From Yours Truly, Edie

Chapter Eighteen: When You Stop Caring

June 2001

"What took you so long?" Jordan tapped her foot impatiently, as she had been waiting outside the gymnasium door for the phys-Ed teacher to finish talking to Edie.

"Mr Reid wanted to talk to me."

"About what? He talks to you every single day. It's getting kinda creepy. And he looks at you weird too." Said Jordan as they walked to the cafeteria for lunch.

"If I tell you, you have to promise you won't tell anyone. It's a secret." Edie whispered, looking over her shoulder to make sure Mr Reid wasn't following them.

"Cross my heart and hope to die." Jordan swore.

"Okay. I'll tell you later when we're alone in your room."

The rest of the school day passed slowly for Edie. Math, music, art, and French class could not have been anymore boring and dull. When the dismissal bell finally rang she rushed outside and waited for Mel, Jordan, Kevin, Justin, and Scott. Then they were driven to the Mayor's estate, and Jordan and Edie  ran upstairs to Jordan's room where they made a blanket fort, snuggling together on a mountain of pillows. Edie was the first to say something. "Mr Reid likes taking pictures of me in my underclothes."

"But no one is supposed to see you in your underwear except for the doctor and your parents." Jordan gasped. "That's really bad, Edie."

"I know. He says he only wants to look and if I tell anyone he'll hurt me. I'm tired of getting hurt by grownups." Edie was silent for a moment. "Billy wants me to tell someone."

"He's right. Edie, Bill is right. What are you so afraid of?"

"Mr Reid told me how he would hurt me and it is really bad. Way badder than how Derrick hurt my mom. So don't keep saying I have to tell someone because I know. Billy tells me in every letter. I get it, okay?" Edie buried her face in a pillow and screamed her frustrations and anger out. She knew what the gym teacher was doing was bad. Her father had warned her, told her that some people liked doing gross and bad things to little kids. He'd even bought her a storybook about keeping bad secrets. "I know that I have to tell a grownup. But I can't, Jord."

"Okay. But if he does anything else I'm going to tell."

"What do you mean, if he does anything else?" Edie sat up, curious as to what her friend was implying.

"Like if he touches your private parts. Because that's really really bad. Dylan and Marcus said so." Jordan said and there was a knock at her door. "Go away! We're talking!"

"Mommy said we have to go to the park. All of us." Scott opened the door and walked in with Raymond, Connor, and Mel.

"Ray!" Jordan grinned, launching herself at her eldest brother and held onto him. "I thought you were at the unitersy!"

"It's university. And I don't have any classes right now so I thought I would come and visit." Raymond smiled at Edie, who also gave him a hug. "So get ready because we really are going to the park."

"What about when my Mom comes to pick us up?" Edie asked, as she would spend the weekend with Leslie and her strict grandparents, who didn't even own a television or a radio.

"She'll pick you up at the park. Don't worry, Edie." Raymond said and picked Edie's school bag up from its spot on the floor. Once all the kids were ready, Dylan and Marcus led the way to the picnic park, which had a swingset and hiking paths. The town held Canada Day celebrations there every year.

All of a sudden, Edie spotted Mr Reid sitting at a picnic table not too far from where she was playing with Mel and Jordan. "I think we should go find Connor. Right now."

"But we're not do-" Jordan followed Edie's gaze and stood up. "Yeah. C'mon, Mel, I'll race you!"

"Yay!" Mel cheered and the three of them ran back to the swingset where Connor and Dylan were seeing who could swing the highest. Marcus and the other boys were playing in the dirt, while Raymond say on the ground keeping an eye on everyone. Edie ran to Raymond and sat next to him; knowing that Mr Reid was currently watching she felt safest with Raymond.

/-/-/

"Edie, office. NOW." Mr Jenkins, the music teacher, ordered. "That's the third time you have interrupted my-"

"Oh, shut up. I'm going, you cranky old goat." Edie rolled her eyes and stood up to leave, knocking her chair over in the process. She had only sneezed and dropped her plastic tambourine, and he felt the need to send her to the principal's office. But she had absolutely no intentions of going to the office - she was in fact going to take her bike and go straight home.

"Leave." The teacher glared and she did just that. She ran down the hall, straight to Mel's classroom, and knocked on the door.

"Hi, Edie!" Scott opened the door, and Edie asked to speak to Mel. She arrived several minutes later and closed the door behind her, so they could have some privacy.

"I'm going home. So when you get off the bus at Mom's, tell her I'm not going over for the weekend." Edie looked down the hall, where she saw Mr Kohl talking with Mr Jenkins. "Gotta go! Bye!" She grinned and ran to the girls' bathroom, where she climbed out of the open window and jumped the three feet to the ground. It wasn't far from where she'd locked her bike, at least a good two metres away. She hurried over, pulled on her helmet, unlocked her bike, and pedalled away. She could hear Mr Kohl yelling at her to come back or else, but only laughed, waving as she drove down to the road.

She knew her father would be angry when he found out what she'd done but Edie didn't care.

She didn't really care about anything, not anymore.