everything was fine.
But sometimes a girl just needs her mother.
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The wait in the principal’s office felt like forever. I had the
entire time to reevaluate how I acted. I remembered once in
first grade I’d been mad at this fourth-grade boy who always
teased me during recess. He’d call me names and sometimes
throw sticks at me.
I finally told Mom about it. I said that I hated him and I
wanted to punch him in the face.
Mom said I should never hit anybody, because violence was
never the answer. That hitting someone showed that you
cared. And you should never give someone that kind of power
over you.
But it wasn’t Keith I was mad at. Or cared about.
The door finally opened and I saw my father. I felt so guilty
for having to bring him in. I never wanted to be responsible
for one of those calls.
“Hey, Calley,” Dad said softly to me. He only called me this
when he was worried about his “baby girl.”
Principal Boockmeier motioned for him to sit down. I couldn’t
even look at my father, I was so horrified by my behavior.
“Well, I filled in your father about what happened. It seems
that Levi’s and Tim’s stories matched. Keith’s seemed to be a
bit more dramatic.” Principal Boockmeier pursed her lips,
like she was holding in a laugh. “While I understand you
were provoked, what Keith said, though unfortunate, did not
warrant your response. We have a very tough policy on violence of any kind, and you did hit him. So you’ll be suspended
for the rest of the week and have after-school detention for
two weeks. If there are no more incidents, this will not go on
your college transcripts.”
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I was shocked and relieved. Thanksgiving was this week,
so I was only going to miss two days. And there was a chance
it wouldn’t totally mess up my record.
I quickly got up and followed Dad out of school. He stayed
silent on the car ride home. I looked down at my sore, slightly
red right hand.
The car stopped and Dad shut off the engine. I looked up
and found us in the Culver’s parking lot.
“What . . .” I mumbled.
Dad turned to me, tears in his eyes. “I can’t say that was a
fun call to get, Macallan. But then I heard from both Principal
Boockmeier and Levi about what happened and, well . . . your
mother was one of the sweetest people on earth. She wouldn’t
have hurt a fly.”
Tears began to well up in my eyes. I’d let my father down
and, worse, I’d let my mother down.
“But” — he put his hand on mine — “she would never have
tolerated anybody talking crap about her family. That would not go over well. Your mother would’ve done the same thing,
sweetheart. You remind me more and more of her every day,
and while I might not be able to help you with everything she
could, I’m so proud of you. She would’ve been, too.”
“Really?” Tears were coming out harder now.
“Of course.” Dad held on to my hand tightly. “And I know
she’s looking down on you right now, probably laughing a little, and wishing she could be here with you. She’d want me to
treat you to some custard for being strong and standing up
for your uncle, and for yourself.”
I pictured Mom as Dad described her, and knew he was
209
right. She’d never tolerated anybody treating Adam differently. One of the things Dad said he loved most about her
when they first started dating was that she never babied
Adam. She treated his younger brother like everybody else.
She certainly wouldn’t have allowed anybody to speak to
him, or me, that way.
“Is that a smile I’m seeing?” Dad asked.
I nodded. “You’re right. I know Mom would be proud. She’d
be proud of both of us, Dad.” He seemed surprised about my
confession, but I wasn’t the only person who’d lost somebody.
“Let’s go get some custard.”
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I’m so sorry, Macal an. You know how awful I feel about what
happened. I should’ve stepped in, I should’ve punched him in the face.
I can’t believe I acted like such a wimp. It real y is a miracle you ever talked to me again. And I’m grateful that I’ve never had to experience your right hook.
I’m so sorry, I know I shouldn’t joke about that.
I’m such an idiot.
Blimey if I didn’t deserve a punch in the face.
I’m so sorry.
Moving on.
C H A P T E R F O U R T E E N
I needed to clear my head.
So I did the only thing I could think of to make me feel better.
Run.
Since football season was over, I didn’t have to worry about running too long and burning off extra calories. Or have to think about keeping my weight up. Or think about anything.
I only had to run.
I’ll admit that catching that ball and hearing the cheering was
amazing. I understand how people can get caught up in moments