Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 145728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
I worried about her all the time.
For a while in middle school I used to bring home these public service, anti-smoking pamphlets they handed out to us, that told all the scary, awful diseases we could get if we started smoking. Breast cancer, lung cancer, emphysema and so many others were listed, it scared the crap out of me.
But none of it seemed to stop or even slow my mom’s cigarette consumption. It was an expensive habit and one reason why my own meager earnings at the I Scream were so important to our income.
But as angry and worried as I felt when I saw the cigarette hanging from the corner of Mom’s mouth, I couldn’t help loving her too. She hasn’t exactly had it easy. My dad, who she always described as “the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen,” left shortly before I was born and my mom had to raise me by herself. She did her best to give me a good childhood, even though we’d always been right on the edge of poverty.
I bent down to peck her on the cheek and she pulled off her headset and stopped her transcription for a minute.
“Hi sweetie,” she mumbled around the cigarette. “Did you get my message? I was trying to call you earlier this week but you never answered.”
“Was that you calling me Monday morning?” I asked in exasperation. “Mom, you nearly got me suspended! I thought I told you my second period teacher has a no cell phone policy.”
“That’s ridiculous. What’s the point of giving you a cell phone if you can’t use it when I need to get hold of you?” She frowned. “Don’t worry, baby—no one’s gonna suspend you. I’ll march right down to that school office and tell him where he can stick his stupid policy.”
I sighed. “Thanks, Mom but it’s taken care of. One of the boys in my class took the fall for me.”
“Oh yeah?” She got an interested light in her faded blue eyes. “Was it that Elian Darkwing you’re so crazy about?”
“No, I wish,” I said.
Although, did I? Actually…I didn’t think I did. I’d had a crush on Elian Darkwing since forever but somehow I couldn’t imagine him handling the situation with the cell phone as smoothly as Bran had or doing all the other things Bran had done for me either. Like comforting me when Spike was so horribly mangled or offering to take the skink before Avery finally figured out a way to get rid of it.
Then I gave myself a mental slap. I wasn’t actually having romantic thoughts about Bran O’Connor was I? He might be a really nice guy, but Morganna would never leave me alone if we started dating. And that’s assuming he wanted to date me, which he never gave any indication that he did, right?
Right, I told myself firmly. The idea of anybody wanting to date plane-Jane me was just stupid.
But still, Bran was on my mind as I gave my mom one last kiss and got on my bike to head down to the I Scream U Scream diner.
“Be careful,” she called to me, squinting in the late afternoon sun as she waved me off.
“I’ll be fine, Mom,” I told her. “Love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.” She waved at me and lit another cigarette as I pedaled away.
I had no idea how different everything would be the next time I saw her.
21
The I Scream was the only local eatery in Frostproof that wasn’t a chain restaurant. There was a McDonalds down the street as well as a Taco Bell and an Arbys but those were all soulless corporate shells, at least that was what I heard one of our older customers complain.
The I Scream was also the only place in town with any character. It was made up like an old-fashioned 50s malt shop with old posters on the walls advertising everything from Coke to Rice Krispies to I Love Lucy. There was a juke box in the corner, red vinyl booths, and the floor was tiled in black and white checks. We served twelve flavors of homemade ice cream as well as burgers, fries, shakes, chili, and “the best Cuban Sandwich in the World.”
It was a slow night at work which meant hardly any tips, which sucked because our fridge at home was getting kind of bare. I only ate at home on the weekends, but I knew if I didn’t stock up, my mom wouldn’t bother either. She would just live on a diet of coffee and cigarettes and I would have to worry about her all week. I wanted to at least be able to buy some staples like milk and bread and eggs before I went back to Nocturne Academy on Monday morning.
Of course, I knew Joey, my manager and the owner of the I Scream, would send me home with some leftover fries and onion rings but that wasn’t exactly a filling or nutritious meal. Though it was, of course, better than just caffeine and nicotine.