Gravity Brings Me Down (18 page)

As I lie in my bed, the seed slowly begins to unfurl. Maybe things won’t be so bad for Mabel. Maybe the people who work at the nursing home will be nice. Maybe her children will even visit. And maybe, just maybe, Mabel will forget, just enough to be happy again.

M
om and Dad let me sleep in. By the time I wake, the sun is blazing through my curtains. I watch as the light dances across my comforter, making patterns on the fabric. Images of the night before flood my mind, of Mabel and Steve and Sharon, and even Chocko. Was it really only two weeks ago when I met Mabel for the first time? I can’t believe how much has happened since then.

Mom and Dad must have let Peggy sleep in too, because eventually, she comes knocking softly on my door.

“Sue …?” She opens the door tentatively and peeks around. “Can I come in?”

This is the first time Peggy’s actually asked permission before entering my room. I nod, my head still on the pillow. Peggy closes the door carefully behind her and sits on the edge of my bed, her Total Motion T-shirt glittering in the sunshine. She frowns with concern, clasping her arms around her knees.

“I heard what happened.”

“Yeah.”

“They’re not mad at you, you know. I mean, not as much as you probably think. Mom says she’s proud of you for helping that elderly woman, though she wishes you’d talked to her about it before getting so involved.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Steve Ryan’s parents called this morning.”

I sit up on one elbow. “What? Why?”

“I guess they were pretty pissed you guys stayed out so late with the car. But Dad talked to him and I think everything’s okay.”

“How embarrassing.”

“Yeah. Except that Steve Ryan is totally hot. I’m so jealous. I don’t blame you for liking him.”

“Who says I like him?”

Peggy shakes her head, smiling. “Who doesn’t like him? You are
so
lucky.” She sits on my bed for a little while longer then gets up and pats my leg the way Mom would. “Anyway … I’ll leave you alone.”

“Okay … thanks.”

She walks to the door and opens it.

“Hey, Peggy…”

“Yeah?”

“I didn’t mean what I wrote … about you being stupid and everything. You’re not stupid … I was just angry.”

She looks back at me and gives a little smile. “I know. I’m sorry about your angel wings.”

“I know.”

When I finally get out of bed, I shuffle downstairs in my pyjamas and slippers to have some cereal. Dad’s at the table. I sit next to him with my bowl of Gorilla Munch. I haven’t eaten more than two spoonfuls when the phone rings. Dad answers it.

Mom appears in the doorway. “Who is it, Rob?”

“A lawyer, representing Mabel’s family.”

Mom clutches the collar of her blouse and sinks into a chair at the table.

I can only hear Dad’s side of the conversation but I can tell by the way it’s going that Mabel’s family is none too pleased about what happened. They want to charge me with abduction and theft, saying that I stole Mabel’s money and took advantage of her, etc., etc. They want to get Steve involved, too, and Sharon, calling them accessories to the crime.

Dad is pretty fast on his feet, though. He starts talking loudly, using all his legal kung fu to outmanoeuvre the other lawyer, countering with abandonment, neglect, the whole gamut. Mom hates it when Dad gets all lawyerish on people, but I’m so proud of him right now, I’ll never take what he does for granted again. By the time he hangs up, I can tell he’s satisfied with the outcome.

Mom’s face crumples with worry. “What did he say?”

“Everything’s going to be fine. They’re willing to drop the charges under one condition: that we agree to a restraining order.”

“A restraining order?” Mom gasps.

“Now, Katherine, don’t get upset. All it means is that Sue can’t contact Mrs. Wilson … Mabel… again.”

I stare into my bowl of cereal. “So … I can’t write to her any more?”

“I’m afraid not,” Dad says. “No letters, no visits, no phone calls. The family was pretty adamant about that.”

I chase Gorilla Munch around my bowl with my spoon. “Did the lawyer say who requested the restraining order?”

“Well… members of the family.”

“I mean, which members? Because I don’t think Marie would want something like that.”

“Who’s Marie?” Mom asks.

“She’s the baby.”

Mom shoots Dad a terrified look.

“You have to adhere to the order, Sue,” Dad says. “Tell me you will.”

Mom places her hand gently on top of mine. “You will adhere to it… won’t you?”

“Yeah … of course. May I be excused?”

Mom jumps up and takes my bowl, looking at me as though she expects something terrible to happen, even though she’s the one who looks like she’s going to cry. I can feel her and Dad watching me as I leave the kitchen. I feel so sorry for the pain I’ve caused them. Before I go upstairs, I stop and turn to face them.

“Mom … Dad … you know how you think you’ve got everything figured out, but then you realize you really don’t understand anything at all…?”

They nod, even though I’m sure they haven’t a clue what I’m talking about because
I
don’t even know what it is I’m trying to say. I give them a weak smile and they smile bravely back at me. I’ve never loved them more than I do at this moment.

Up in my room, Sharon calls. I tell her everything. She listens silently on the other end of the phone.

“Wow,” she says when I’ve finished.

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to go to the Tip?”

“No … I’m not feeling very well.”

“Yeah, me neither.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow at school, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” But she doesn’t hang up. There’s a long pause before she speaks again, her voice all soft. “I’m sorry about Mabel.”

I sniff into the phone.

“I mean it, I really am.”

“Thanks.”

The next day, I wake up early so I can take my time getting ready for school. Peggy and I have arranged a schedule for the bathroom so we can both use it in the morning without fighting.

Back at school, it’s business as usual. The halls are crowded with kids, laughing and talking noisily. It’s kind of a relief, actually, after everything I’ve been through. I drop my things off at my locker, then go to Miss B.’s room. She’s there, marking some papers at her desk. I knock lightly on the door frame.

“Oh, Sue, come in!” she says, so cheerfully I’m sure she knows everything.

“I wanted to talk to you about my CP project.”

“Yes, of course. Have a seat.”

She pulls a chair over to her desk and gestures for me to sit down.

“I know it’s really late in the semester, but I was hoping to maybe change the topic of my project.”

“Sure,” Miss B. agrees, without even knowing what topic I have in mind.

“I’d like to do a paper on the elderly, you know, how they’re invisible in our society.”

Miss B. nods.

“It’s just… some things happened over the last little while … and the other topic… I just can’t, you know?”

Miss B. continues to nod. “Yes, yes, of course.”

She’s so understanding. It makes me feel bad for all the times I took advantage of her.

“It’s a good topic,” she says. “Take the time to do it properly. Who knows, we may even be able to enter it in a contest or two.” She gives me a big smile.

“Thanks, Miss B.”

“You know, you can talk to me any time, Sue.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Then I’m off to Chocko’s class, armed with my new, enlightened philosophy. For the first time ever I don’t resent the fact that I have to see him. Besides, I know Mabel would want me to turn the other cheek, for my own sake, if nothing else.

Steve Ryan comes in. He gives me a sheepish smile. I think he’s going to come over to my desk and talk to me, but the other students come crashing in, including Biff and Tod. Sharon doesn’t show, though. She must really be sick.

Tod sits in front of me. Steve sits in his usual spot, but Biff doesn’t sit next to him. I guess it’s going to take a long time for that wound to heal.

Finally, Chocko careens into the room. He looks
completely bent out of shape. He crashes his books onto his desk, snaps his fingers and points at me.

“Smith—term paper topic.”

I’m totally caught off guard. “What? I’m sorry…?”

He snaps impatiently, raising his voice. “Your topic… come on … what are you writing about?”

“I… uh … I don’t know yet.”

Chocko puts his hands on his hips. “You don’t know.”

“No … I haven’t really thought about it.”

“You haven’t thought about it.”

“No, not really.”

I can tell he thinks I’m trying to provoke him but I’m not. I don’t want to fight with him any more. But he just won’t lay off. He rushes toward me, slamming his hands on my desk.

“Do you have any idea what’s going on here? Do you have any clue?”

“To be honest, no … I don’t.”

“You just don’t quit, do you?”

“What?”

This sends him off the deep end. He starts foaming at the mouth, screaming and yelling about everything. He rushes to the front of the class, picks up his books and starts tearing at them, throwing them across the room. Steve looks at me in shock. The entire class sits petrified in their seats while Chocko rants and raves. The weird thing is, I actually feel sorry for him. He’s obviously crossed some point of no return, another victim of the machine. Someone should run and get
help, but we’re too terrified to move. Then Miss B. pokes her head in to see what all the commotion is about. She dashes away and returns with Mr. Ricketts, who indicates that we should leave. We grab our books and hurry from the class while Chocko continues to shout.

In the hall, everyone roars to life, wondering what’s going on. I scan for Steve but can’t see him anywhere. Tod appears beside me.

“Wow,” he says.

“Yeah, no kidding.”

“I wonder what will happen.”

“I don’t know. That was pretty weird.”

“We could go for coffee … now that we have a spare.”

I look at him. He’s still wearing the gold earrings, his earlobes all red and irritated from the piercings. But he has a new dress shirt on. You can see the creases from the bag. I can tell he’s in earnest, though, and I have to give him credit.

“Uhhhmmm … maybe that’s not such a good idea, Tod. I mean, Mr. Chocko’s having a personal crisis in there. It might be kinda rude to just go for coffee.”

“Is it Steve Ryan?” he asks.

“What?”

“The person you’re in love with.”

“Tod … does it really matter?”

He shrugs.

“Yes, okay, it’s Steve. But it doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends.”

“Okay.”

He’s obviously heartbroken but doing his best to appear strong. I feel so sorry for him, I actually lean over and give him a kiss on the cheek. He’s so surprised, he just walks away stunned.

At my locker, I drop off my books and decide to take a walk downtown. I could really use the fresh air. I have to confess, my new, enlightened philosophy is going to take some getting used to. I’m pretty much conditioned to retaliate when someone screams at me.

Leaving the school, I bump into Steve Ryan, sitting on the steps. My face blushes instantly and my heart flops like a fish in my chest. I try to compose myself and stay cool.

“Hey,” he says as he stands.

“Hey.” I can see the PIBs, watching me from their vantage point across the street. They must wonder what’s going on.