Every Day After Read Free

Daddy said quitting made you look weak. Anyway, the chances of her calling a truce with me were slim. I had a better chance of becoming the next Greta Garbo. She just wanted to taste sweet victory for herself. And I knew how that worked. She’d get one lick and then she’d be hungry for more. One win is never enough.
    Besides, although I wasn’t about to let anyone else know it, I needed that extra credit. Badly. I’d been ableto hold on to the top grades in my class for nearly two years straight, even before Erin showed up. But now, with Daddy gone and Mama sick, I didn’t have so much time to study anymore. My study time was mostly spent mending clothes for extra money or tending to chores, and my grades were beginning to take a small hit. I felt a pang of doubt that I could finish my essay by May ninth. I hadn’t even started it yet. But I refused to give up.
    I looked at Erin like I might be considering her offer. I wasn’t. “You don’t know how to stop bothering me,” I said. “I haven’t dropped out before, and I’m not about to start now, so I guess you’ll just have to get over all your jealousy.”
    Erin stood there gaping. Ben didn’t look much different. The schoolyard was now deserted except for a few stragglers staring in our direction. Erin was more than aware of the eavesdroppers and huffed, “Jealous? What’s there to be jealous of? You’ve got nothing but a hobo daddy and a loony mother.”
    A flurry of gasps and giggles erupted from the surrounding spies. Ben grabbed ahold of Erin’s arm, attempting to hush her up. She jerked away. Her eyes flickered. “You’re in a bad way, and you know it. You know what happens to kids when their parents can’t take care of them? They get carted off to the nearest orphanage, that’s what. I’d hate for that to happen to you. Course, if it did, I guess I wouldn’t have to put up with you hogging the spotlight all the time, would I?”
    I yanked Erin close. Her muscles tensed beneath my grip. “You threatening me, Erin Sawyer? Because I’ve got news for you: I’m not going anywhere. You don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. Daddy’s off finding work and Mama is fine. She’s just real busy with Daddy gone, that’s all.”
    Truthfully, Mama wasn’t fine. It was a good day if she knew I existed. And Daddy hadn’t yet filled us in on exactly where his travels had taken him, but Erin didn’t know that, and she wasn’t going to. Yep, when it rains in Alabama, it pours, and sometimes you gotta work with what you got. Well, all I had to work with were fibs.
    Miss Jones appeared in the doorway. “Come along, children. We don’t have all day.”
    Erin stomped off. Ben grabbed my arm and pulled me inside. He whispered something in my ear, but all I could hear was Mama quoting from her book of proverbs and sayings Daddy had given her before I was born: “After honour and state follow envy and hate.” I’d never gotten it before, but I did now. I got it good.
    Inside, Erin took her usual seat behind me. It was nearly too much to bear, having to sit with the back of my desk permanently attached to the front of hers. How was I supposed to make lemonade from that? She leaned forward, her hot breath blowing past my ear. As the door clicked shut she whispered, “I’ve had it with you, Lizzie Hawkins, and I’m gonna make you pay.”

  Three  
    He Who Would Gather Roses Must Not Fear Thorns
    By the time school was dismissed, the sun had come out in full force. Its heat had turned the mud puddles to sticky holes in the road. Wind wisped through the oaks and ruffled the honeysuckle vines overtaking Mr. Watson’s pasture fence. Ben pulled a pebble from his pocket and placed it in his slingshot. Snap! A sharp crack ricocheted off a bare post. Ben’s dad had given him that slingshot for his eighth birthday. He’d always loved it, but during the past year, since Mr. Butler had passed away, Ben hadn’t let that slingshot out of his sight.