Chapter Six
MONTANA
Iwalkedinto computer class early the next day, feeling sunburned after a day on the beach with my new friends. Once Nina had left, that thick pressure hanging over us lifted. The girls had played a game of volleyball, while the boys had either played football or surfed. I hadn’t ventured into the water too far, only to dip my toes in and cool off. Between my phobia of not seeing beneath me and not being able to swim all that well, I’d stayed as close to shore as I could. Elvira and Reagan had wanted to bathe in the sun, anyway. So I hadn’t felt the pressure to hang out in the water with them.
Aside from Mr. Salvatore at his desk, I was the only student in the room so far. It had been difficult to sleep last night with no air conditioning and a sunburn to boot. Mom had said that the landlord was sending someone over within a couple of days to fix the air conditioner and the toilet. I’d gone from my bed upstairs to a lounge chair on the back deck, but that hadn’t lasted long since the mosquitos had been out in full force. The good news—the rancid smell from the broken toilet was gone, thanks in part to the air fresheners my mom had set up around the house.
“Montana.” Mr. Salvatore lifted his pen. “A word, please.”
I moseyed up to his wooden desk, which was strewn with papers.
He smoothed two fingers over his mustache. “How are you doing after yesterday?”
Considering no one had gotten hurt, I was good. My mom had checked the school’s website last night. The post had explained that the experiment Drew had been working on involved sodium and water and that Drew had accidently used the wrong amount of sodium, which had caused the mini boom I’d heard. Luckily, he’d been wearing his safety gear.
“Aside from the sweaty walk to school, I’m cool.”
“On another note, I checked your records. Your grades are borderline. From what I’ve seen, one failed class, and you won’t graduate. So I want to reiterate—no trouble from you.”
I chewed on my bottom lip, wondering why he even cared about my grades. However, his warning did remind me that my mom wanted me to get a tutor, at least for science and math classes. She’d offered to help me with English if necessary. It wasn’t that I’d failed any of my classes at my last school. I’d barely passed my core subjects, which was why my GPA sucked. Hence, no room for errors.
“Yes, sir,” I said then found my seat, the same one I’d been in yesterday. I contemplated finding one as far away from Train as I could. But that would mean I would have to take one of the front-row seats that had been empty yesterday.No, thank you.I would rather have Train breathing down my neck than Mr. Salvatore. Although if Train were in a mood like he was yesterday, then he wouldn’t be bothering me. So I was probably free of any distractions. I giggled. Train was a distraction whether he was speaking, cranky, or none of the above.
Kids slowly filtered in. Behind them, Reagan sashayed in, holding her phone to one ear while she played with the end of her braid. “I’m serious.” She slid into her seat as she continued speaking into her phone. “My mom saw Casey Stewart in the grocery store yesterday.”
In all the schools I’d attended, I hadn’t heard anyone get excited over my mom or even mention her pen name. Of course, Reagan could have been referring to someone else. Listening, I stared at the beam of sunshine spilling in through the window.
“Her latest novel isn’t out yet,” Reagan said. “I can’t wait, either.”
I swallowed hard. She was talking about my mom. So much for keeping her identity on the down-low. Then again, Mom and I always knew something like this could or would happen. At least Reagan was excited, although Mom didn’t worry about the kids as much as she did about the parents. She’d had a run-in with a group of parents when I was in the tenth grade. They’d felt she was writing the devil’s work, which was one of the reasons we’d moved that year—that and I kind of tortured one of the parents’ daughters. I’d put a garden snake in the girl’s locker with a signed note. Not the smartest move, and it had been my third strike with the principal at that school.
I sat back, blowing out a breath. Calling this town home for more than a year might be rather difficult, especially if anyone started bad-mouthing my mom.
When Reagan hung up, I tapped her on the shoulder.
“Hey, that was fun yesterday,” she said. “Well, except for Nina showing up. But afterward, it got better.”
“Yeah. I had fun playing volleyball with you gals. So I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I love to read. Who is Casey Stewart?” I wanted to learn how much she knew of Casey Stewart. My mom had diehard fans who knew her real name, and if we were keeping my mom’s profession a secret, I needed to know what I was up against.
Her hazel eyes glistened. “Oooh.” She glanced around at the handful of students who sat three rows over. “She’s an amazing author. She writes all kinds of steamy and erotic romance stories. My mom is a huge fan of hers.”
“Have you read any of her books?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Of course. My mom doesn’t mind. She’s not one of those moms who thinks sex is evil or shouldn’t be talked about. Here in the South, some parents don’t like their kids to even talk about sex.”
Not talking about sex wasn’t relegated to the South, but was common in cities and towns all over the country. “Does your mom know for sure that she saw this Casey author?”
“She went up to her to ask but then backed out. My mom can be a little shy sometimes, especially when she fangirls someone.”
The first bell rang.
I made a mental note to talk to Mom after school to let her know that some people knew Casey Stewart was in town.
Students ran in, shoving their phones in their pockets or purses. Voices buzzed through the room as kids talked to their desk mates. Clasping my hands together in my lap, I stared at the door with my pulse in overdrive. Elvira rushed through the door much like she had yesterday when she’d needed to pee. At least the bump on my head had gone down overnight, but it was still sore to the touch.
Elvira waved as she quickly breezed over to me. “I had a great time yesterday.”
“I did too. Thank you for bending my arm to join you.” Although I could’ve done without the Nina scene or Train’s brooding.
