September 24th, Monday - Casey Silpetti
The alarm on Casey’s phone beeps, waking her up rather blearily. She set it for earlier than normal, not sure when the Carlin-Kane’s usually got ready. She didn’t sleep so well last night, and is in no rush to pull herself out of bed, but eventually she does.
She runs into Bianca in the hallway, the other girl is already dressed and ready to go. She smiles at Casey, “Morning! Dad told me you were going to be staying with us. Bathroom’s empty, Roni tends to wake up at the last moment; she’s not a morning person.”
She washes up and gets ready, finding Sandy and Bianca sitting at the breakfast table chatting. Sandy smiles up at her, “I hope you slept well last night? I know strange places aren’t exactly restful.” He points to a plate of bagels sitting on the table. “Please, help yourself. There’s also cereal and some other stuff, if you’d rather not eat breakfast at school.” Casey pours herself a glass of orange juice, but doesn’t take anything to eat.
“Not a breakfast eater, huh?”
“Um, well, my breakfasts are already paid for, so uh, I might as well just eat at school.”
He laughs, “Casey, eat if you’re hungry.” She finds some grapes in the fridge and grabs some of them to eat. Sandy reaches into his pocket and pulls out a business card, passing it over to her. “This is Fetch’s number; he’ll be bringing you all to school. Veronica told me that the two of you might be late due to drama auditions, if for some reason you need to stay later than her you can call him on that line, and he’ll come pick you up.”
“Our lawyer is stopping by this afternoon, and we’ll be going over some stuff for your case. But before then, I’d like you to sign these. They’re basically forms stating that you’re giving me permission to help you out and look into your files, and that I’m acting as legal guardian for you for now.” He pushes the forms over to her with an ink pen. “Last chance kiddo, if you want to get out of here. I know it can’t be too easy to trust someone you barely know with all this.”
Veronica picks that moment to walk in, her face still swollen from sleep, her eyes bleary. “Case isn’t going anywhere, right Casey? You’ll let dad fix all this stuff, and those meanies won’t get a thing.” The last of her sentence is mostly guesswork, as she tries talking through a large yawn.
Casey studies the papers, trying to make sense of the legalese as Veronica smears cream cheese on a bagel and takes a big bite. Casey eventually gives up on making sense of all the papers and just signs them, Sandy quietly giving her a basic explanation of each one when he realizes she doesn’t understand it all.
When they’re done with the paperwork, Bianca asks Casey, “So what song are you singing for your audition?” Casey’s eyes get large and her mouth drops open as she looks from Bianca to Roni.
“Ummm…song?”
Bianca laughs softly. “It is a musical. You have to sing a song for the audition.”
Veronica chimes in, “Yeah, we sing our audition songs today, then we learn a dance tomorrow and do dance auditions on Wednesday. They post who has what parts on Thursday.”
“You uh, you didn’t tell me I had to do all that…I can’t do this…I’m a horrible singer, and now you tell me I have to dance…” Casey puts both elbows on the counter, resting her head in her hands as she shakes it no.
Sandy puts his hand on her shoulder, “What songs do you know Casey?”
“A bunch…” she says, picking her head up, “but that doesn’t mean I can sing.”
“But what musical songs do you know?”
“A bunch.” Sandy gives her a look that says ‘How?’ and she explains, “You know that old movie theater down by AU campus?” They all nod and she continues, “Well they play classic movies and movie musicals all throughout the summer and I worked there one summer, ran the projectors.” She bites her lip and looks down at the table, “The um, the owner let me stay there if I worked for her. You learn the songs pretty quick when you’re hearing them 4 or 5 times a day for a week or two straight.”
“What’s your favorite one then?” Roni asks. “That’s the one you’ll sing.”
Casey just shrugs, “I don’t know.” Sandy starts singing songs from musicals as Bianca and Veronica roll their eyes. After a minute they both start laughing and join in, all three changing songs after a few stanzas of each. Eventually Casey joins in and the other three trail off after a couple of song changes to listen to her. She stops abruptly when she realizes they’re not singing anymore. “Sorry…I didn’t mean to ruin it.” She feels the tears in her eyes. “I can’t do this Roni, I’m sorry. You and Cade can audition. I’ll, um, I’ll take pictures and help with the set or something.”
She stands up to go somewhere else, but Roni stops her with a hand on her arm. “Casey, whoever told you that you can’t sing was totally wrong!”
“Yeah, you have a beautiful voice,” Bianca adds. Casey just blushes. “You have to audition, you’ll blow everyone out of the water.”
“Sing any of those, Casey, you’ll do great! I’m off to work. See you girls later,” Sandy says as he kisses Roni and Bianca on the tops of their heads, and pats Casey’s shoulder, heading toward the garage. Casey blushes slightly and Fetch walks into the room. Veronica and Bianca automatically head for the door, grabbing their bags off the floor as they leave the kitchen. Casey realizes it’s time to go and hurries, struggling with her bags and coat as she tries to catch up. She stops just inside the kitchen, setting down her bags as she gets her coat on right. Fetch takes her bags, and again Casey is rushing to follow, taking them from him just as they walk out of the house.
The ride to school is definitely different when it’s in an armored limousine instead of a simple SUV. At least it’s quiet, both Veronica and Bianca seemingly willing to enjoy the silence, poor Veronica barely managing to keep her eyes open.
Fetch drops them off in the parking lot, wishing the three of them a good day with a smile. Veronica and Bianca head toward the student center. Harmony is waiting in the parking lot for her. Putting her arm through Casey’s, she pulls the other girl towards the cafeteria.
“Good thing you finally got here, I was getting hungry!” They head towards the cafeteria, Casey grabbing a bagel and milk while Harmony grabs something for her own breakfast before going to join the others. “So, how was your first night at Casa de Kane? Did their mom break out the padlocks on your door, and her dad show off his collection of whips and chains?”
“Harm!” Casey exclaims, rolling her eyes. She’s saved from a response, as they both run into Cadence. They all walk over to where they find Veronica, but Bianca is nowhere to be seen.
Veronica smiles as she greets the other two girls, moving over to make room for them to sit. She glances around, and turns to Casey. “Where’s Aiden?”
Casey looks down at her bagel, but Harmony cuts in and saves her from having to answer. “He got here earlier, but coach has been really riding him about missing practice and all, so he’s doing that.”
The early bell rings, and they all get up to get ready for classes. Casey walks over to throw away her juice box, and nearly gets run over by Bianca. “Sorry Case,” the other girl mutters, barely breaking stride.
“Err… no problem?” She walks over to the trash bin, getting behind a smiling Tom as he throws away his own breakfast trash. He grins at her when he turns around, and holds the garbage lid open for her.
“Let me get that for you, Case,” he says, just a little too chipper. She nods her thanks and rushes off to home room.
Casey wanders into second period science; the only one at her normal table is Cadence. She sits down, pulling her notes out.
“Hey Case, I was looking through that book Faust gave me. There’s some stuff in there that I could use your help with, if you’re game. I think we can make that apartment next to mine into a pretty good secret clubhouse, I’m going to go get keys made today.”
Aiden walks in, brushing past their table without stopping and heading to the table in the back that Cadence used to sit at. Cadence watches him walk back there, then glances back at Casey. She glances back at Aiden, and then quietly gathers her stuff and walks back to join him.
Casey sits by herself for a moment, until she notices Roni stalking over. Bianca is still standing in the doorway, glaring towards her younger sister as she flings herself into her seat next to Casey. The younger girl pointedly ignores her sister, who is forced to leave as the tardy bell rings.
Veronica pulls her notes out, clearly aggravated. Casey is forced to wait to ask her what’s wrong, as Prof. Z picks that moment to close the door and start class. They follow his lecture for the first half-hour, and then he finally lets them work on their notes with their partners.
Casey turns to look at Veronica, who has clearly been stewing this entire time, looking even more agitated now then when she walked in, if at all possible. “Hey Roni, not to pry, but is everything ok?”
Roni’s glare softens as she looks over at Casey. “My sister is on the warpath. I mean, I know she cares and all, but she’s always been so protective! She smothers me sometimes, and it’s not like she needs to!” She stops as her voice starts edging up in volume.
She takes one look at Casey’s confused demeanor, and sighs. She leans in close, speaking quickly and confidentially now.
“She doesn’t think I should be hanging out with Cadence. Someone’s been filling her head with all kinds of rumors and all about her, like her getting kicked out of schools before, and how she acts, and cause she’s gay and all. Like she’s dangerous or something, and it going to get me in trouble or something. I mean, it’s all stupid! I mean, she’s not like that at all!”
She glances over her shoulder at the table where Cadence and Aiden sit, Aiden chuckling at something that was just said.
She turns back to Casey. “I mean, yeah, we’ve been talking and hanging out a lot. But it’s cool, I mean, I’ve never had a real friend before, to just talk to and stuff.” She looks towards the window, watching the rain make trails down the glass as her eyes lose focus. “It’s funny… you know, when you’ve just met someone, but straight away you feel as if they are going to be your friend. Who knows why… past life… physiognomy… but for some reason you just kind of… click.” She turns back to Casey abruptly. “I don’t know what I’m saying, but do you know what I mean?”
She glances back over her shoulder before Casey can answer. “And why are they sitting back there?” She turns to Casey, her face turning red again. “Did Bianca tell her not to sit here or something? If she did, I’m gonna kill her!”
“Shhhh…” Casey says, and blushes slightly. “They’re back there because of me…Aiden’s, um, giving me some space I guess. Cadence was sitting here with me until he came in and sat back there. And hey, maybe you just need to give Bianca some time to sort out truths from rumors…I mean how bad can Cade’s past be compared to mine…and your parents had me move in with you guys…”
“I guess…I just wish she wasn’t so overprotective. Mom and Dad get that way too and I can’t stand it sometimes,” Veronica rants, her voice getting louder again. She makes herself speak more quietly as she turns the focus to Casey, “And why is Aiden giving you space?” She takes a quick breath, “Are you guys fighting? Did you break up?”
Casey looks down at her book quickly, “Umm…not really…maybe…I don’t know…” Roni puts her hand on Casey’s shoulder and she immediately feels lighter. “He just…he’s a little jealous of Kale.” Casey’s hand flutters to the bruised spot on her arm and she absently strokes it through her uniform. “I don’t really know what to do about it…he’s not handling it very well.” She starts to say something else, but the bell rings and Veronica sweeps all her things up off the table and practically runs over to Cadence, chattering the whole way out of the room. Casey catches Aiden looking at her and smiles softly as she grabs her things and heads out to her next class.
The rest of the morning passes quickly for Casey, but just as her last class before lunch ends she’s called to the office. She nervously walks in and the school secretary points toward 2 bouquets of flowers on the counter. “Those are for you.”
Casey blushes and pulls the cards off each bunch. The first bouquet is a dozen pink roses with baby’s breath all around them. The card reads <I’m Sorry. Please forgive me. Break a leg today at auditions! Love, Aiden>. Casey blushes, hoping nobody else read the card. The second bouquet is a group of mixed flowers; black-eyed Susans, daisies, and fall flowers and leaves. This card has a section of it crossed out, but Casey can read that it had said <Break a Leg!>. Underneath the crossed out part is written <Good luck with your audition Casey! – Kale>. She blushes more and even looks over her shoulder to make sure Aiden isn’t there to read it. She turns to the secretary and asks, “Um, can I leave them here until the end of the day?”
“Sure, just don’t forget to come back and pick them up.” Casey sticks both cards in her bag and hurries to the cafeteria for lunch.
Harmony catches up with her and follows her through the line, almost whispering as Casey grabs her food. “Case, what’s up with you and Aiden and Kale? They both sat at our table and if looks could kill, Kale would be fried up and sitting on a platter right now. Kale’s like totally jumpy and they both keep looking around for you.”
Casey mutters under her breath, “Shit.” She stops and looks toward the table and can practically feel the tension from where she stands. She finishes through the line and is debating eating in a stairwell when Veronica bounces over.
“Good, you found her! Come on and eat Casey.” She chatters the whole way over to the table where Casey warily sits down across from Aiden. Cadence gives her a questioning look and Casey shakes her head almost imperceptibly. Casey starts eating, piping into the conversation every once in a while, but basically trying to ignore Kale and Aiden as they both stare at her, taking breaks only to glance or glare at each other.
Veronica chatters for a few moments, but it doesn’t take her long to pick up on the tension surrounding the table. She looks back and forth between Casey and the two boys, and Casey feels her stomach drop as she realizes that Veronica is about to say something.
Cadence drops her hand below the table, and Veronica jumps and turns to look at her, her ears turning red. Cadence subtly shakes her head no, and turns back to her food, her hand coming back up to rest on the table.
Veronica frowns and takes a cookie from the bag of home-made ones that Cadence is sharing with her. Casey catches Cadence’s eye and mouths “thank you,” the other girl nodding in response. No one else at the table noticed the little exchange, thankfully.
Veronica chews the cookie silently, her eyes narrowed as the blush starts to fade from her face. Casey gets the sinking feeling that she’s not going to let go of it easily, but she’s saved by the sudden appearance of Bianca, who sits down next to Casey.
She makes her hellos as Veronica’s face sets into a stony silence. Bianca looks over at her cautiously. “How’s your classes, sis?”
“They’ve been fine, thank you.” Her tone is pleasant enough, but her British accent deepens, just like it did this morning when she was ranting to Casey in class. Casey pauses, realizing it’s never occurred to her that the three women of the Carlin-Kane household all have British accents, while Sandy has anything but.
She shakes herself out of her reverie, noticing that that the table is now completely silent between the shared knots of tension. She starts planning a daring escape, thinking that she might have to sacrifice Harmony as a diversion, when yet another interruption suddenly intervenes.
A soccer team member walks by, pausing for a second at their table. “Yo Aiden, Coach is looking for you.” He gives Aiden a knowing look, and continues on by.
Aiden sighs, and shakes his head. “Yeah, I know.” For a moment he pauses, like he’s going to say something, but then he just stands and walks off, dumping his mostly uneaten lunch into a garbage bin.
Casey keeps her eyes down after he leaves, but she notices Roni taking in the whole thing. Her eyes flick between Casey and Kale, and then a sudden light pops on over her head. She eyes flick between Cadence and Bianca, and then she turns excitedly to Kale, who looks like he was just preparing to say something to Casey.
“Kale! I was wondering if you could help me research something. Please?” She stands and grabs Kale’s hand, all but pulling him from the table. “I’ll see ya’ll at auditions!” she shouts over her shoulder, waving bye as she drags Kale away bodily.
Casey can almost visibly notice everyone relax as soon as Veronica and Kale are out of sight, everyone but Cadence that is. “What do you think she’s up to?” Harmony asks. There are murmurs of “I don’t knows” and shrugs all around the table. “OK, if you don’t want to talk about that,” Harmony turns straight to Casey, “then what is up with you and Aiden and Kale…cuz that was awk-ward girl.”
Casey blushes bright red and looks down at her tray as she very quickly explains the situation, “Kale has a crush and Aiden’s jealous, and they don’t know it yet, but they both sent me flowers today.” She pushes her lunch away and props her elbows up on the table, leaning forward and resting her head in her hands. “I don’t know what to do…I don’t know how to deal with this.” She looks at each of the three girls, “I don’t even understand how this happened. How do I stay under the radar for so long and now this? I don’t think I can handle all of it.”
“Case,” Harmony says as she puts her hand on the other girl’s shoulder, “I think they’ve both liked you for awhile. I mean you got to know Aiden real good in chem last year, and I think Kale’s been watching from the sidelines and finally found an excuse to get to know you.”
“But why now? Why couldn’t they just take turns or something, why does it have to be at the same time?”
Cadence cracks a little half-smile, “That’d be too easy, Case and life isn’t all about easy. You’ll figure something out, but it’ll probably be rough for a little bit first.”
Casey smiles a little, “Oh wise one…what should I do about it then?”
“Well, I’d invite them both over to a night of crazy passion, and whoever survives is the lucky one. If they both survive, then you’re the lucky one. I’m sure you could teach them to take turns. Just borrow a video camera from Harm, I’m sure you’ll want instant replay later,” she jokes with a crooked smile.
Casey can feel Bianca stiffen next to her, and she groans inwardly.
Before she can say anything, Cadence turns serious. “Follow your heart. Be true to it, and you’ll figure things out.”
The bell rings, and Bianca stands quickly. “I’ll see you tonight Casey.”
Cadence makes a face. “Yeah, I guess I’ll see you at auditions. Say Harm, what are you doing after school? Why don’t you think about a career in drama…” She folds her arm through Harmony’s, pulling the other girl along with her.
The next couple of classes go pretty smoothly for Casey and she heads toward her art class. She turns the corner and sees Aiden talking to Chance. He sees her and stops talking abruptly before begging off with Chance and heading down a side hall, taking a roundabout way to his next class. Chance’s eyes follow her as she walks past him in awkward silence. She almost misses what he says as she passes, it’s so quiet. “You weren’t supposed to hurt him.”
She stops and turns around, saying almost as quietly, “Yeah, well he wasn’t supposed to hurt me either, so unless you have all the facts, maybe you should keep your opinions to yourself.”
He rounds on her. “You know, maybe you don’t know him as well as you think. I don’t know what you’re involved in, but he’s been lost ever since he hooked up with you. He’s been shirking classwork, missing practice, screwing up on the field. He’s pretty much alienated his old friends and the whole cool clique. I don’t know what it is about you that’s got him thinking he doesn’t match up, but whatever it is, it’s tearing him up.” His voice is shaking with anger by the time he finishes, and he stalks off.
Casey stands there for a moment, her mouth gaping like a fish at what Chance said before hurrying off as the first bell rings. Casey finally makes it to art class, barely on time and Mr. Boyd asks to speak with her. They sit down and he asks her what her thoughts are for her senior art project.
“Well, I have a couple of ideas running through my head. I’d really like to focus on my portrait work, so I thought about talking to Father Piccoli about making contacts through his program and getting shots of some of the homeless people…maybe try and turn it into a fundraiser for them. My other idea is to do some architecture work and focus on the old buildings in town and really showcase some of the unique aspects that you just don’t see in the new buildings. What do you think?”
He thinks things over for a minute, tapping his pencil on his desk. “I think that you have more potential with the portraits. I think you already do great work with still lifes and architecture, so I would like to see you expand a little more and I think this is doable. You have the rest of the year to work on this, but you need to take the rest of the year to do it. I don’t want to see all the pictures you take in the next few weeks being the ones that are in your final portfolio.” Casey nods in agreement and he continues, “Now, Ms. Connor has asked me to talk to my most promising seniors about submitting ideas for the yearbook cover. I’d love to see what you come up with, Casey. It needs to be abstract, but that’s the only requirement. You can do something that would be just the front and the rest of it could be a complementary color or you can do something that would wrap around and be the entire cover. We’re taking submissions until the end of January and then we’ll have a committee of seniors and teachers pick the winner.”
“OK.”
“Do you have any questions about the senior project requirements or the yearbook cover?”
“Nope. I was wondering though if I could head out into town for the rest of class today for some inspiration, and then some other days to actually take pictures? Everybody else can work on theirs here in class, but I’m not going to be able to.”
He ponders her request for a minute and then agrees. “Yes, I think you’re going to need to. What class do you have after this?”
“Free period, so I don’t stay on campus a lot of the time anyway.”
“OK, since you don’t have to be back after this class, I’m going to say yes. You will need to sign out in the office though. I’ll call down and let them know the situation, and if you’d like to head out today you may.”
“Thank you.” Casey goes back to her work area and packs up as Mr. Boyd calls the office. She checks her watch and hurries off toward the bus stop.
Casey catches a bus to Faust’s neighborhood and makes her way to his door, she knocks and it swings open. She steps inside warily and looks around for Faust. He comes in from the back, “What are you doing here? Didn’t I answer enough questions for you this weekend?”
She takes an involuntary step back before answering, “Um, you said to come by for training. I can come back later, I’m sorry.” She turns to leave, but he stops her.
“Stay. I didn’t think you’d be back so soon. Come with me.”
She doesn’t have long before having to head back to school, so he talks quickly and with no patience for nonsense. He has her practice opening her senses, to allow her to touch on this new world that she’s a part of. She’s been doing it haphazardly up ‘til now, the sudden flashes when she looks at certain people. With practice, she’ll be able to control it easily, and in fact by the time she boards the bus she’s made a decent amount of progress at being able to “switch” her senses from mundane to the otherworld.
He also hands her a worn journal, before she leaves. “What’s this?”
“There are many things out there, Casey. Things you’ve always thought were myth, or legend, or movie creations. Goblins, fairies, elves, trolls, ogres… they all exist. They can hide right in front of you, with the most human of faces. But they’re not human, and you have to know what they’re capable of.”
“You need to learn how to see them, to know who and what you’re dealing with. That’s why I’m teaching you what I did today. That journal was from a former student of mine, and is a collection of information put together on what’s out there. It may help you.”
“It’s another reason you need to get out there and see more of the world you’re now a part of. If you haven’t been to Legal Tender yet, you should go. Just be careful. Between this book and the one that Cadence has, you should be able to figure out a lot of things. Just be careful.”
Casey hops off the bus near the school and runs back, barely making it to the auditions on time. She finds Cadence and Veronica and they sit down as Ms. Connor explains the audition process. Everyone is given 10 minutes for vocal warm-ups, during which the three girls chat, and then the singing portion begins.
Veronica is the first of them to go up, fairly glowing with excitement as she does. She sings “Think of Me” from Phantom of the Opera, and clearly gives it her all. She’s quite good at singing, but her stage presence is what captivates the entire hall. Even without trying, Casey can see a glow of light fill the room; feel the warmth of a summer’s day sun wash across her. She doesn’t think that Cadence takes a single breath until the song is over, her eyes dark pools unable to tear themselves away from the younger girl.
The hall fills with applause as the last notes trill away, and Veronica rushes back to their sides, blushing with pleasure. She throws herself at Cadence, hugging her tight even as the shorter girl tries to compliment her. They clinch for a moment that stretches, and then both pull away awkwardly.
Veronica turns and hugs Casey, smiling demurely at her compliments as her skin burns red. She spends the next few songs trying to come down from her high, her blush finally fading even though her smile doesn’t.
Cadence grimaces a little as her turn comes closer. When it’s her turn, they both wish her luck, each squeezing an arm. She chose “On My Own” from Les Miserables. Her odd voice doesn’t seem suited for singing at first, but the haunted emotion she puts into it sways that opinion quickly. Still, Casey has to wonder if she’s not singing as well as she could for some reason.
Veronica is bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet as Cadence’s song comes to an end, clapping and cheering. She turns to Casey with her huge smile, and hugs her again for luck.
“Have fun out there Casey, it’s so awesome! You’ll do great, you sounded beautiful this morning!” She starts pushing Casey towards the stage, Cadence meeting her on the way.
She grins at Casey, and Casey can see that, try as she might to hide it, the other girl enjoyed being up there. “Good luck, Case!” She hugs her and steps off the stage, her step light.
Casey takes a deep breath before stepping on stage. She chose to sing “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from Jesus Christ Superstar, knowing it’s in her range, even though it’s a hard song. She hits the notes, but starts out so soft; barely anyone in the room can hear her. She catches Cadence and Veronica in the audience and they motion for her to bring it up. She gets a little louder, looking back at them for approval and they motion for her to keep going. She finally gets to a good volume and they give her the ok as she continues the song. She finishes the song well and rushes off the stage as Roni and Cadence cheer for her, along with a couple of other people in the audience.
The girls both give Casey a big hug before sitting down to wait for the rest of the auditions. Cadence leans over whispering to Casey, “I didn’t know you could sing…you have a beautiful voice. You should do it more often.”
Casey blushes as Veronica whispers back, “You should! How come you don’t?”
“You guys really don’t have to lie to make me feel better about singing, but thank you for trying,” Casey whispers, looking down at the floor. Cadence grabs Casey’s hand and pulls her quietly out of the auditorium, Veronica following close behind.
“Case, we’re not lying,” Cadence says once they’re out of the room. “Who told you that you can’t? Cuz really, you just blew most of us out of the water with that audition…at least once you started singing loud enough for us to hear. Seriously, whoever said you can’t sing is the one that’s lying.”
Casey blushes again and looks away, “Up until this morning, pretty much everyone who’s ever heard me sing said I didn’t sound good or told me I was giving them a headache or things like that. Roni, you and your dad and Bianca…and now Cadence are the only ones who ever said I sounded good.” She looks at her watch, “Um, are we done in there, or do I need to stick around, do you know?”
“I think we’re done, since we’ve already sung, why?” Cadence answers.
“I um, I’m gonna try and find Aiden and see if we can talk.”
Cadence puts her hands on Casey’s shoulder, “Are you sure that’s a good idea right now, Case?”
“No, but I think I need to…but I don’t know if he’ll talk back…or even listen.”
Veronica and Cadence each give Casey a quick hug. “Will you be ready to ride home with me and Binks?”
“Probably not, but either Aiden and I will work something out or I’ll call Fetch to come get me. Your dad gave me his number. I’ll see you later.”
“Don’t be too late; mom’s back and we’re all supposed to have dinner tonight.”
Casey does a mental head slap, “Crap! I forgot about that. Um…I guess I’ll have to talk to him later. Ummmm….I guess I’ll grab my stuff and head out with you guys then. I guess I’ll meet you in the parking lot then.” Veronica and Cadence say bye to Casey and she heads off to the office to pick up her flowers and then to her locker. She grabs what she needs for homework and heads out to the parking lot to get a ride home.
Casey gets out to the parking lot to find Sandy and Roni waiting for her in Sandy’s BMW. He smiles at her as she climbs into the back seat and sets the flowers on the floorboards. “I hear the auditions went well. Sorry I wasn’t there to see all of you.”
As he pulls out, he continues talking over his shoulder. “I hope you don’t mind, but Madison is still pretty busy, so the three of us are just going to have dinner out. Hope you don’t mind pizza, there’s a little place I haven’t been to in a while.”
Roni turns around. “Binks had something to take care of, so she had Fetch pick her up.”
Sandy spends the ride asking both Roni and Casey about their day. He’s interested in the auditions, but also makes sure and asks how classes went as well, what they were going over, etc. As they start heading further away from the city proper, closer to King’s Row, Casey starts getting a little nervous. But she remembers that Sandy is from here too, and so far they’re not heading in the direction that would bring her close to her foster home.
Instead, they pull into a small Italian restaurant that’s almost hidden in one of the older neighborhoods. The building is run down, but the parking lot is almost full so it’s no surprise when they get inside that the little place is crowded. The owners recognize Sandy and chatter with him in broken but enthusiastic English, making sure they get a booth off by the kitchen entrance, where the best smells are coming from. Several other people recognize Sandy as well, and either nod or wave to him as he walks by. A few stop him to thank him or say a few nice words to him as they walk to the booth.
Dinner is fun, and the food delicious. Unlike her times staying with Harmony or Aiden, Sandy goes out of his way to subtly make Casey feel like part of the family. They ride home in a warm buzz, full of good food and company.
When they get there, Roni bolts to go check up on Smudge and finish her homework. Sandy asks Casey to follow him to his office.
Once sitting across from each other at his desk, Sandy leans forward. “I know you want to change out of your uniform and you have stuff to do, but I wanted to talk to you for a bit. My lawyer stopped by earlier, so you won’t have to sit in on that tonight. Someone high up is backing these claims against you, that’s the only reason they’ve been going through. I don’t know who your foster parents have in their pocket, but I’m going to get to the bottom of that.”
“How is this even possible? I mean, I just don’t understand how they can say I’m incompetent. I’ve never even heard of anything like this…and I’ve heard about so many things from other foster kids…but nothing like this. Who would help them do this to me?”
“I wish I had an answer for you. It’s got to be someone either high up in the local government, or with their ear. But whoever it is, they’re good at hiding their tracks. We’ll find out who it is though, don’t worry about that. I’ve never heard of a case like this before either, Casey. Half these laws I’ve never read before, because no one has ever brought them up before.
“But there are a few options we can do to halt their claims, we’re putting together a few battle plans before we present them to you.”
Casey starts to object, realizing that this has to be costing a lot more money than she could ever hope to repay him, but Sandy cuts her off quickly.
“I have a feeling I know what you’re about to say, and I don’t want to hear it. You may think I’m being purely charitable, but I’m not.” He leans back and sighs. “Casey, I need to thank you, I mean… really thank you.”
“I know that Veronica isn’t exactly a normal child. Her intelligence and social awkwardness has kept her on the outside for so long, and I really worried about her. But now she has all these friends, and is happier than I’ve ever seen her, she even asked me if she could go on a double date with you and Aiden! She’s never been the type to try anything like that, unlike her sister.”
“I know you have a lot to do with it. I know that this all started when she told me she was assigned to you as her lab partner, and that you included her into your little circle of friends. For you to get her out of her shell like that, well, I really don’t have enough words to thank you. So I’m doing this for you not only because of all the reasons I normally would, but for that one as well.”
Casey blushes bright red, “It’s really not all me. I mean I did get assigned as her lab partner, but part of it is Cadence. They’ve really clicked.” Casey looks down at her feet, “And um, until this year, my only real friend was Harmony…so um, I think you’re giving me more credit than I deserve.”
“Oh, I know my daughter a little better than that, Casey. Yes, I’ve heard her talk a lot about Cadence lately, but you’ve been mentioned just as much. I think you’re giving yourself less credit than you deserve.”
He sighs again, his smile fading. “But on another note, and with all of that in mind, I have something else to bring up. Madison… she’s under a lot of pressure and a lot of scrutiny lately. And while I know when she meets you she’ll think you’re as wonderful as I do… but for now, I was hoping you wouldn’t mind if we moved you out to the pool house.”
Not giving her a chance to answer, he continues quickly, “It’ll give you more privacy, which I’m sure you’ll like. I took the time and bought all new stuff for it, so you didn’t have to use all the guest linens and all. I even got you some materials to kinda setup a little darkroom in the changing room, if you like. We’ll keep the heaters on in the walkway between the houses, and keep the glass closed so you don’t have any problems going back and forth. And you’re welcome to anything in the kitchen still, although Fetch or I can take you out to stock the fridge out there if you like.”
He pauses hesitantly, waiting for her answer. Casey slowly nods yes, “I guess that’s ok, and I don’t need anything special for out there. I’ll be fine.”
He smiles, suppressing a laugh, “I know you’ll be fine, but I want you to make yourself at home. You need to let me know if there’s something you want or need. We’ll do our best to take care of it. Oh, and Gladys did your laundry, everything but what you have on is clean. She mentioned that a few of your clothes are almost worn through. Maybe Madison or I can take you shopping this weekend for some more.”
Casey blushes again, even redder than before. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.”
Sandy puts his hand on her shoulder, waiting to speak until she looks up at him. “Casey, if you don’t let us take you shopping,” he winks at her, “don’t be surprised if things magically appear out in the pool house that only fit you.” Casey looks away from him again, but he continues, “And if some of the worn out clothes magically disappear…”
She speaks without looking up at him, “You don’t have to do all this, really. I can just stay here and stay out of your way. I promise you won’t even know I’m here. Whenever the Senator –“
“Madison,” Sandy interrupts.
“Whenever, Madison, has press here or wherever I can go away.” She smiles softly up at Sandy now. “I’m pretty good at blending in or disappearing.”
She’s about to continue when Sandy stops her. “You don’t have to disappear Casey. You do have to blend in…with our family. Unless some judge says otherwise, you’re part of it now. No more talk like this, ok?” She barely nods and he stands up, “Come on; let’s get you out to the pool house so you can settle in again. I’m sorry for all the moving around, this should be it for awhile.”
Casey grabs her bags and the flowers and stands up. “I’m ok. I can get out there myself.” She takes a couple of steps, “And thank you. You’re doing way more for me than anyone ever has, and you don’t have to. I just hope I don’t disappoint you.” She leaves the room before Sandy has a chance to respond.
When she gets out to the pool house, she sees that Sandy was right about moving her in. All of her stuff is neatly put up, and all the linens are brand new and very nice. In the corner is an old light table, perhaps one from when Sandy used to dabble in photography.
She sets her stuff down, noticing the book Faust gave her in her bag. She opens her laptop and sees a few emails; it seems she made a little bit of money off her webpage. There’s also a message from Aiden.
She hesitates, but opens it. It’s short.
Casey,
I wanted to apologize again for the other night, and the way I’ve been acting lately. I thought I could let it all not bother me, but I guess it was more under my skin than I thought. Things have been so weird since Roni was kidnapped. We’ve been shot at, met people who could do things I still can’t believe, I mean, it just seems like everything is going upside down on me. It seems like everyone around you is special somehow, except for me. Even Kale can get information and all because he works with the papers and stuff. I guess I was just feeling lost… like you wouldn’t need me anymore. I couldn’t even keep you from getting hurt at the party. If you want to take some time, I don’t blame you. I hope the auditions go well for you tomorrow; you certainly blew their socks off today! You sing beautifully, you should do it more often.
Love, Aiden
PS: I think you should set your sights higher than ‘Munchkin!’ =)
She rereads the email and then gets up, puttering around the pool house. She gets both bunches of flowers refilled with water and up on the kitchenette counter. She checks out the changing room and sees bottles of chemicals and an empty table in there. She smiles to herself, knowing there’s a lot more that it needs, but it’s a good start. She finally goes back in and reads the email one more time before responding.
Aiden,
You don’t think all this is weird for me too? I’ve living in my 4th place in a month, not counting the few nights I spent with you. I just got moved out to the pool house here, to appease Roni’s mom, or to look better for her or something. Supposedly she’s back in town and we were all supposed to have dinner tonight, but I haven’t even seen her. We need to talk about all this; I don’t know what I want to do. You really scared me the other day when you grabbed my arm and then you sent me flowers today (thank you btw, they’re beautiful!) and then this email…I just don’t know what to think right now…and Chance said you haven’t been yourself lately either… How did you hear my audition today? Weren’t you at practice? Look, I don’t want to do all this through email, but I don’t know when we’re going to have time to talk with more audition stuff tomorrow and you with all your practice. I wish things could just go back to how they were…I can’t decide which is better, but at least I knew how to deal before.
I miss you, and I think I really do need you – Casey
She rereads her reply before hitting send and then closes her laptop as Veronica comes bouncing into the pool house, knocking at the same time as she enters. She holds the door open for Smudge to pad in and he beelines for Casey, revving his little motor before he gets to her. Casey smiles and picks him up. He curls in her lap as she pets him. Veronica sits down on the bed. “I liked it better with you just down the hall,” she fake pouts before breaking into a huge grin, “but at least you’re still here!” She lays back on the bed, “Are you ready to learn the dance audition tomorrow? It shouldn’t be too hard I don’t think, but who knows. Then we do our dance auditions on Wednesday and find out our parts on Thursday. I hope I get a good one!” She sits up abruptly and looks at Casey, “You know what?” Casey shakes her head no and Roni continues, “I kinda hope I get to be the Wicked Witch of the West. I heard they’re gonna rig her up to fly around the stage. That sounds like so much fun!” Veronica keeps going about the play and Casey listens, nodding and making small comments where appropriate, but otherwise just letting Roni spread her enthusiasm.
After a bit, Veronica changes her topic. “So, did dad figure out a way to help you with your foster parents and all?”
Casey looks down at her feet, then back at Roni before answering. “Not yet. He said they have some ideas, but that someone big is backing the claims, which is why they’re getting pushed through. They don’t know who yet, but they’re working on it. This is way more complicated than I thought it would be.” They sit in comfortable silence for a while, playing with Smudge. Casey eventually breaks the silence, “Hey Roni, um, I hate to ask, but do you mind if I have some time to myself. I have some homework to do tonight, and I think I’m gonna turn in early…”
“Oh sure! Sorry ‘bout that, guess I’m just too excited for my own good,” she smiles. She sits up, and turns suddenly serious. “Hey, I’m sorry about earlier, in class. If you want to talk about you and Aiden… well, I’m not too good at all that cuz I don’t have any experience, but I can be a good listener. Sometimes I get too wrapped up in what’s going on in my head, and I didn’t realize how lamebrain I acted until later. Sorry!”
She walks over to the desk and writes something down on the pad, then walks over and looks at Smudge. “You want him to sleep out here with you, give you some company? I don’t mind! And I wrote down my uchat name, the phone number for out here in case you want to give it out, and the phone number to my room in case you wanna talk. I’m usually up almost all night, I leave my computer on if you want to talk.”
Casey lounges on the couch and reads for her Lit in Film class and gets her math and science homework for the next day finished. She feels brain dead and decides that she’s done, so she packs up her bag. She stands and stretches big and digs through the dresser for her pj pants and a tank top, along with clean underwear, and she heads into the bathroom.
Casey’s surprised to find an array of bath salts, shampoos, conditioners, soaps and other bath items in a giant basket in the tub. There’s a note on top with her name scrawled in Sandy’s handwriting. She opens and reads it: “We didn’t know what you liked so we got a little of everything. Relax Casey, you deserve it! – Sandy”
She looks around the rest of the room, finding a new toothbrush, 4 different kinds of toothpaste, 4 different kinds of deodorant, 3 kinds of floss, hand soap, 2 kinds of mouthwash, 6 different lotions and body butters, 5 kinds of facial cleansers and toners, Q-tips, cotton balls, Kleenex, 3 hairbrushes, 2 combs, lots of hair ties and barrettes and headbands, a blow dryer, a curling iron, a flat iron, and a whole bunch more. She also sees about 20 candles spread throughout the room, and finds matches in a drawer. It’s almost like Sandy looked in Roni, Bianca, and Madison’s bathrooms and got Casey one of everything they had. She finds all new bath towels, hand towels and wash cloths, plus a brand new fluffy, terry cloth robe hanging behind the door, with slippers on the floor below.
Casey pulls the basket out of the tub and sets it on the floor in the closet, where she also notices a new hamper for her dirty clothes. She digs through the tub and pulls out some lavender scented milk bath and starts running a bath, pouring a little in. She lights a couple of the candles, then slips out of her clothes and slides into the hot water. She feels the tension flow out of her as she relaxes until she’s almost asleep. She finally gets out, draining the water and snuggling into the big, fluffy robe and slippers. Casey grabs the pajamas she had gotten out and puts them on the bed before looking around the main room some more. She goes around and closes all the blinds before flopping on the bed with her laptop to check her email one more time. She sees another email from Aiden and hesitates again before opening it. She clicks on it and reads:
Case,
I guess I didn’t realize it was all so new to you too. We never really talked about all of it, and a lot of your past, so I didn’t realize you felt more lost than I did. I didn’t mean to scare you, I’m really really sorry. When did you talk to Chance? He’s biased, don’t listen to him if he gives you any trouble, and tell me if he does. I snuck out of practice to listen to you sing, you didn’t think I’d miss that, did you? You know my number if – whenever – you need me.
I miss you too…so much. Aiden.
She finally feels the day and the hot bath catch up with her and she closes the laptop and puts it away. She slips into her pjs and hangs the robe back up before climbing into bed and going to sleep.
