she'd been the one to spill her damn cake on you, you probably would have been much more polite than that! God, who was she raised by?"

"Vicky," Spencer said, " I don't think Kate wants to talk about it right now, and you need to calm down. What is up with you?"

"Nothing, I'm just a little tired and I don't feel so good. It's probably that nasty funeral food. I feel like I'm gonna hurl," she moaned.

We drove the rest of the way in silence. No remarks about how tight money is these days from Vicky, no mentions of how lovely the mid-summer wether is from Spencer. The usual quite from me.

When we got inside I walked strait to the kitchen. After the disaster at the funeral parlor, I hadn't been bothered enough to get another plate of food, but now, safe inside the confinement of my own home, I was starving. As I grabbed an apple from our fridge, I heard the phone ring.

"I'll get it!" Vicky shouted from across the house.

I heard a click and then the soft sound of my sister on the phone. When I'd finished my apple I walked back to my room and grabbed my iPod. After putting my head phones in I put on my first play list while I changed out of my short, pink, and flowery dress, into bright orange pajama pants and a gray smiley faced sweatshirt.

I slid under the pink duvet on my bed and turned of my lamp. I glanced over at the clock, 9:43. Where did the day go?

There was a soft knock at my door followed by, "May I come in?"

I pulled out my head phones. "Yeah, Vic."

"Hi," she smiled at me.

"Hi?"

"Yeah, umm, I need to talk to you. Is now a good time or should I wait 'till tomorrow?"

"No, now's fine!"

"Ok," she said as I clicked on my lamp. "Well, here's the deal. Umm... ok, I'll just say it; we're, um, we have to, um, leave."

I looked at her expectantly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, ummm, UGH! We have to move, there, I said it, you know."

"What!" I nearly screamed, "Move where?"

"To Braxton Town." She said it like a question.

"Vicky, we live in Braxton Town." She looked up shyly and I realized what she meant, "No. No, no no no no! You can't do this, you can't make me leave my friends!"

"Look Kate, I'm sorry we have to do this, I really am, I love this house and this half of town just as much as you, but Spencer's new office is on the bigger side of town. And sadly it's on the side of town that has a different high school. And different houses. And people."

"Why can't he just drive the extra five minutes to work?"

"Because, Kate, I have a job over there too, and believe it or not we are pretty poor, in case you didn't notice that I buy work clothes at GoodWill. Look, we have thought about this long and hard, and it's just better for us, less gas, a cheaper house, and a lot of other things that I am sure you are completely unconcerned with."

"But, like, why can't one of you drive me back to this high school, it'd only take ten minutes!"

"Kate, this is not up for discussion. I'm sorry, but this is happening, and when the next school year starts in a couple of months, you will be going to West Braxton High School, ok?"

I thought about arguing but surprised myself by sighing instead and echoing Vicky's ok.