Gifts and Consequences (4 page)
“It’s the same principle. The lottery is an unearned gift multiplied by a million. And if multi-million dollar winnings are truly a blessing, why do more than one third of lottery winners declare bankruptcy within five years?”
Marcus had no answer.
“Those are the numbers, Marcus. There are no statistics on contentment after winning, but I’m convinced the bankrupt ones spend the rest of their lives bitter, blaming other people for their destitution, and expecting society to give them more. They are ruined when it comes to working for a dollar.”
“I’m not talking about giving away millions to one person. Think about how a few thousand could change this girl’s life.”
Jonathan shook his head. “A small unearned gift is the same as a megagift, but on a micro level. I choose not to undermine society or individuals in that manner.”
Marcus exhaled and ran his hands along the sides of his shaved head.
“If your conscience is too tender, you’re free to walk away,” said Jonathan. “You do a great job here, but don’t do me any favors by compromising your integrity.”
Marcus nodded slowly. “We’ll see if things change after tonight. Most people get exactly what they deserve, what they earn. I just wonder if we crossed the line with this one. She never asked for this.” Marcus clenched his teeth, exhaled again, then said, “That girl never asked for anything.”
Marcus would be hard to replace if it ever came to that. Not only as an assistant, but as a friend. His combination of compassion and belief in consequences was a rare mix, especially in a man so professional and detail oriented.
“You can’t take something away from someone who has nothing,” said Jonathan. “She only stands to gain.”
“How can you say that? She’s a human being.”
“Trust me. She’ll be better off after tonight, no matter what happens.”
Marcus walked to the doorway, but stopped and said over his shoulder, “This probably goes without saying, but if it turns out bad for her, you can take it as my notice of resignation.” He didn’t wait for Jonathan to answer.
Saturday, May 7, 2011 – My First Date
In four hours my first date will be here to pick me up. I still don’t feel as excited as I expected, just nervous. I don’t really know why Tyler asked me to go with him. He did say ‘Hi’ to me when he saw me in K-Mart my sophomore year. I guess he can be a decent person when Chase isn’t around. I just hope it isn’t a joke. I don’t think I could handle it. I’ve heard lots of kids at school talking about the concert, so I know it’s a big deal, but that only makes me even more nervous.
Why did he ask
me
???
I went to the Salvation Army and bought a dress. It’s dark blue and plain, like Daphne’s in
Devil in a Blue Dress
. When I was in the store all I could think of was that book and my face was bright red the whole time.
I hoped I’d look like Bella when she went to prom, but I look more like a brunette Pippi Longstocking, but with boobs. I’m glad Buck didn’t make me go to the 8th grade dance. That was the only good thing about him. He never made me do anything.
I bought some makeup at Dollar Tree. I’m going to wear blush and a little bit of lipstick. I practiced last night, but I put it on too heavy and I looked like a skinny clown.
I just know something will go wrong. Tyler will probably show up with Chase and Brennan, all of them with their prom dates and laugh at me. I don’t think they’d dump pig’s blood on me like the kids did in
Carrie.
Actually, Chase might do that, but I don’t think Tyler would. Even if they did, I’d never electrocute and burn them all. Even if I did have pyrokinesis.
Watch Buck show up at the last minute. That would be more like my luck.
I’ll write again after the date.
Tyler wouldn’t be there to pick her up for another hour, but Lisa Knapp was ready to go. The night she’d been dreaming of for years was finally here.
After hitting the save icon, Lisa closed the file, but kept the folder open. She scrolled to the top and opened the first file.
September 2, 2005 – My First Diary Entry
buck bought me a computer yesterday. he didn’t want to but i told him i needed it for school. he said i could go to H and die and my school could go with me. he never bought me anything for school before but i really wanted a computer and knew he wanted to be left alone so i told him that the school said any kids that couldn’t afford it would have to fill out a financial form and the school might be able to get an old computer for them. he said a lot more bad words to me and i thought he wasn’t going to believe me.
all night and the next day i was scared that he would ask the school about it and find out i lied. when i got home from school i saw an old computer sitting on the table.
i was as happy as Harry Potter when he got his wand from olivander’s wand shop
there was no keyboard, just a screen and a mouse and the computer box part. buck looked like he was proud of himself and said, don’t say i never bought you anything. he didn’t even cuss when he said it
i wrote a thank you note and left it on the table when I went to school this morning. it wasn’t there when i got home, but he didn’t say anything about it.
i got a keyboard at salvation army for $3 that i had saved up. my computer is slower than the ones at school and the screen is small, but it has Microsoft Works and minesweeper and some card games.
i’m going to start writing a diary. i already found out how to lock it so only i can open it with my password.
I LOVE MY COMPUTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lisa smiled cautiously. The day she allowed herself to be happy about Buck disappearing he’d probably walk right back into the apartment. After scrolling down a page, Lisa opened another file.
January 3, 2009 – The Best Birthday Present Ever?
I turned 16 two days ago. I think Buck was still sleeping when I left for school
When I read
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
I thought it would be scary to live alone like Lizbeth, but it has been a lot better than living with Buck.
I’m sure he is coming back soon, but these 2 days without him have been the best I can ever remember. Except the day I got my computer.
I’m going to keep my fingers crossed!
February 1, 2009 – On My Own!
I haven’t seen Buck since before my birthday. It’s been one month now. I used the money in his wallet and the change from his jar to buy some food. I even got a small bag of cat chow and took some to the cat with one eye that lives by the school. It usually just comes out when everyone is done eating to eat scraps. I wonder if someone shot it with a BB gun like the cat in the book
One Eyed Cat
.
I’m almost out of money so I went to an ATM today and used Buck’s pin (I knew it because I saw him use it at Kroger’s once). I got $40 in cash and it asked if I wanted a balance and I pushed YES. He has $822.49 in the bank! I have as much money as Harry Potter!
I wish I had someone to celebrate with. The last friend I had was when I was 7. I was playing outside with some chalk another kid left on the sidewalk and a Mexican girl asked if she could play with me. I broke the chalk in half and we drew pictures until the chalk got so small we were scraping our knuckles on the cement. I asked if she wanted to see my 2 dolls and she came to the apartment.
Buck was passed out drunk on the couch and he didn’t hear us go into my room. After a few minutes our giggling woke him up and he came in yelling and swearing at me to be quiet. When he saw I had a friend over he got even madder and yelled and cussed at her until she left. He said a lot of bad things about Mexicans while he was yelling at her.
When she was gone he kept yelling at me and telling me he wasn’t going to take care of all my stupid friends and feed them and clean up their messes and why was I hanging out with a “wetback” anyway. He even called me a f****** b****.
That girl only lived there for a few more months, but we didn’t play together after that.
Even though she didn’t know very much English she told everyone what a freak my dad was and what a freak I was. Ever since then they call me “freak”. It was the last time I tried to make a friend.
Buck was worse than Smelly Gabe, Percy Jackson’s stepfather. But instead of moldy garlic pizza, Buck just smelled like beer. All the time. At least Smelly Gabe’s stench kept monsters from finding Percy. Buck just kept friends away.
Well you’re the f****** b**** Buck. I hope you never come back.
She no longer cried when she thought about the pain of living with Buck and exhilaration of freedom when he disappeared. The worst part was not mattering to anyone in the world, unless she stepped out of line—then Buck let her have it.
In a year and a half she’d seen no sign of Buck. The money from the small trust fund and state support kept going into the account, and she lived on cash that she took out of ATMs. The rent had been set up on auto-pay sometime in the past so she never had to worry about it.
The clock on the wall read 6:00. Half an hour until the date that would save her life.
Tyler O’Hara drove to Lisa’s house with the tickets in his right hand. He whooped for the millionth time. Not only was he going to the biggest concert ever, he was going for free. And he was taking the most popular girl in school, who had cancelled her prom date a week before the dance to go with him. Another whoop.
The neighborhood he drove through was significantly more upscale than his own. Once he reached the right street he popped a piece of gum in his mouth. He was half way out of his Mustang before the engine had stopped and he bounded up the boulders that lined the walkway leading to Lisa’s house. He had way too much energy for sidewalks.
He checked his shirt for lint, admiring the recent purchase. A lot of clothes clashed with his dark orange hair, but the blue shirt made him look good.
Even if I do say so myself
, he thought with a smile.
Lisa’s mom answered the door and insisted he come in. Time passed so slowly Tyler wondered if the clock on his cell was broken.
Eventually Lisa came downstairs, looking better than ever. She wore a dark blue shirt the same shade as Tyler’s.
He thought,
Could this night get any better?
Tyler reached for the door, but Lisa’s mom said, “Let’s get some pictures before you go. You’re missing the prom, after all.”
“MTV’s airing the concert,” said Tyler. “Record it and you can watch us in the audience as much as you want.”
“It’s not the same,” said Lisa’s mom, pulling Tyler back into the front room.
At 6:45 they were finally outside and on their way. Lisa said, “I can’t
believe
you got tickets! How’d you get ‘em?”
“I’ve got connections,” he answered, thinking of the sucker that had given him the thousand-dollar tickets. Not bothering to open the car door for his date, he chuckled and thought,
Oh, did you say Lisa Knapp? I thought you said Lisa Halloway.
My bad, Sucka!
This date was going to make him. Lisa might not be the hottest girl in school, but she was the most popular. Graduation was in less than a month—just enough time to step up his dating. A date with Lisa Halloway meant no girl in the school was off limits.
Anything else that happens tonight is just gravy.
Tyler jumped over the door into his convertible. The happy couple left a trail of rubber in front of the Halloway’s house.