Second Chances (3 page)

“Come on! You’re going to be late for school.”

It was the fourth time Nichole had shouted up the stairs at her
younger sister.  Kenni hated being woken up early, especially when it meant she
would have to go to the dreaded middle school she hated so much.  Anything
before noon was too early for the twelve year old girl.

Which meant mornings were always hard.  Rico left early,
usually with only a bowl of oatmeal in his stomach but often nothing at all,
which meant it fell to Nichole to get their younger siblings ready for the day. 

For Tyler, that was easy. Tyler sat at the counter eating a
bowl of mushy cereal and playing with a toy truck. He was the exact opposite of
Kenni, up every morning before Nichole called for him and in bed by nine
o’clock every night with little fuss. Easy to take care of, friendly like his older
brother, and always happy. He was in kindergarten and still loved school
because it meant going to play with his friends.

For Kenni, on the other hand, it was no small task to get
her awake and ready in the morning.  More than once Nichole was forced to drag Kenni
out of bed, kicking and screaming. 

Nichole stuffed Tyler’s coloring books back into his bag. 
“You have your lunch?”

He held up the bag with his free hand. “Yep. What is in it?”

“Peanut Butter and Jelly,” she said.

He frowned. “I don’t like peanut butter.”

“But you’re going to eat it,” she said.  “There’s an apple
too.”

Tyler perked up.  “Cool.  I love apples!”

“I know,” Nichole said.  “Where is your damn sister?”

Nichole made her way over to the stairs, listening to any
sound from her younger sibling.  She heard rustling, and a thump, but not much
else.

“Kenni!” Nichole shouted.  “Come on! The bus is almost
here.”

“Can I watch TV after school?” Tyler asked from the kitchen. 

“Maybe,” Nichole said.  “If you don’t have any homework.”

“They never give me homework,” Tyler said, scrunching up his
nose.  “I’m only six!”

“Kenni!”

“I’m coming!” Kenni shouted from upstairs. She finally came
staggering down, leaning heavily against the railing and bleary eyed.  “It’s
too early,” she said, pouting.

“It’s always too early for you.”

“Why can’t we just go to school in the afternoon?”

“You never had this much trouble when you were going to
Northmont,” Nichole said. “And you had to get up two hours earlier.”

“I
liked
going there,” Kenni said.  “And I could
sleep on the bus.”

“You still have to go.”

“Is Rico here?”

“He’s at work,” Nichole replied. 

Rico was their eldest brother, having just passed his twenty-third
birthday a few weeks earlier. He’d moved back home in the last few months to
help take care of them and pay the bills.

“Will he be back when we get home?”

“I think so,” Nichole said.  Rico usually worked late, putting
in long hours, so Nichole never really knew. She handed her sister a piece of
toast.  “Eat.”

Kenni munched on the toast, eyes half shut. Her hair was a
mess, but there wasn’t time to fix it.  “I don’t want to go.”

“No one does.”

“I hate it there,” Kenni said.  “Why can’t I go back to
Northmont?”

Nichole let out a sigh.  “Kenni…”

“It isn’t fair.  All of my friends are at Northmont.”

It was true. Kenni had gone to Northmont middle for an
entire year, and after an initial period of getting used to the school she’d
developed some very solid friendships. A few girls invited Kenni to birthday
parties and pool parties and genuinely loved having her around.  None of them
even treated her like she was different because she didn’t live near the school.

They still received calls from those friends, asking her why
she wasn’t in school and what had happened. But those calls had become less and
less frequent as time went by, and Kenni was worried her friends were
forgetting about her.

Now, after four months back at her old school, Kenni was
starting to shut down. She hated everything about it; the teachers were
underpaid and underappreciated, so they put very little effort into the school. 
A lot of them cared, or at least wanted to care, but they didn’t get any
support from the administration or the state to do their jobs.

And, to make matters worse, the transfer back from Northmont
had taken place around the same time their mother went missing.  Lakeisha had
gone out one night and never come home, leaving only a note on the counter and
a lot of questions. 

They had still heard nothing from or about her in the last
four months, and they were beginning to lose hope that she would ever come
home.

But, there was nothing Nichole could do about either
situation right now.

“You just need to make new friends.”

Kenni was hesitant.  “No one here likes me.  They don’t like
me because I went to Northmont last year. They say mean things about me: that I
sold out and went to a white school.”

The words hit Nichole hard. She felt a hole in the pit of
her stomach. All she wanted to do was cry.

Instead, she said:

“You just need to focus on your school work. Don’t worry
what anyone says. Just have thick skin.  Now come on or you’re going to miss
the bus.”

Tyler bounced off the stool and ran for the door. Kenni
watched him go and turned to Nichole for one last plea: “Do I
have
to
go?”

“Yes, you do,” Nichole said. 

“Can’t I just stay with you?”

“I have work today.”

“At the law office?”

“I don’t think so. I think just work today.”

“Oh.”

“I won’t be home when you get here, but I won’t be too late
either.  Make sure Tyler gets here safe and do your homework. Okay?”

Kenni frowned.  “Okay.”

Then they followed their little brother outside.  Nichole
went with them, walking them to their bus stop. They lived in the city center
in a rent controlled apartment complex.  It wasn’t necessarily dangerous, but
she wouldn’t have said it was safe either.

Their apartment was a two story unit with three bedrooms. 
It was listed under their mother’s name, but she hadn’t lived there in the four
months.  Something had happened to her, they were sure, but they’d never found
out one way or another.  She just went out one night and never came home.

Nichole stood with her siblings at the bus stop.  It was a
chilly morning with a biting wind, but she knew it would warm up by the time
they made it inside the school bus.

Tyler looked up at her.  “Do you think Mom will come home
today?”

It was the same question he asked her every morning.  Ever
since their Mom didn’t return that night.  They had filed a missing person’s
report the following morning and called the police at least once a day for
updates.  But, Tyler didn’t really understand what was going on or why Mom
never came back.

He wasn’t crying about it anymore. He thought she didn’t
love him anymore, and it had taken Rico and Nichole a long time to convince him
that wasn’t the case. He seemed more curious than worried now, since so much
time had passed.  Nichole didn’t know if that was good or bad.

“I don’t know,” Nichole said.  “I don’t think so.”

“Oh,” Tyler said.  “Okay.”

The bus pulled up to the curb. It was faded with age and the
driver looked exhausted.  Nichole gave each of them a hug as the other children
piled on.

“You both have a good day,” she said to her brother and
sister as they climbed aboard.  “I love you.”

“I love you too!” Tyler shouted, bounding up the steps onto
the bus.  Moping and sad, Kenni followed.

Nichole watched them disappear into their seats, and then
watched the bus shudder its way down the road.  She hated how depressed Kenni
was, and she feared that it wouldn’t be long before Tyler was in the same
position.

By the time she made it back home she was running low on
time. She lived close to the law firm where she worked, but it was still a
fifteen minute walk.  She gathered her law books off the table and put them
into her bag, and then headed for the door.

But, when she reached it, she hesitated.

She called Rico.  He answered right away.

“Hey, sis. I’m on break. What do you need?”

“Are you busy?”

He worked for a pizza joint up the road, Johnny’s, in the
mornings and then went to work at a car dealership in the afternoon. The pizza
place was a new job, something he’d picked up in the last month to help cover
bills.

“Nah,” he said.  It was never really busy until the
afternoon, so his job was mostly prep work.  “And it won’t be too busy tonight
either so we aren’t rolling a lot of dough.  Did they head off?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Just got on the bus.”

“How was Kenni?”

“The same,” Nichole said.  “She hates the entire situation,
but she’s still dealing with it for now.”

“You heading in to the office?”

“I don’t know,” she said, biting her lip.  “I don’t think
so.  There isn’t any real reason for me to go, is there?”

“You said you thought Richard could help with the paperwork.”

“He can,” she said.  “At least I know he could, if he wanted
to.  I’m just not sure he will.”

“He will,” Rico said. 

“Not if he knows the truth,” she said.  “Enrollment was last
week and I should be starting classes this week.”

“So you aren’t in school for now. Big deal.”

“It is a big deal, because my internship is dependent on it. 
If he finds out I didn’t enroll in any college courses this semester, then
there’s no way he’ll help us out.”

“He still will,” Rico said.  “You said he’s a good guy,
right?”

“Most of the time,” she replied.  “He has his moments.”

“Then trust that he’ll help,” Rico said.  “Kenni needs this.
You didn’t tell her, right?”

“No,” Nichole said.  “I didn’t want to get her hopes up
until I know if there’s something we can do.”

“Good,” Rico said.  “We can surprise her with it later.”

Nichole let out a sigh.  “Okay,” she said.  “I’ll go in.”

“Good morning, sir.”

Richard nodded at the gentleman holding the main door of the
office and strode past into the enormous ground floor lobby. The chamber was
full of men and women in well-tailored business suits, talking amongst
themselves as they planned out their day.

It was just after eight in the morning and the place was
thrumming with activity.  Richard strode across the lobby floor to the
elevators. The weather was nice out in early autumn and he felt that it was
going to be a good day.

A short day for most of his staff, who were only working
half-days today.  He climbed into one of the elevators and rode up to the
twentieth floor. The bell chimed as it reached his office and opened to show
the double glass doors of his floor: the offices of Franklin and Greenwood, attorneys
at law. 

It made him proud each time he saw his name emblazoned on those
glass doors greeting all visitors:
Richard Greenwood
. He’d really
built something for himself, climbed his way to the top. 

“Hello, Richard,” Meghan said as he stepped through the door
into the office.  She was wearing a headset over her auburn hair and a cheerful
smile.

“Good morning, Meghan,” he said. She was overworked with
three young children at home, but she was also the best damn receptionist he’d
ever met.  “Anything up for today?”

“You’ve got a few meetings this morning and afternoon but I
pinged them to your calendar already. The only one you can’t miss is your two
o’clock. It’s with Angstrom.”

“Got it.”

“Did you already eat breakfast?”

“A bagel,” he said. “But I could do with some coffee.”

“Stacy is out at Starbucks. I’ll have her add your order to
the list. Just coffee?”

“Yeah, the bitterest she can find, and then as much cream
and sugar as they can stuff into the cup.”

“You got it.”

“Is the intern here?”

“Nichole is out with Stacy helping carry the food. Did you
need her for something?”

“I told her to work on those filings this morning.  I have
to submit them by noon.”

“She finished those last night.”

“Really?”

“Stayed late, but she got it all done.”

“Wow, Richard said, scratching his chin.  “I’ll need to find
some more work for her then.”

“Don’t keep her too busy. I’m sure she’s got a lot of stuff
to do with college courses.”

“Oh, did they start back already?  I knew it was soon, but I
didn’t realize it was that time again.”

“I think they start back today.  I told her she can leave
early if she has classes to go too, but she said she should be fine.”

“I remember how terrible it was,” Richard mused.

“Really? I loved college.”

“You didn’t have to go to law school,” Richard said. “The
Socratic method was pretty much my least favorite part. They always seemed to
focus on me, and my teachers always knew when I hadn’t studied.”

“They always picked on you when you didn’t do your homework,
huh?”

“Yeah, and that was basically every day.”

Meghan laughed. “I just went to parties and hung out with
friends.”

“One of the popular kids?”

“Of course! I was a wild child. I’m sure Nichole is, too.”

“Most likely. This is just her undergraduate degree, though,
so I’m sure it’s really easy for her. Which semester is this for her?”

“It’s her second one. I think, but I’m not completely sure.”

“I’m sure she will ace this one like the last.”

“She should. She’s brilliant.”

“I know,” Richard said, rubbing his chin.  “She’s barely started
taking courses, but she could have her law degree already with how much she
reads.”

“She’ll have your job soon,” Meghan said with a smile.

Richard laughed.  “Yeah, I’m sure she will.  I’ll have to
make her a partner as soon as she graduates, if she sticks with us that long. 
Send her in when you see her.”

“Will do, boss.”

Richard headed into his office, setting his suitcase on the
couch and relaxing into his executive chair.  The office was impeccably clean,
the desk empty of clutter or paperwork.  He couldn’t stand when he had to sift
through stacks to find things.

Ever since bringing Nichole in as intern, he hadn’t really
had a lot of paperwork getting in the way.

He’d been skeptical, at first.   It was generally good
practice to hire interns, getting either free or cheap labor to handle
paperwork and copyedit, but he didn’t like them on principal—anyone under the
age of thirty was still a child, as far as he was concerned—so it was nice
finding someone who was reliable and talented. 

And Nichole was definitely brilliant, one of the smartest
and most talented people he’d ever met. During her first few days she was
already as competent as some lawyers he had hired with six years of education. 
He had great faith that she would go far in the business.

He clicked onto his computer and started checking his email.
Bills, spam, advertisements; he filed and deleted.

Until he saw one from his brother…

…reminding him of his obligations that evening.

“Oh crap.”

He picked up the phone and rang the front desk.  “Meghan?”

“Yes?”

“Was this the day I was supposed to do that thing with my
brother?”

“Yes, sir.  I added it to your schedule this morning.”

He pulled out his phone and saw that it was true: six
o’clock that night, a four hour block with his brother’s name attached, along
with the word ‘clinic’.

“I have to reschedule.”

“You can’t.”

“I’ll just tell him I have a doctor’s appointment.”

“Sir…”

“Or maybe that I have plans with Deborah. He can’t get mad
if I’m spending the evening with my wife.”

“Sir!” Meghan said, her voice firm.  Richard was about to
speak again, to continue rambling, but her tone silenced him.  “You told me, in
no
uncertain terms, that I was not to allow you to reschedule this again.”

“But that was months ago and—!”

“
And
you’ve already cancelled on him four times.
You’re doing this, sir.”

Richard let out a long sigh.  “Fine.  I’ll go.”

“Great!” Meghan said, her voice cheerful.  “Stacy is back
and I’ve got your coffee. I’m sending Nichole in.”

“Alright,” he said, hanging up.  A few seconds later his
door opened.

Nichole strode in, carrying an enormous cup of coffee in
both hands. She walked gingerly, as though the floor were made of egg shells.

She had seemed shy and tentative during her first few days.
Very demure. But that was all an act until she got used to Richard and the rest
of the staff.

Then she became a completely different person, passionate
and evocative, totally unafraid to express herself.  That was the side Richard
loved to draw out of her. The side that would one day make her an excellent
lawyer, and help him acquire a lot of new clients.

“Here you go,” she said, handing him the cup.

“Thank you,” he said, setting it on his desk.  “How are you
today?”

“I’m good,” she said.

“How is your mother?”

“She is well,” Nichole said. 

She bit her lip, the way she always did when an
uncomfortable topic was brought up. 

It was a tic Richard had noticed not long after hiring Nichole,
and something he would need to train out of her when she was hired into his
practice. If she had that tic in a courtroom, any well trained opponent would
know right away that she was lying.

But, her personal life was none of his business, and if she
wanted to lie to him about her mother that was her prerogative.

“And how is your little brother doing? Tyler, right?”

She smiled.  “Tyler is very well, thank you.  He loves
school and is having so much fun finger painting and drawing. He told me he
wants to be an artist when he grows up.”

“As good a goal as any,” Richard said.  “I never was good at
finger painting. I hated getting the paint all over me. Which is odd, because
when I was in middle school I would put drops of glue on my palms, watch them
dry, and then peel the flakes off.”

She laughed.  “Really?”

“What can I say? I was an overachiever. Maybe a little strange
as well.”

“Can’t say I ever did that.”

“It was a different time.  You would have still been in
diapers, if you were born at all. This was back before texting and
insta-gramming and whatever else young people use today to entertain
themselves.”

“Tumblr,” she offered.

Richard waved his hand. “Before Tumblering, we had to
entertain ourselves with what we had. And glue is quite fascinating.”

“I’m sure,” she said. Richard could tell she wasn’t
convinced. “Is there anything you would like that I work on today?”

He glanced around the office. “I can’t think of anything in
particular.”

“Do you have any research you need finished?”

“Not right now,” he said.  “We don’t have anything else to
file this week either. Until I sign a few new clients we won’t have a lot of
research to do.  I think you’ve done everything on the docket. I suppose I
could have you work on some end of year reports…?”

She laughed.  “Sounds tedious.”

“Oh, they are
very
tedious,” he said with a laugh. He
waved his hand, shrugging the thought away.  “And they don’t need done for a few
months so we can hold off. I hear you have plenty of work to do anyway.”

She looked puzzled.  “Excuse me?”

“School started back up, right? Second semester?”

“Oh, yes,” she said.  “The second one.”

“Congratulations on the last. All ‘A’s, I heard.  Graduating
with honors is nothing to scoff at.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“What classes are you taking now? Anything worse than last
time around? Did you sign up for underwater basket weaving like I suggested?
I’m telling you, it’s worth the credits to have something easy to go along with
the harder classes.”     

She bit her lip.  “No, I didn’t end up taking basket weaving
this time around.”

“Oh, well. Maybe next semester.”

“Maybe.”

A moment passed.

“It’s more fun than you’d think,” he offered

“I’m sure.  Was there anything else you needed?”

“Nope,” he said.  “Just wanted to congratulate you.  I’ll
let you know if I find anything for you to do today, but I’m sure it’s going to
be slow.  If you want to leave early and work on your homework, feel free to head
out whenever.  We’ll still count your hours.”

“Yes, sir,” she said.  She started walking toward the door.
As she reached for the handle, she stopped.  “Sir, I was hoping I could ask you
for help with something…”

“Yes?” he said.  Just then, his phone rang. He held up a
finger for Nichole to wait and picked it up.

It was Meghan.  “Your nine o’clock is here in the lobby.”

“Oh okay. Send them on in.”

He set the phone down and looked up at Nichole.  “You were
saying?”

“Never mind.  It can wait.”

Then she slipped out the door.