The Teacher

Part 38: A Conversation (Of Sorts)

Christie was waiting by Kyle's truck, her hands on her hips, when she and Cam emerged from her house. She had grabbed a few, sodden books to bring out with her, but she knew that the rush of blood to her face had probably turned it a bright raspberry color, and there was no chance her sister wouldn't guess that something was up.

If she did, however, she left it for later, in favor of more pressing matters.

"I told that piece of shit landlord of yours that he'd better get you a new place asap while he figures out what he's going to do with this one," she announced. "He said he's got a place on the other side of town but closer to the high school that you can move into day after tomorrow. It's bigger but he won't charge you more rent."

"What? Melvin said that?" she said, confused. "Why would he agree to that?"

"I told him I was your lawyer and that I'd sue his ass for a list of needed repairs and safety violations that had gone unattended to, electrical wiring, stuff like that."

"But you're not a lawyer!" she protested in alarm. What if Melvin called her sister's bluff? Would she have to hire a real lawyer?

Cam snorted at this.

"Melvin's dumb as a rock," he said. "He'll believe anything if you back it up with big words or a shotgun."

She remembered Cam pulling his rifle on Melvin and decided to let the comment pass; Christie didn't need to know about that.

"But I don't have a list of repairs or safety violations or anything. I mean, I did, in my head, but I mostly didn't get around to telling him." The better to keep him out of her bedroom and her underwear drawer, she thought.

Christie shrugged.

"I figured a loser like that, he doesn't do shit for his properties unless he's forced to," she said. "He's going to be swimming in FEMA money and the last thing he wants is to be on the hook for a lawsuit that may or may not connect his negligence to how badly your house withstood the tornado."

Cam whistled in appreciation. Her sister truly was an evil genius. Then she noticed Christie's sharp gaze studying the gash in her jeans and the stain of dark brown blood that had spread around it.

"What the hell happened to your leg Courtney? Is that from just now?"

"Yeah, I knelt on glass by accident, I'm okay," she mumbled, and took a step back. Her sister wasn't a lawyer but she was a nurse, and the last thing she wanted was her fussing over her idiotic wound that she had inflicted on herself, and asking her questions there was no way she was going to answer.

"Hmm," her sister said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should take photos of it just in case your landlord changes his mind. We can say you got it the night of the storm."

She added hopefully: "You didn't sustain any other injuries did you?"

Cam had mostly been quiet throughout their exchange, though his grin had continued to grow. At this last comment from Christie, however, he threw back his head and exploded in laughter.

"I'm sorry ma'am," he said, trying to stop, but failing. "I'm sorry, but I'd have given half the money I made this summer just to see the look on Melvin's face when you said all that to him."

"I also told him he had to talk to me from now on, if he needed to communicate anything to you," Christie continued, ignoring Cam's response. Her sister then pulled a pair of oversized designer sunglasses out of her bag and put them on. "Now let's get you to somewhere I can take a look at the cut. When's the last time you got your tetanus shot?"