Finding Hope in Texas Read Free Page B

wouldn't have to repeat the same task in
every class that day.
    “So...you are one of those liberal Yankees,
right?” Mr. Peet asked, a grin on his face.
    “Um, yeah,” I smiled never having been called
a Yankee before.
    “Well, how the heck did you find North
Texas?”
    I sighed and for a moment I felt like
spilling my whole sad story upon the unsuspecting crowd of people
that didn't know me from Eve. I would be the girl that this teacher
caused to have a mental breakdown in the first three minutes of
class. Maybe if they heard me tell about the horrible accident that
killed my family they might care who I was. Maybe if I just let all
my emotions that had built up in me since the move down here out in
one big fit of painful sorrow, someone would finally help me find a
place of normalcy in my life again.
    “I don't know.” Really, that’s all I could
muster?
    “Well, whatever it is, we’re glad to have you
here,” the teacher smiled once again. Quickly, he flipped through
his book and started to teach the class. “Alright people, the last
time we were here we were focusing on those depressed people in the
Great Depression.”
    Classes went by quickly, as if the day was in
a rush to be over. English, then Algebra II, a home-making course,
and then speech were all before lunch. Bar-be-que chicken was the
special on the menu that day.
    I accepted my tray from a hair-netted lady
who probably wanted to be there as much as I did. To me, the meal
looked fattening. How in the heck do people eat this stuff and
not have a coronary? Jody pulled me along after we got our
trays, guiding me in the direction of the corner table where her
friends sat chatting.
    “Girls, you probably have heard her name, but
this is Hope. Hope, her name is Hope. She's from New York
City.”
    “Hey,” I said after being introduced three
times.
    “Hey,” a few of the girls said back as we
took some seats in the middle. Chatter started up amongst the group
as they caught up on the gossip from the Christmas break. I quickly
found my place as the fly on the wall.
    “So Jody,” another girl looked at her with a
grin on her face, “did you have a good weekend with Brad?” The girl
seemed to be suggesting something as I looked at Jody, whose cheeks
partially flushed.
    “I did, Little Miss Nosy,” Jody sneered with
a few giggles from the table.
    “Oh, I bet you did. Going on a camping trip
with him and his family in the dead of winter. Did y'all even get
out of the lodge?”
    “Of course...but only to wipe the steam off
the windows.” The table laughed about the juicy gossip. I could
tell that Jody was enjoying all of the attention. The gaggle of
girls continued their questions about what seemed to be a wild
weekend between Jody and some boy. All the while, I busied myself
sliding back the greasy chicken skin from its thickness. Digging my
fork into the white meat, I took a bite. Mmmm , not bad .
    “And what about you, Hope? Any hot New York
boys you can tell us about?”
    “Um,” I muttered, finally choking down the
chicken, “a few, I guess.”
    “You guess?” another girl replied, “I know
there have to be some super-hot babes up there living in the Big
Apple. I bet there are so many famous people just walking around.
Have you ever met any of them?”
    “Have you been to a show, like on Broadway or Saturday Night Live ?”
    “That is so cool you are from New York. We
all so need to go up there.”
    I smiled at all the questions, but I couldn't
help noticing that Jody had gotten quiet, her thunder gone. Was she
angry with me? She didn’t seem her bubbly self at the moment. Had I
said or done something wrong? Just as I was about to ask, a group
of boys walked by with their trays, all of them looking over at our
table.
    “Hey,” one of the boys said, catching the ear
of Jody, who immediately turned around and smiled.
    “Hey, Brad.”
    “I had a good time this weekend. How about
you?”
    “Yeah, it was fun,” Jody