Chapter 9

Frankie slumped in her seat. Occasionally, she glanced at the front of the class, and Mr. Winters inevitably looked in her direction. Quickly, she averted her eyes and twirled a strand of hair between her fingers. The last thing she wanted was to be caught looking at him. They had the same brown eyes, she noted with a sigh. The thought that he was her father made her skin crawl. Frankie admittedly found that odd since she always wanted a father. Now that he was standing in front of her English class, she wanted nothing more than to run away from him.

“Ms. Montgomery?” Michael Winters called out, causing her to jump at his voice. “Are you planning on participating in this discussion or just sitting there playing with your hair?” he smirked almost imperceptibly. A low ripple of laughter rolled through the classroom.

“Sorry,” Frankie murmured, dropped her hands to her lap, and sat straighter in her seat. She hated to be called out in class.

“Very well,” he continued. “As I was asking, are there any suggestions for the next classic we will analyze as a class? And be sure to give a reason you want to read that particular book.”

“Catcher in the Rye,” Mike Cupp suggested from the back of the class. “We had to read it in the eighth grade, and I remember it. I won’t have to reread it.”

“Typical dumb jock answer,” Faith muttered from the seat behind Frankie.

“A Lesson Before Dying by Earnest Gains” came another suggestion from a redhead in the front row. “It was part of Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club.” She touted as if she were personal friends with Oprah and was integral in picking the book for the book club. Frankie could feel Faith roll her eyes behind her.

“The Scarlet Letter,” Frankie yelled. “It has all the drama of modern day - even though it’s set in the 1600s. Adultery, a young girl with a father who doesn’t want her, a devil child….”

Mr. Winters seemed unphased by Frankie’s suggestion, as she thought he would be, and began handing out blank index cards. “Great, we have three strong book suggestions, with mostly good reasons for wanting to read them,” he chuckled softly. “We will vote using these index cards. Vote number one for Catcher in the Rye, number two for A Lesson Before Dying, or number three, for The Scarlet Letter. Mark your selection and pass the cards to the front. I will announce tomorrow which book we will read.”

Michael Winters continued with the class as students passed their votes to the front. He was lecturing on the merits of in-depth analysis of classic literature, but Frankie tuned him out. She kept hearing her mom’s words from the night before. Frankie couldn’t help but wonder if her mom's explanations had been accurate. He didn’t know I was pregnant… she told Frankie, I didn’t know how to find him... doesn’t know who you are to him... and, Of course, he would love you…

Uninvited disturbing thoughts engulfed her consciousness like a tsunami. “What if he did know about me? What if he knew mom was pregnant but didn’t want me? What if he left Mom because she was pregnant with me?” The quicker the onslaught of questions bombarded her brain, the faster she twirled another strand of hair between her fingers again.

Frankie’s cell phone vibrated silently in her back pocket, indicating a text, and jarred her from the nightmares in her mind. Frankie scanned the room to ensure no one was watching so she could check the message.

Faith: I can see you are freaking out. You’re gonna twist your hair in a knot again. Remember, your mom said he doesn’t know who you are.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Frankie sighed, slumped her shoulders, and replaced the phone in her pocket. She rubbed the back of her neck, massaging the tension out of the muscles, and took a slow, cleansing breath.

The bell finally rang, and Frankie lunged for the door. She wasn’t staying in that classroom one second longer than she had to. Frankie heard Mr. Winters calling to her as she pushed herself into the current of students rushing down the hallway, ignoring him completely.

☙☙☙

“Dang, girl. You can really move now that you have ditched those crutches!” Faith gasped for breath when she finally caught up to Frankie at her Picklemobile. “You should go out for track.”

“Sorry,” Frankie apologized as she climbed into the front seat of Faith’s hippy bus. “I had to get out of there.”

“He was trying to stop you, ya know.”

“Yeah, I heard him. I am just not ready to talk to him face to face.” she stared at the Vans on her feet, avoiding eye contact with her best friend. “My life has been turned upside down in less than twenty-four hours. How am I supposed to feel, Faith?” a tear silently slid down her cheek.

“Aww, Chickadee, I am so sorry.” Faith wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t try to figure it all out right now. Take some time and pray about it, okay?”

“Yeah. I guess,”

“Why don’t you talk to Pastor Chris at Youth Group next week? Maybe she can help you sort it all out.”

“Maybe. I will think about it.” It wasn’t a bad idea, Frankie admitted internally. But did she want others to know her father did not want her?

“Hey! I know!” Faith said in a chipper voice. “Let's go watch Steve and the guys practice. Muscular guys in tight football pants are bound to cheer you up!” she wriggled her eyebrows and made Frankie laugh. " I know that'll make me happy! Just don't tell Hunter." She winked at Frankie.

“You’re the best, Faith.”

“Don’t I know it!” she said and headed toward the football field.

☙☙☙

“Hey, Babe. I didn’t know you were coming to watch me today.” Steve sauntered over to the bleachers where the girls sat. “I’m happy to see you, though.” He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Worry lines burrow into his brow. He could tell that Frankie was upset.

“It was a rough afternoon,” Frankie replied meekly.

“We came to check out all the cute butts on the field!”Faith informed Steve with a mischievous grin.

“She did, I didn’t. I came to get cheered up by you.” Frankie continued, “We got busted in the parking lot by Mr. Winters before we could escape.”

“Ouch, of all people! Did you get hauled off to the office?”

“Perrett, get your butt back on the field!” Coach Lee shouted in their direction.

“No, we didn’t get in trouble. But you had better go before you do!” Frankie smiled at her handsome boyfriend.

“Okay, I will call you tonight.” He kissed her again, sending tingle bells in her tummy.

“Okay.” she smiled as she watched him walk across the field. She couldn’t help but check out the cutest butt on the team.

After an hour or so, Faith exclaimed unceremoniously, “My hiney is numb,” and wiggled her backside on the bleachers. “Let’s go to Starbucks. I need some caffeine.”

Frankie glanced at her watch; she wasn’t ready to go home yet, “We always go to Starbucks. Let’s go to that place over in Chandler. I think it’s called Jitter Beans.”

“Chandler?” Faith questioned. “That’s twenty minutes away.”

“What else do you have to do this afternoon?” Frankie was more snarky than she had intended.

“Well, nothing,” Faith was utterly unphased by Frankie’s sarcasm. “Let’s go.”

During the twenty-minute drive to Chandler, Frankie and Faith chatted about nothing in particular, which Frankie was thankful for. She hadn’t forgotten about her dilemma, but it was nice to clear her mind for a bit and laugh. She could always count on Faith to help her feel better.

Faith found a parking spot near the entrance to Jitter Beans. That was the good part. The bad part was that she had to parallel-park Pickle. It took five attempts to wiggle her hippy bus between a Mercedes and a Kia. Frankie buckled over laughing and grabbed her ribs as she spilled out of the passenger’s seat.

“I think I have whiplash!” Frankie gasped with laughter. “You cannot park Pickle!”

“Oh, hush! You couldn’t have done any better!”

“Next time, let me try!”

The girls hooked arms, headed into the coffee shop, and ran smack dab into Rachel Montgomery and Michael Winters having coffee together. Frankie looked at her mom in surprise. She turned on her heel, and took off like a banshee out of the cafe.

“Frankie!” Rachel yelled after her, but it was too late. Frankie was gone.