Welcome To Hickville High (Hickville High Series Book 1) (11 page)

Great. Britney Boyd and Courtney Randall were ordering from a menu. Maybe they wouldn’t remember her from the coffee shop. She ducked her head and cleared plates from an empty table across from where the girls sat.

“Hey, Courtney, isn’t that Illanoise busing tables?”

Kelsey wanted to correct the mispronunciation, but continued to stack dishes-of-grossness in the bucket.

Tables filled, customers ate, and then left disgusting dishes for her to clear and clean for the next two hours. She dodged a few more snarky comments from the girls but was too busy trying to keep her breakfast down to think about it—until the girls finished their lunch. They stood at the cash register receiving change from Mrs. McCoy and called to Kelsey. “Hey, we left you a special tip.”

Yeah. I bet you did. She nodded and gave a sarcastic “Thanks.”

That special tip was a plate with mashed potatoes, ranch dressing, and ketchup mixed together. So what, she could handle that. The glasses stopped her. They were upside down, full of soda. She couldn’t clear them without dumping coke all over the table.

Mrs. McCoy tsked from behind her. “I hate when kids do that. Sometimes you can hold your bucket under the table ledge and scoot it over until it dumps.”

“How do they do that?”

“They put cardboard over the top, turn it upside down and slide out the cardboard. We quit using coasters because they’re the perfect size for this stunt.”

Kelsey tried the scoot the glass to the edge trick, but the soda spilled anyway.

Mrs. McCoy shook her head. “Well, you’ve been initiated. Welcome to the Early Bird.”

Kelsey cleaned the mess and repeated her mantra.
Chicago, gala, Drew.

The rest of the afternoon went by with the normal grossness of busing tables. T-bone never spoke to her directly. Instead, he would yell directions at Mrs. McCoy for “the girl.” That was fine with Kelsey. When the rush slowed and Kelsey finished loading the last round of dishes, Mrs. McCoy called her aside.

“You did real good, Kelsey. T wants to know if you can work Monday through Friday until school starts.”

“I think so.”
Or until I earn enough money to go to Chicago, but I’m not telling you that.

“Well, ask your parents. You are working tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, ma’m.”

“Okay, we’re good here if you want to text Austin.”

“Thank you.” Kelsey texted
I’m done
as she spoke.

T-bone poked his head around the corner of the kitchen and yelled, “Sandy, tell the girl her lunch is at the counter.”

“She heard, T, along with half the town.” She looked at Kelsey. “That’s about as close of a pat on the back as you’ll ever get.”

Kelsey smiled. “I didn’t realize I was hungry, now I’m starving.”

“Hang up your apron and go eat.”

Kelsey found a hamburger and fries waiting for her. Mrs. McCoy brought her a Dr. Pepper, grabbed a salad, and sat next to her at the bar.

“Well, Miss Kelsey, what do you think of your first day at the diner?”

“It was good. I’ll never leave a gross mess for the busboy again.”

“Learned something, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“I guess things are a might bit different here than in Chicago.”

“Oh, yes.”

“Austin said you were catching on to the farm life. He said you were a real natural.”

“Really?”
Cuz he told me that I gripe about it all the time.

“He said you smile when you feed the chickens.”

“I do?”

“Well, he’d probably kill me if he knew I shared that with you.”

Awkward silence filled the air between them. Kelsey searched for conversation. “Mrs. McCoy…”

“Call me Sandy, honey.”

“Okay, Sandy. Did you know my dad?”

“I was a few years younger than your dad. But I reckon everybody knew who he was—especially when he gave up football.”

“Why did he give it up?”

“There were lot’s of rumors, but you know how school can be.”

“My aunt said something about some girl, Cassidy Jones?”

Mrs. McCoy—Sandy—raised her brows and lowered the corners of her mouth in a
huh
kind of way. “Love can make the heart do crazy things. I guess your daddy is the best one to answer that question.”

“Yeah. He doesn’t talk about his school days. Before we moved here, I never really thought about what high school was like for my parents.”

“You were probably too busy having your own experience. Do you like school?”

“I liked Saint Monica’s. I can’t believe I’m missing my senior year there.”

“It’s hard moving and leaving your friends behind, but it can be an adventure too. Your friends won’t forget you.”

“Yeah. I know. Mom says sometimes you make sacrifices for the ones you love. Is it really a sacrifice if you don’t have a choice?”

“Maybe she wasn’t talking about you.”

That stopped Kelsey. She’d never considered that her mom was actually sacrificing anything. Sure her mom had a few friends, but wasn’t her life mostly the family? Other than wearing cute clothes to volunteer events, what’d her mom give up?

She didn’t have time to think about it for long because Austin came barreling through the door. “Hey everybody.”

Sandy turned toward the door. “Pull up a stool. We were just talking about school.”

Austin sat next to Kelsey and snitched a fry from her plate. “I can’t believe summer is almost over. Football practice starts next week.” He bumped elbows with Kelsey. “Are you ready to become a Hillside Hornet?”

“Let’s say I’m ready to get this year over with.”

“Get it over with?” Sandy looked at her like she’d just insulted the flag or something. “You might want to be careful what you wish for, the next thing you know, and you’ll be crossing that stage wondering where it went.”

Austin stood. “She’s got a boyfriend waiting for her, I don’t think she’s too worried about her senior year.”

Kelsey smacked him on the arm. “It’s not just about Drew.”
And do you really care?

“Well you aren’t gonna hurry up the year, so you might as well enjoy the ride.” Sandy looked at Austin. “Are you two heading back to the feed store?”

“Yeah, why?”

“No reason. Jenny can’t come in until six, so I’m working late tonight.”

Kelsey finished her burger and stood to clear the plates, but Sandy stopped her. “I got it. You go on.”

Kelsey gathered her purse and left the diner behind Austin.
Enjoy the ride? What ride? I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no friends.
She watched Austin jump off of the sidewalk to the street.
Okay, one friend. But this isn’t Chicago and he’s not Drew.

Kelsey didn’t realize how tired she was until she sat in Austin’s truck. She leaned her head against the back of the seat and closed her eyes.

He started the engine and said, “How was your first day?”

“Exhausting. I didn’t know I was going to be a busboy. People are really gross.”

“I’ve done that job before, I’d rather scoop shit than pick up what people leave on their plates. The worst is ranch dressing floating in the tub.”

“With ketchup and soggy bread.” She peeped at him with one eye. “Okay, now I’m nauseous—thanks. I don’t know how I’m going to heave feed sacks. I’m so tired. Carrying all those dishes gets heavy.”

“That’s what you’ve got me for. This is like strength training for football.”

Football. School. Her stomach tightened. She opened her eyes and leaned her back against the door so she could face Austin. “Tell me about school here.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know—anything.”

“School is just school. But the football games are epic.” Austin’s whole face lit up when mentioned football. It reminded her of the way Ryan looked after finishing a sculpture she’d been working on, or Mackenzie when she nailed a new skill in gymnastics. Kelsey’d never felt that passionate about anything. Sometimes she was a little jealous of her sisters, but the truth was, emotions just didn’t run that deep with her.

“Epic? Really?” She couldn’t help herself from poking a little fun at Austin.

“The whole freaking town comes to our home games.”

“I guess there’s nothing else to do on Friday night.”

“Nothing else?” He put his hand over his heart, dramatically. “What more do you need?”

She laughed at his gesture. “Seriously, I am in Hickville.”

“No, you are in heaven. You just haven’t figured it out yet.”

“So far I’ve seen snakes and crazy heat. Are you sure you got that right?”

Austin looked at her with those eyes that seemed to always be smiling. “That’s the way I see it.”

She tried to come up with a snappy retort, but kind of got lost in his gaze and things got all wonky feeling in the truck. She stared out the window until she could speak coherently. “So the girls from the coffee shop came in today.”

“Courtney and Britney?” She closed her eyes briefly.
God, how can he sound so normal when my heart is racing?

“Yeah. What’s the story with them?” She glanced at him. A normal thing to do, except her heart was pounding in her chest.

“They like football players and hate girls that aren’t in their group. Most of the girls are afraid of them. Why, something happen?”

“Not really.”
Breathe. Don’t look at him.
“They left me an upside down glass of coke to clean up. No biggie.”

“They can be real bitches. Don’t worry I’ve got your back.”

“Do I look worried?”

“A little.”

“Pshh, I can handle them.”
It’s you that scares me.

In Texas, it is illegal to spit on the sidewalk.

Her parents agreed to Monday through Friday at the café. It didn’t take her long to get into a routine. Chores in the morning, work the lunch rush, help at the store until time to close. Work, work, and more work. But it was okay because Austin was there. She still had those awkward moments when her heart beat too fast, but it was obvious that he wasn’t interested in more than friendship. And besides, she had Drew. He was her cure to Austinitis. All she had to do was text Drew. He’d answer with something sweet and she’d think about her goal and the money that was slowly building. If she was lucky, she’d have the money for airfare in plenty of time for the gala.

When Austin started football practice, things changed. He still came to the farm to work with the horses, but didn’t get there until time for her to leave for work. Every morning, her mom and sisters rode to the store with her dad. She was left with the clunker truck.

Most days, Austin stopped by the diner on his way to the feed store. She found herself watching the clock for him. When he walked through the screen door, she couldn’t help the smile that formed on her lips. They’d sit at the bar, share a plate of fries, and talk about nothing. And in the late afternoon, when they worked at the store, he teased with her sisters. He was the big brother they never had. He’d become a part of their family.

As football practice stepped up, Kelsey saw less of Austin and thought more about the impending first day of school. She didn’t want to admit she was nervous. After all, she’d been to one of the top private schools in Chicago. She was bound to be eons ahead of these kids. But there was the other side of school, the part that had nothing to do with academics and everything to do with survival.

Normally before the first day, her mom would take the girls shopping. They wore uniforms, but they still got to buy the latest fashions along with their needed supplies. It didn’t matter that Kelsey was in high school; she loved the smell of the supplies. There was something about new spiral notebooks and packages of pens that made her feel like a kid opening a box of sixty-four crayons for the first time.

This year there was no shopping for clothes. Instead of buying the spiral notebooks with the cool, colorful patterns on the cover and perforated pages, they bought the discount solid color ones. Kelsey knew it shouldn’t matter. It was just a place to take notes, no big deal. But instead of getting a fresh box of sixty-four crayons, it felt like she got the twenty-four pack of off-brand that never really colored right.

But her notebook trauma was nothing compared to the first day of school. August twenty-sixth had come way too early. Thank God, Austin had offered to drive them to school. Otherwise, they’d have to have their mom to take them in—not an option—or ride the bus—completely not an option.

Kelsey was excused from farm chores the first day of school but she was up extra early anyway. They all were. And nerves ran high in the Quinn household.

Kelsey dug through her miniscule closet for the tenth time looking for the perfect outfit. For eleven years her school clothes had been dictated to her and she’d hated it. Now that she had the freedom to choose, she didn’t know how she was ever going to figure out what to wear.

She tried texting Zoe, but since St. Monica’s didn’t start until September, she knew Zoe was probably still asleep and wasn’t surprised when she didn’t answer. Kelsey had laid out a skirt and top the night before, but decided she didn’t want to look like she’d put too much time into her outfit. This morning, she tried on three pairs of jeans and five tops and still hadn’t come up with an answer.

She was about to try combo number six when Ryan came into her room. For the past two years Ryan had gone to an art magnet school and didn’t have to wear uniforms. She was used to figuring out what to wear.

“Do I look okay, Kel?”

Kelsey appraised her sister’s attire. She wore sneakers, jeans, and a paint splattered T with sort of a Jackson Pollock look. Her super short hair was more subdued than usual, but still had a trendy anime spiked look. Ryan didn’t wear much makeup, but she didn’t need to. She was blessed with perfect porcelain skin.

Kelsey shrugged. “You look cute. Not too dressed up, not too dressed down. I don’t know what to wear. Everything I’ve put on either screams I’m trying to hard or I’m not trying enough.”

Ryan looked at the clothes strewn across the bed. “You can’t figure out what to wear? Clothes are your favorite pastime.”

“This isn’t Chicago. What do they wear here?”

Ryan rolled her eyes. “It’s still high school…”

“I’m lost without my uniform.”

Ryan picked a periwinkle blouse off Kelsey’s bed and threw it at her. “Wear this. It will make the color in your eyes pop. Austin will love it.”

“Austin?” She stood in her bra and panties holding the blouse trying not to feel the heat crawling up her body. “What do you mean, Austin?”

Ryan looked away from Kelsey and shrugged. “Just saying.”

“We’re just friends.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Ryan, I’d never cheat on Drew.” She wanted to be mad at her sister, but a stupid smile kept her from it.

“Too bad, wear the blue anyway.” Ryan left Kelsey staring at the blouse.

So what if she wore it, it didn’t mean she was trying to impress Austin. It was the rest of the school that mattered to her. She wore the shirt and her favorite pair of jeans. Sophisticated, but not snobby. She flat ironed her hair and applied her makeup to perfection—but not for Austin.

She met Mackenzie at the top of the stairs. Her sister wore a long-sleeved boyfriend-shirt and a denim pencil skirt. “Long sleeves, Kenzie? Are you crazy? It’s two hundred degrees out there.”

Her sister blushed. “I—I know. This is what I want to wear.”

Kelsey shrugged. “Okay. You look great—just hot.”

Kenzie clunked down the stairs. “Let’s just get this day over with.”

*

Kelsey stepped onto the porch and smiled. Austin sat in the wicker chair sipping coffee just as he’d done on those first few mornings they’d worked together.

He set his cup on the coffee table. “Morning Kelsey, ready for school?”

She took a deep breath. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

She and her sisters followed him to his truck. He tapped the steering wheel with his fingers while Kelsey climbed into passenger seat and her sisters sat in the back.

“Here we go.” He backed out and headed toward the highway.

Ryan leaned forward. “Anything weird we should expect?”

“Nah. You can’t go into the building until the ten-minute bell rings. Oh, and we have a closed campus, so you have to eat in the cafeteria.”

Kelsey listened while Austin and Ryan talked about the horrors of school cafeteria rules. Even Mackenzie joined in the conversation. But Kelsey was too nervous to talk. She wouldn’t admit that she wanted to be accepted by the girls in this school, but she did. She shuddered at the thought of being one of those kids in the lunchroom who sat at the loser table, or worse, by themselves. She wished she’d noticed how the girls here dressed, but she’d been too busy working since they’d arrived in Texas.

By the time they got to the school, the parking lot was almost full. Austin drove to a space on the first row and pulled in. Kelsey glanced at him. “You lucked out.”

“We have assigned spots and senior football players get first pick.”

“Seriously?” Kelsey shook her head.

“I know it’s lame, but hey, I didn’t make the rules. I just get to pick the best space.”

When Austin shifted into Park, Kelsey felt her heart lurch into her throat. This was it. Her senior year. The year she was the new kid. The year her perfect world traveling along a perfect path, wobbled out of control, landing her in the midst of a place with different people, customs, and language. And they would watch her. They’d analyze how she dressed, every move, every word, and an unspoken decision would be made dictating where she fit into their society.

She took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and opened the door of the truck.

She and her sisters walked together in a clump around Austin. She was closest to him and secretly wanted to hang onto his arm. Not to make a claim on him, but for an added bit of security as she navigated these choppy waters. They hadn’t walked far when several guys, who judging by their size must be football players, yelled at Austin.

He mumbled to the girls, “I’ll be right back,” and jogged to his friends.

Kelsey stood in the parking lot with her sisters and waited. She turned to Mackenzie and Ryan and saw a wild-eyed look in their eyes. She knew exactly how they felt. It was if they were rushing toward the rapids and their paddle had been taken away.

Kelsey swallowed and said, “Come on. We can find our classes, right?”

Ryan pulled her schedule out of her purse. “Yeah. I have Spanish. Mackenzie, you have history, right?”

“Yes. I think I know where it is.”

Despite the uneasiness she felt, Kelsey adjusted her purse strap on her shoulder and faced the school. “Let’s go.”

“What about Austin?” Ryan asked.

Kelsey glanced over at him. “He’s got friends to catch up with. Besides, we don’t need him to babysit us.”

The crowd of kids grew thicker as they neared the building and Kelsey felt their stares appraising the new girls in school. Her steps slowed and her sisters moved closer to her as they picked their way down the halls.

They came to an open area by the offices. Excited chatter laced with squeals of reunited friendships filled the air, and yet, amidst it all, Kelsey heard her heart pounding in her ears. For the first time in her life, she was the girl on the outside looking in. The Queen Bee had lost her crown and scepter.

She stopped next to a pillar and pulled her schedule from her notebook. “I go to room one-fourteen in C hall. How about y’all?”

Both of Ryan and Kenzie’s classes were in B hall. Her sisters split off one direction and Kelsey the other.

She held her notebook close to her chest as she drifted through the river of kids. She didn’t look at the ones standing by their lockers, but she felt their eyes—natives wary of the intruder. She struggled to find the perfect expression. Too smiley and she’d look desperate. Too serious equaled stuck up. And then there was the fact that she didn’t really know where she was going. She didn’t want to look like a loser staring at the numbers above the doors.

The five-minute bell sounded and everybody began to move into the classrooms. Kelsey was stuck in the hall, not sure which way to go.

“Hey, where are ya going?” A voice sounded from behind. Kelsey felt heat crawl up her neck to fill her face. Busted. She looked as lost as she felt.

She turned to a girl with a head full of curly red hair. A quick glance at the just-right amount of blush dusting her cheeks and the not-too-heavy eye shadow and she knew this girl had to be one of the populars. Oh joy, Courtney and Ashley stood a few feet away watching. This was a test. How she handled this situation would have consequences that would extend to the lunchroom and beyond. She forced confidence into her voice and answered. “One-fourteen, AP English.”

A slow smile spread across the girl’s face. “Two doors down on the right.”

Kelsey felt her shoulders relax. She passed. “Thanks.”

“No problemo.” The girl turned and walked back to her friends.

For a fleeting moment, Kelsey wished the girl had introduced herself, but she supposed it was too early in the game for that kind of approval. So she forced her feet to move in the direction of one-fourteen.

Just as she reached the doorway, Austin slid next to her. “Whoa, where are you going?”

“AP English.”

“This is World Geography. See all the maps on the walls?”

Kelsey felt defeat all the way to her toes. She backed away from the door. “I was misinformed. Where is one-fourteen?”

“Across the hall.”

Kelsey looked in time to see the redheaded girl disappear into the room Austin indicated. “Great.”

Austin regarded her with a puzzled look. “You okay?”

“I’m good.”

“Hey, I’m sorry about this morning. I didn’t mean to leave y’all.”

“It’s no big deal. I found my way—ish.”

“Wait for me after class and I’ll show you where to go.”

“I’ll be here.” She took a deep breath and headed into AP English. She scanned the seats and the faces that occupied them. There were two vacant seats. One by the redheaded girl and the other on the back row by some emo-loser.

If she was going to win this power struggle, she couldn’t back away from Red. She took a deep breath, stood a little taller and headed to the seat next to Red. She forced a confident smile on her face and said, “Thanks for saving me a seat.” She could almost see the girl mentally stumble. Red had no idea who she was playing with.

To her credit, she recovered quickly and said, “Actually, I was saving it for someone else.”

“Too bad they’re late then.”

Red jutted her lower jaw forward in a half-pissed, half-pout expression. She waited for the girl to think up a retort when Travis came in the room. Red jumped from her seat and gave him a hug. “Hey, Trav. I tried to save you a seat…” She glared at Kelsey.

Travis turned to Kelsey and hugged her as best as he could, considering Kelsey had not jumped to her feet upon his arrival. “Hey, Kelsey.” He indicated the redhead and said, “This is Sabrina Stevens. Hey, we’ll talk after class.” He looked around the room and took the seat next to the emo-guy.

Kelsey let a soft smile form on her lips as she turned to face the front and listen to Mr. Shipley talk about the upcoming assignments. She had no idea what Sabrina thought, but hoped she was a little intimidated by Kelsey’s fortitude.