Pick-me-up (9 page)

Tim slowed gradually so that Katelyn merged
naturally into his body and was quickly embraced. He held her by
the sides of her arms, his head tilted down to meet hers. “Katelyn,
you can’t live that way. Life’s all about risk.” He leaned in
closer and gave her a lingering kiss. He pulled away slowly and she
could see his grin, a feature becoming expected and familiar to
her. She found herself smiling in return. He touched the dimple on
her right cheek. “Besides, you’ll never know if you can trust
someone until you try.”

Katelyn opened up to him then. They walked
along the path with the insects and frogs silencing ahead of them
as they neared. She talked about Emily and the rumor Maci was
spreading. She talked about her family—her sisters dropping out and
the reputation they’d left her at the school. About their kids who
were often left in her mother’s care.

Katelyn held back telling him her dad’s full
history and her feelings about it. Somehow it felt like a bigger
chapter, a whole separate addition to a house of pain.

He let her talk. He sympathized with losing
friends—his mom had moved around a lot after her divorce, and being
the new kid didn’t win him any popularity contests, especially when
kids quickly judged him.

“What is the goal of homework anyway?” he
agreed with her after she told him about the stack of work in
Gorman’s office.

“Yeah, I know how to open a book and find
bold print. Big deal.” Katelyn joked and then frowned. “I don’t see
why he’s even making an issue about me anyway. He never did with my
sisters. I don’t think he ever called home when Jenny quit.”

Tim asked, “How long ago was that?”

Katelyn thought about Kayla’s age and did the
math. “Over three years ago.”

“Well,” Tim said like he won a bet, “that
explains it.”

“What?”

“Ever heard of No Child Left Behind or Race
to the Top?”

“Um,” Katelyn didn’t want to appear dumb. Tim
had been interested in everything else she’d talked about so far.
She opted for humor, “Is it related to why I have to change my
sister’s kids’ diapers?”

He laughed, and she felt a small victory
inside.

“It’s full of shit, for sure.” He paused and
then went into explanation. “Schools are under pressure for kids to
pass. Schools that don’t make the grade get in trouble. You are
their homework.”

Katelyn frowned.

“Plus, Chiquita, you cost that school
district some money if you leave.”

“Huh?” She wished she could take back the
expression and say something more intelligent, but she was
struggling to understand all he was saying. How does he know so
much about this? she wondered.

“Schools get a certain amount of tax money
for each student in their enrollment. I may be somewhat new in
town, but I don’t see a line at the door of people dying to go to
school here.”

“So, how do you work. I mean, who gets your
money’s worth?”

He laughed. “There’s the kicker.” His voice
turned wicked in tone. “Your school has to pay for me to go to my
school.” He let the thought sink in. “They contract with the
alternative school for kids like me.”

“What do you mean?”

He didn’t respond immediately. He shrugged
and in a dismissive voice said, “They can’t leave me behind, but
they can toss me off to someone else.”

Katelyn sensed he didn’t want to talk about
it, and she didn’t push. She switched the topic, asking about his
old school and which classes he liked. They continued talking about
likes and dislikes, funny stories and embarrassing moments, and
anything that popped up because of each other’s stories.

But, he always ended his side of the
conversation with a question or inquiry into her life. It was
strange to be questioned so directly, but it was welcome. Katelyn
wasn’t used to someone who thought she had this many things to talk
about. He wanted to know about her, and Katelyn found herself
willing to share.

The trail met up with a bridge near the
county fairgrounds. Tim let go of her hand and ran up under the
bridge, concealed momentarily in the shadows. He emerged with a
small cooler bag. He opened it, removed two beers and handed her
one. Katelyn saw two more in the pouch before he zipped it closed
and slung the strap over his shoulder. “I’d have more, but my mom
is starting to believe how much of an alcoholic she really is.” He
laughed at his own joke, grabbed her hand again, and headed off the
trail. “Come on.” They were back on street sidewalks. Both stayed
quiet and alert, but no headlight ever announced an oncoming
car.

He pointed down a side street as they passed
by. In a tour guide voice he announced, “And just eight houses east
is Casa Felske, a humble two-bedroom, full basement ranch.” Katelyn
made a mental note of the street. She wanted to see it in the
daylight.

Another five minutes of walking brought them
to the south railroad line. Trains were second nature to people who
lived in Northrup. On a busy day, 64 trains passed through the
town, blaring their horn at each of the eight intersections as
mandated. The south railroad line wasn’t as busy, but it also had
fewer intersections, so trains would often speed through
faster.

Tim took another long drink from his beer,
finishing it off. He shook the can to confirm its emptiness in a
show to Katelyn and then threw it onto the tracks where it hit a
rail and dropped down between the rocks and wood rail ties. Katelyn
lifted hers and took another drink, but it was still over half
full.

“Ready for another?” he asked as he unzipped
the cooler.

“Um,” Katelyn considered. She didn’t really
like beer, but drank it because her friends offered. “No, I’m a
slow drinker.”

He smiled and opened his new beer. He took
another drink and then started off, except he turned onto the
railroad tracks instead of following the sidewalk. He turned back
to her. “Come on,” he beckoned with a coy invitation and his sly
smile.

Katelyn looked to the road and then back to
him. She hesitated. “This is railroad property,” she warned from a
fear burned into her as a child through multiple safety talks at
the school. “If we get caught, . . .”

Tim cut her off. “Come on,” he said with an
exaggerated impatience. “I’ll hold your hand, little girl,” he
mocked and held his hand out to her.

For the third time of the night, she threw
her caution aside. She shrugged her shoulders and quickly caught up
with him.

“There’s my girl,” he said as he gripped her
hand. And they walked, aiming their steps to land on the ties
instead of the jagged rocks in between. Katelyn prayed that no
train would come while they were on the tracks. Someone in Northrup
always ended up on the news each year in some near tragedy or
tragic accident related to a train. Life may suck, but she wasn’t
ready to die.

They didn’t go far when the sloping rock
began to transition into a small bridge over a creek. Katelyn
looked ahead with a feeling of dread. The bridge was short, but it
was still a bridge, still empty underneath and fully reliant on the
steel supports.

“We’re here,” Tim stopped and stepped off the
track and started to descend the hill to the creek. He turned to
her. Momentary relief flooded her, releasing her anxiety of any
possible bridge crossing. She followed him to the creek bed. The
spring rains had filled the creek and it spilled by with a healthy
flow.

The sound of the water amplified her senses,
and Katelyn felt cold. She hadn’t needed her jacket earlier that
day when playing with Kayla at the park, but was glad for it now.
She pulled its zipper higher.

Tim noticed and stepped back to put his arm
around her. “I’ll keep you warm.” She leaned into him, and he
turned her to give her another kiss. Goosebumps traveled up her
neck and she shivered involuntarily. He hugged her close. She shut
her eyes and gave herself over to the moment.

This is like a romance scene in a movie, she
thought, except she was the star for once. She didn’t want to move,
didn’t want the moment to end. She breathed into his shoulder,
smelling a combination of both the moist earth smell of the night
and his body. A faint cologne lingered with a day’s worth of wear,
a salty, male scent. She breathed it in, linking it to the rest of
what she knew of him in her mind.

Katelyn heard a familiar rumbling sound. She
pulled away from him when her suspicion was confirmed by the horn
of an oncoming train.

She looked up to Tim to find him grinning at
her like he was about to deliver a punch line. “Come on,” he said.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her so she couldn’t hesitate. They
headed up the bank, not to the tracks, but under the bridge!
Katelyn started to protest, but he said louder, both for
authority’s sake and to be heard over the increasing noise of the
approaching train, “Come on! Trust me!”

She ducked after him now as he crawled
underneath the darker shadow of the trestles of the bridge. Time
pulled her up to the highest point. Larger rocks met with a
concrete base, so they could go no farther. He sat down on the
cement and pulled her down to sit between his legs in front of her.
She could do nothing else. The noise of the approaching train and
darkness under the bridge caused a fear that robbed her of
self-direction. With her back to him, he easily reached his arms
around her middle and held her close.

The train was speeding. This late at night,
the engineers didn’t have to contend with much traffic. Within
seconds, the lights from its engine filled the spaces of the
exposed tracks and frame above them, looking like a ladder fallen
flat, only feet away. The ground rumbled around them; the
vibrations shook the flesh of her legs. The light grew narrow and
brighter. With a deafening roar, the engine burst onto the bridge
above them. In that instant, Tim pulled himself and Katelyn back so
that they faced the underside of the bridge, the underside of the
crushing train. A blast of wind hit her face.

Katelyn’s yell lost out to the powered scream
of the train until the engine cleared and continued its way into
the town. The horn whistle blew and died out just as Katelyn’s
lungs emptied the last of her sound. She felt Tim’s body shaking
below her. He still had her pulled tightly to him. She realized it
was laughter that was causing him to shake. His face was beside
hers now and he said loudly so she could hear, “Open your
eyes.”

Katelyn didn’t realize her eyes were closed,
but she had automatically pinched them shut as the engine had
passed over her head. Katelyn slowly released her eyelids,
squinting up until she was sure the sight wouldn’t cause her death.
The train was a running black shadow now. Its shape was only
fragmented momentarily by indirect light from the moonlit sky. The
bridge creaked in answer to the clanging sways of cars. An
occasional metallic scraping pealed from the wheels, causing
Katelyn to wince.

She concentrated on separating the shadow,
making the darkness a train rather than the optical snake racing
above them. It didn’t work. She closed her eyes again.

Finally, after another minute or so, the
bridge was silent. The earth was still, and the train cars’ rhythm
grew distant. Katelyn let her mind release, and her body followed.
It was then that she realized she had been gripping Tim’s arms like
an animal strangling its prey. The chewed edges of her fingernails
popped from his skin. Her heart pounded in her chest.

She jumped up and ran out from under the
bridge. Tim was quick to follow. She heard him laughing, a fun
amused laugh. Her hands turned to fists and she turned and pummeled
him. “You asshole!”

Tim laughed and grabbed her hands. She pulled
them away and took a few determined steps away from him.

Katelyn started laughing. Relief, excitement,
and anger surged through her. Thrill. Thrill was the only word she
could use to describe the experience. Blood pulsed with fresh
energy and she shook with excitement. She jumped forward to Tim and
grabbed him. He played into the move and braced himself to counter
her force. In a move more forward than Katelyn ever though herself
capable, she grasped his head in both hands and brought her own up
to kiss him. She let his hands run the length of her back and
leaned into him as he brought them around the sides of her torso,
eventually cupping her breasts. She didn’t pull away, but caution
crept into her conscience. She slowed her kisses and turned her
head into his shoulder, signaling a limit of how far she was
willing to go.

Finally, she spoke. “That was . . . totally
insane!” She laughed.

“A rush, huh?” he said, holding her and
rubbing her back with one palm. “Better than drugs.”

Katelyn stiffened, unsure of what he meant
and how to reply. Did he do drugs? Or, was he against them? “Yeah,”
she agreed, “I mean, not that I know or anything.”

Tim moved her back and gave her a quizzical
look, making some judgment in silence. “Trust me,” he said.

But, the trust Katelyn had felt moments ago
wasn’t as strong. She didn’t want the evening to change, so she
ignored a question she couldn’t find a way to ask, one she wasn’t
sure she wanted to hear the answer.

A small splash in the creek behind them made
her jump. She laughed at her own edginess. The creek’s running
water caught her attention. Its sounds were hypnotic, and she
stifled a yawn.

“What time is it?” she asked, still annoyed
that she didn’t have her phone to check for herself.

“Aw, is my girl tired? Don’t tell me, you
have to get up for Gorman, right?” Katelyn didn’t respond, but
smiled at the teasing. Tim pulled out his own phone and turned it
to face her.

“Holy crap!” Katelyn burst out. “I gotta go.”
By the time she’d get home, she’d only have three hours of sleep,
four if she could manage to fall asleep right away.