“Whatever, let’s go,” Aquilla snapped, shoving past her mother. She was sick of having this conversation. She didn’t want to go to some stupid high school with a bunch of drama infested teenagers. They were making her. Her mother even had her dad call and talk to her about it.
Like she would listen to him, anymore than her…as if.
“Quill, this test is very important. You need to go in here with all your bearings and do your best. If you don’t do well on this test, you could possibly start in the 10
th
or 11
th
grade,” Liz explained as she backed out of the drive.
Aquilla snorted. She wasn’t even going to respond. This lady had no clue. She was oblivious to the fact that she probably had more schooling than she did, and she had a degree. Aquilla’s father paid for only the best teachers and professors since she was four. She had half a notion to go in there and scribble in the circles in five minutes.
Aquilla was led to a room where a very old, frail, looking man sat at the front of the room. He looked sour with a grouchy expression. He nodded to the desk with the test and two sharpened pencils. He explained that she had one hour to complete it and could only use the provided blank pages for figuring, and wouldn’t be permitted to use a calculator. Aquilla didn’t reply and took her seat as her mother saw herself out.
Liz met Connor outside where he waited with coffee. He kissed her on the cheek and gestured toward the bench.
“I miss you,” he said.
“You just saw me two days ago,” she reminded him of their little rendezvous while Reese was at cheerleading practice.
“I want to see you every day. When are these girls going to stay with their father so that I can have you for a whole week?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t want to push Quill into doing anything she doesn’t want to do.”
“Quill doesn’t want to do anything.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, Liz, just that you are letting her control everything about you.”
“How so?
You have no idea what this is like, Connor. She doesn’t talk to me. She stays locked away in her room. I offered to take her shopping for a new bedroom set the other day to get her out of the twin bed. She wouldn’t even do that. She is refusing to go to school. I don’t know what to do with her.”
Connor placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him, kissing her blonde head. “I’m sorry. I know this has got to be hard for you, and I wish I had answers for you, but I don’t. I do, however, miss you.”
“Do you want to go get something to eat later?” Liz asked, looking up.
Connor kissed her lips. “I can’t. I have to go to my parents for my dad’s birthday. Do you want to come?”
“I will let you know. Reese is going to Lil’s, I’m sure. I just hate leaving Quill alone.”
“Isn’t Quill alone whether you are there or not?”
“Good point.”
Aquilla laid the pencil down 45 minutes later. This test was a joke. If that’s all she needed to graduate in the United States, she was a genius.
“You have 15 more minutes, maybe you want to go over some of the math problems,” the old man who she hadn’t bothered to learn his name suggested.
“Maybe I don’t,” she replied. “Am I done here?”
“Yes, you can be excused Miss Rimmer. We will mail your results.”
“Thanks, and its Miss Chavez,” Aquilla corrected as she exited the room.
Liz stood taken aback when Quill approached. She wasn’t expecting her yet.
“Quill, this is Connor Sheffield. He will be your math teacher.”
“I know who he is. I saw him leave the other night around three in the morning. You really don’t have to sneak out. You are grown adults,” she blurted, not mentioning the math teacher remark. He wouldn’t be teaching her anything. She wasn’t going there. “Can we go?”
Liz gave Connor a deep sigh as he kissed her on the cheek. “Let me know if you want me to pick you up,” he whispered.
“I’ll call you,” she answered, following Quill, who had turned her back and walked away.
“That was rather rude, Quill. You could have just said hello.”
“Why? He doesn’t want to know me anymore than I want to know him, and why do you sneak around to see him? I don’t get it.”
“It’s complicated. He’s Reese’s teacher. I don’t want to make things complicated for her.”
Aquilla rolled her eyes. “You use that as an excuse to keep from getting too close. You don’t want to make things complicated that you creating.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know. Monica,” she accused. “Forget it.”
“How was the test?”
“Stupid.”
Liz didn’t reply. She couldn’t reply. Her patience was wearing thin. She needed to keep quiet to keep from saying something that she would regret later.
Aquilla heard the roaring coming from the nearby dirt track as she exited the car.
“I think I will go for a walk,” she decided.
“I’m not sure I like that, Quill,” Liz admitted.
Quill blew out a short puff of air. “You don’t like that I want to go for a walk? Would you rather I go up to my room and isolate myself for the night? I have my phone. I’ll be fine,” Aquilla assured her.
“Okay. I’m sorry. Do you want some lunch first?”
“No. I’m not hungry.”
Aquilla walked down the neighborhood sidewalk, removing her sweatshirt and tying it around her hips. She observed the neighborhood as she walked toward the noise. She smiled at two older ladies discussing flowers as she walked. Another man was talking to himself in a garage as he cussed at a lawnmower he was working on. Kids played in front yards and a dog barked at her from a fenced yard.
Quill crossed the street and followed the homemade sign reading Powder Valley. The graveled road was at least a mile long, leading to the track. She didn’t mind, and actually enjoyed it. It was a beautiful day out, and she liked being able to just go for a walk. Her father would have never permitted her to do that.
She sat on a log when she answered her cellphone.
“What’s up, brat?” Seri asked.
Aquilla smiled. “Not much, going for a walk. What are you up to?”
“Trying to do girl things.”
“Girl things?”
“Yeah, you know, dust, run the sweeper, laundry, all the shit girls are expected to do.”
“No, I really don’t know about that stuff. I had servants, remember?”
“Oh, yeah
, I keep forgetting that you were a spoiled little rich bitch. How’d the test go?”
“It was gravy. I could have taken it with my eyes closed.”
“What is that noise?” Seri wanted to know.
“I’m on a gravel road where that race track is. I’m gonna walk back there and check it out.”
“Is it safe?”
“I don’t know. If it’s not, I’ll just have to kick some ass.”
Seri laughed. “Good point. Okay. Stay out of trouble. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay, see ya.”
Aquilla ignored the no trespassing sign during restricted hours. She walked through where you would stop and buy your tickets to get in and around the bleachers. She stood in front of the bleachers with her fingers clasped through the fence wire while she watched the one and only car.
She had never been to a race track, but was sure this was in the lower class of the sport. The only car that had a green number 18 looked more like a piece of junk than a race car. It spitted and sputtered as the guy tried to get it up to speed on the straight stretch.
She noticed a couple of other guys working on cars in the pits as the driver pulled right up to the fence. He killed the loud engine and slid out the window. She wondered why he climbed out the window rather than opening the door.
“Can I help you with something?” he asked.
“No. I was just watching,” she replied.
“You’re not really supposed to be here when were closed,” he smiled.
“Why? Do you own the place?” she smartly asked.
“Yeah, well, sort of, not really, my uncle owns it. Hey…I know you. You’re that kidnapped girl, Shelby Rimmer,” he announced, recognizing her from the news.
“I’m not Shelby Rimmer. My name’s Quill.”
“
Patchette,” he offered, sticking his finger through the fence for a shake. It was the only thing that would fit.
Aquilla locked her index finger and quickly shook.
“Patchette? What kind of name is that?”
“What kind of name is Quill?” he countered. She laughed. “
Patchette’s my last name.”
“You don’t use your first name?”
“It’s Eugene. Would you?” he smiled.
“No, I would go by
Patchette too.”
“Okay. Well, I guess
its okay if you watch, just don’t steal anything, litter, graffiti or flush tampons down the toilet. I hate digging that nasty shit out.”
“Yeah, sure,” she laughed.
She sat on the bottom bleacher and watched as another car joined him. She found herself rooting for him as they drove neck and neck on the straight parts of the track. She wanted to watch a real race. It was exciting and she couldn’t imagine watching a track full of cars doing it.
Liz- You okay?
She read the text.
Quill- yeah, fine.
Liz- I am going to head out for a friend’s birthday party. Do you want to come?
Quill- No
.
Liz- Okay. I won’t be late. Head back soon.
Fuck you.
Quill- Yeah
, okay.
Quill started back about an hour later. She wanted to make sure her mother had plenty of time to leave before she got back. It looked like the guys were done running around the track anyway. They had both retired to the pits. She walked down the gravel road, pulling prairie grass and letting it run through her fingers as she walked.
Quill stepped to the side when she heard the loud exhaust, turning slightly to see a big white Ford with wide tires and lots of chrome.
“Need a ride?”
Patchette asked, rolling down his window.
“No, thanks
, I don’t live far from here,” she replied.
“Okay, come back tomorrow night and you can watch me take first,” he offered.
“Thanks, I might just do that,” she lied. She knew that her mother wasn’t going to let her walk there after dark. She should get her license.
Aquilla showered and lay on the couch, watching Law and Oder. She loved that show, and USA was having a marathon. She could watch all 15 seasons and never watch a rerun. The lead character, Olivia, reminded her of Seri, minus the fact that Seri was sinfully beautiful.
She loved being home alone. She could easily live alone. She felt content being home alone, and would find her own place in a heartbeat if she wasn’t under her mother’s custody. She made herself a can of vegetable and rice soup and sat on the sofa, engrossed in why this guy was killing college students.
It was only nine o’clock when Liz got home. Jesus. Why couldn’t she stay out longer? Quill was into her new favorite show and didn’t want to be interrupted by her mother’s need to talk. She was beginning to wish she hadn’t refused the television for her room.
“You could have stayed out later,” Quill assured her in a pleasant tone.
“I was afraid you’d get lonely. What are you doing?”
Hmmm, could she not see what she was doing? Did it really need an explanation?
“Just watching television.”
“You watch this show a lot,” Liz said, turning to the TV.
“Yeah, I love it. I think I should be a forensic scientist or something, maybe I’ll follow in Seri’s footsteps,” she added, turning back to her show.
“I think I would feel better if you followed in mine or your fathers,” Liz, admitted, slipping her heels to the floor. She didn’t like the thought of her doing what Seri did one bit.
“Hmm, let’s see,” she said, holding both hands in the air as scales. “I could be around a bunch of snot nose six year olds all day,” she said moving one hand higher or, “I could sit in an office and scheme up catchy phrases for advertising,” she countered, moving the other hand up right before dropping them both.
Liz didn’t reply. It was best she didn’t. “Your dad is coming to take you and Reese out for supper and a movie tomorrow night,” she explained instead.
“Great,” Quill replied sarcastically as she turned her attention back to her show.
<><><>
Aquilla, of course, hung out in her room the entire next day, waiting for her so called father to arrive and happily spend the evening with him and her annoying sister. Something had to give. She couldn’t take much more family bonding.
She called Seri and complained. Seri told her to stop being a baby and go spend the evening with her family.
“You said I could come and visit you for a week,” Aquilla reminded her.