Dedicating Every Day to You

Chapter Ten

After the first day of school, I text John while fishing my homework out of my locker.

Me: Hey John!
John 💚: Hello, Kitty
Me: I'm sorry, what?
John 💚: Never mind.
Me: I never would have taken you for a-
John 💚: DON'T SAY IT
Me: Hello Kitty fan!
John 💚: That's it. You're grounded for the rest of your life.

Theodosia comes up behind me and gives me a hug. I can tell it's her by her signature scent- an oddly appealing mixture of orchids, cinnamon sticks, and colored chalk.
"So, I'll see you tomorrow, Kathryn?" She has a smear of pink oil pastel on the tip of her nose.
"Yep! See you in homeroom!"

Theo shoulders her black messenger bag and heads off through the hall, braid swinging and boots clacking on the linoleum.

John 💚: Kidding, Kat.
Me: I know. Hey, is it okay if I walk home from school today?
John 💚: I don't know...
Me: Please? It's only three blocks
John 💚: Three blocks in the city is plenty dangerous.
Me: I have my phone, and I'll be careful. I won't talk to anyone, and I won't go off course
Me: Even if I see a roasted peanut vendor down the street.
John 💚: Fine. But if you aren't home in twenty minutes it's never happening again.

Odom Academy of Performing Arts lets out at five thirty, because the whole school is like an intensive program. I stuff my phone into my backpack and dash out the door, crashing into a man in a purple jacket.
"Sorry!" I look at the man, and am surprised to see that it's Thomas Jefferson.

"Hey, I've met you before." He smiles.
"It's Kathryn, Alexander's adopted daughter. Remember me?" I recall not liking Jefferson much, but I force myself to be polite.
Harriet walks over, sneakers glittering in the sunlight. She gives Jefferson a hug and then looks at me shyly.
"You've met my dad, Kat?"
I smirk a little. "You might say we've run into each other before, yes."

While they laugh, I wave to Harriet and then begin to walk away from the school. I put my earbuds in and start to play a mix of showtunes, classical music, and hard rock. It's my running playlist, and I find myself taking off.
I love the feeling of my sneakers slapping the ground, my hair whipping around my face. I love tilting my head to let the sun kiss my cheeks, and knowing that to everyone else, I am just another person running by, but to someone else I could mean the world.

I have it timed, and I make it into the driveway in nineteen minutes and forty two seconds. I skip up the stairs and set foot in the kitchen in nineteen and fifty nine.
Alex is at the table, talking animatedly and and eating- what else?- a slice of garlic bread. John is talking to him, in the kitchen stirring a giant pot and dicing onions.

"Then I said to him, 'useless as two-'" Alex cuts himself off when he sees that I've entered the house. "Hey, Kathryn! How was your first day of school?"
I hang up my backpack on the coat rack and kick off my sneakers. "It was fun! I made some new friends, and I think I've got this Advanced Ballet thing in the bag."

Alex pats a chair. "Come and tell us all about it!"
I sit down across from him and steal his garlic bread. "One of the girls I made friends with is an artist. She can do that weird 3-D chalk art. Her name is Theodosia."
John looks over in surprise. "Not Theodosia Burr, is she?"
"You must be psychic," I quip, putting my feet up on the table.
"Feet off the table," Alex says. "Be careful with Theodosia."

"Why?" I laugh, and slide my legs back down onto the floor.
"Her dad is kind of a slippery character. You never know what he's going to do one moment to the next. Just...keep an eye on her, okay?"
I roll my eyes. "Come on, Alex. What says she's like her father?"
"And who's your other friend?" John interjects, keeping me and Alex from butting heads.

"Her name is Harriet Hemings. She's a beautiful singer, and she wears sparkly sneakers." I walk over to the kitchen and help John by tossing the salad.
"You have the most random taste in friends," John says, laughing. "Maybe you should stop abusing that poor salad."
I look at the counter to see that I've been vigorously tossing the salad, and there's lettuce all over the floor.

"Sorry." I bend down to start collecting stray greens. "What's wrong with my friends?"
"Nothing! But Harriet is Thomas Jefferson's daughter." Alex sighs. "Your two best friends are the daughters of my two archrivals."
"Archrivals are cool! That makes you sound like a superhero or something." I drop the lettuce in the trash and then bring the salad to the table.

"Well, that's because I am a superhero." Alex strikes a pose and sends his mug of coffee flying on a collision course across the room.
John dives for the cup and catches it, skidding across the floor but not spilling a drop. "And where would a superhero be without his trusty sidekick?" He stands up and takes a bow.
"What does that make me?" I applaud his graceful catch.
"You're like...you're our Batgirl. You know, young, pretty, good at climbing stuff..."

I spin in a circle, then collapse from a sore leg. "Oh sweet llamas in pajamas, that hurt!"
Alex cracks up. "You and your fake swearing are so cute!"
John mutters, "Heaven help us all."
"I'm in pain!" I shriek, gripping my leg. "I feel like I might die."
John rolls his eyes and brings three plates to the table. "Please stop dying and come eat dinner."