“Dennison, Cory – Father.”
“Edwards, George – Brother.”
"Uh, Mr. Kendricks... older or younger?" asked George with an inquisitive look on his round face.
Kendricks promptly responded, "Older."
“Fitzpatrick, Shane – Mother.”
Shane shook his head in contempt. Mr. Kendricks noticed his reaction and loudly called across the room, “And be sure to hand it in this year so that we do not have to be in each other's company for a third year of English 104, Mr. Kilpatrick!”
Mr. Kendricks continued to weave through the sea of desk as he read off his clipboard.
“Havlang, Cora – Grandmother.”
“Jefferson, Christina – Sister.”
“Kaplan, Ian – Uncle.”
“Morrow...”
From the center of the room three exasperated voices rang out, “Which one?”
Kendricks turned around and peered down over his glasses at his students, Tristan, Thomas and Blake, before turning his eyes back to the list.
“Morrow, Blake – Uncle.”
“Morrow....”
Tristan and Tommy began to form a 'w' on their lips when Kendricks loudly proclaimed, “Thomas...Father.”
Under Tommy's breath, he mumbled, “There's a project I won't be handing in!”
Tristan turned around in her chair, scolding her brother, “You have to! If you fail this class again, Dad is going to have a fit!”
“Morrow, Tristan – Mother.”
You could hear a pin drop.
When the words escaped his lips, Tristan did not quite know how to react. Pale as a ghost, she dropped her pencil onto her desk as she glared at the teacher with a gaping mouth. How on earth was that supposed to work? Tristan had a ninety-eight average in Kendricks’ class. She would have to manage somehow. Quickly, her arm shot into the air, in an attempt to catch Mr. Kendricks’ attention. Kendricks, seeing her raised arm, protested with sheer agitation.
"Miss Morrow, can't this wait until after class?!" He said her last name as if it was the name of a particularly nasty disease.
"It has to do with the assignment," explained Tristan.
Disgust clear on his face, Kendricks replied, "Very well. What is it?"
Tristan explained, "I believe that there must be some kind of mistake. The person you assigned me... I have no way of contacting them."
Suddenly, Kendricks’ face changed. Something hidden came to light on his typically smug face. Tommy thought he witnessed the teacher release a smirk.
Kendrick replied, “I guess that is where your inner investigator will need to take charge."
Kendrick immediately diverted his eyes back to his clipboard and by doing so, effectively closed the conversation.
“O’Mara, Patricia-Sister.”
“Which one… I have like a hundred…”
“Angela.”
“Shit. I don’t even know her…” Trixie complained.
“I suggest to get to know her then!” Bernard yelled.
“Piedmonte, Cole – Mother,” Bernard said to Cole Piedmonte, Tristan’s boyfriend.
"But-" protested Cole.
"Mother, I said," interrupted Kendricks firmly.
As Kendricks continued to distribute the rest of the assignments to the class, Tommy tapped his younger sister on her shoulder. She turned around to see her brother with an emotion on his face that she once thought was foreign to his heart: concern.
"Don't do it," said Tommy.
"I have to. He's not going to like this one bit," replied Tristan, worry clear on her face. While her brothers were given relatives that play an active part in their lives, Tristan's assignment would not be quite so easy. It just so happened that Tristan was required to write her assignment about someone she never knew: Her mother.
***
Tristan’s temper was still quite heated as she attempted to work on the assignment, and it showed no signs of wavering.
A pair of heavy footsteps in the hallway jarred her concentration.
“Tristan!” called a deep voice from beyond the solid bedroom door.
Hoping to ignore the interruption, Tristan continued to glare at her computer monitor. The voice was joined by another.
“Open the door!” yelled Tommy from outside the bedroom door.
Tristan growled under her breath. “Is one hour too much to ask?” she asked quietly to herself. From the other side of the door, Tommy complained again, “But it’s my bedroom!”
Tristan slowly opened the bedroom door as a scowl formed on her face. “Yes…?” Tristan said through her teeth, not giving her visitor the courtesy of a warm welcome. It was her brother, Tommy, and her cousin, Shane, who were blanketed from head to toe in mud. Their weather-beaten cleats hung over their shoulders. In the shadow of the hall, Cole stood waiting with a shy smile on his face. He winked at Tristan and she blushed, trying to hide her embarassment from her brother and cousin.
"Doing that assignment?" asked Shane with an inquisitive smirk.
"Of course. I can't just not do it," remarked Tristan.
"Well, while you're at it," Tommy suggested, as he reached into his mud-caked backpack and pulled out a notebook that was in even worse condition.