Jovial Memories

Chapter 13

            Mandy's angry sulking with her mother eventually came to a cease as a few days passed. Mandy had been thankful enough to receive a B+ on one of her tests, which pleased her mother greatly. Afterwards, the anger had eventually fallen away, and Mandy felt at peace with her mother once again (or close enough to it). She was sure another breakdown would occur in the future.
            Finally, it was Friday, and Mandy was overjoyed to be done with the week. After school, she'd be heading to her father's for the weekend, which would allow that final little anger between her and her mother subside. Plus, she always looked forward to spending time with her dad, as she most often did not see him except during the weekends.
            Mandy woke up happily to find the sun glistening off the powdery snow. Grinning in delight, she threw on her clothes for the day, including a new sweater she'd bought with her mother the past week. She placed her newer snowcoat over her shoulders and walked downstairs, her snow boots clanking against the wooden steps.
            Her mother already had a glass of orange juice poured for Mandy, as well as a fresh omelet. Mandy grinned, licking her lips as she watched steam rise from the omelet.
            "Good morning!" her mother called. She was digging through the cupboard furiously as she prepared her own breakfast.
            "Thanks for breakfast," Mandy said, taking a seat. "You don't normally make this for me."
            Her mother turned around, smiling warmly. "Ah, it's Friday. Better enjoy it."
            Mandy grinned and ate her breakfast quickly, leaving her plenty of time to get to the bus. She grabbed her things and told her mother good-bye.
            "Are your things packed for your father's?" she called as Mandy walked out the door.
            "In my backpack!" Mandy called, telling her mother good-bye.
            "See you Monday, dear!" her mother shouted as Mandy shut the door.
            Her father would be picking her up directly after school and taking her home, which almost automatically meant a Friday night of fun.
            Warm thoughts stirring in her head, Mandy skipped to the bus stop, coming to a halt as she waited with the other students. They all seemed a bit peppier too, probably because of the day of the week.
            The bus pulled up a minute later, and Mandy climbed on, taking her usual seat. The bus ride felt shorter than normal, and she was relieved to arrive at school minutes later.
            As soon as I get the day started, the sooner I get to enjoy the weekend, she thought as she walked through the doors of the school.
            With the ring of the bell, classes began, and Mandy was soon pulled into her classes where she tried her best to pay attention, take good notes, and remember important upcoming dates.
            For lunch, she sat in the hallway by the lockers, sipping soup from her thermos. To her luck, no one walked by, and she was able to enjoy her lunch in peace.
            It was when English class rolled around in the afternoon that her day seemed to slowly lose its beauty. Currently, they'd been working on a project due the following week. Mrs. Riggs had allowed them to work in class, but it was becoming obvious that more work would be needed outside school.
            Mandy, unfortunately, had been paired by Mrs. Riggs with Roy and Iris, though she supposed they were more accepting of her than any other classmates. Still, Mandy often found herself watching them do the work while they progressed.
            "You'll have twenty minutes at the end of class to work on your project," Mrs. Riggs announced at the beginning of class. "The project will be due Monday morning. It's best to find a time you can work with your partners if you don't finish in class today."
            Mandy felt queasy, knowing for sure they would not finish. It was the job of her and her two partners to create a presentation on one of the authors they'd read during class. To be honest, Mandy felt it was more historical than literary, but Mrs. Riggs assured them it would help them while reading future works by the author.
            The first thirty-five minutes of class passed slowly as the class continued their daily work. Then, with twenty minutes left, the class was dismissed to work on projects. Sighing, Mandy turned to Roy and Iris, watching as they pulled the materials from their bags.
            "We almost have all the information," Iris explained as she pulled out several sheets of notebook paper filled with facts and information. "It's just the power point we need to work on."
            "Let's get all the information down first," Roy suggested. "That work for you, Mandy?"
            Mandy, not really paying attention, simply nodded, watching as Iris pulled up her laptop while Roy had a pen and paper ready.
            "This is the last article we looked at. It should complete it," Iris explained.
            Mandy only sat, watching as Iris relayed notes to write to Roy. She supposed she wasn't exactly working equally as hard as the others, but it wasn't so much her fault. She'd love to help, but Roy and Iris seemed content with doing the work and letting her watch. She just hoped Mrs. Riggs wouldn't become suspicious. Twice since the project began she'd been asked by the teacher if she felt she were truly "participating" in the project.
            But Mrs. Riggs seemed too preoccupied on her laptop to notice, leaving Mandy to nervously watch the time fade away. With the ring of the bell, Roy finished down writing his last note.
            "That's it for today! Have a good weekend!" Mrs. Riggs called. "Projects due Monday."
            Before Iris or Roy could speak, Mandy quickly stood up with her backpack and burst out the door. Unfortunately, no more than a minute later, the two had caught up with her.
            "Wait, Mandy!" Iris called, forcing Mandy to turn around.
            Mandy sighed and stopped, facing the two.
            "We still need to make that presentation," Roy explained, out of breath from rushing after Mandy.
            "Okay," Mandy replied.
            "We should get together at my house this weekend," Iris suggested.
            "Uh..."
            "Come on, Mandy. We've got to finish!" Iris urged.
            "Plus, you haven't done a piece of work," Roy reminded her.
            Mandy froze.
            "Oh, don't act like you haven't just sat there. Look, we're not going to rat you out or anything, but it's the least you can do," Roy explained.
            Mandy gripped her fists, furious he was making her do this, but she decided to obey.
            "Fine," she sighed, turning to Iris. "Where do you live?"
            "Montpelier," Iris replied. "If you give me your phone number, I can tell you the time and address. Maybe tomorrow at 3?"
            Mandy sighed, not wishing to give out her phone number, but alas, it was no use. She quickly gave Iris her number and said good-bye to Roy and Iris, heading to her last class of the day.
            When the bell rang at the end of the day, her mind was so preoccupied with dreading her visit to Iris' that she almost forgot her father was picking her up. She happily exited the doors of the school and found his car waiting in the parking lot. She crawled inside, greeting her father.
            "Hey, kiddo. How was school?" her father asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.
            "Good," was all Mandy replied, watching as her father's car moved past the snowy forests on the side of the road.
            "So for dinner, I'm thinking icecream and cake," he said.
            "Dad!" Mandy shrieked, laughing.
            "I'm kidding. I got a casserole in the fridge waiting to be cooked. But I did buy some orange sherbert icecream (notice how I didn't say rainbow?)"
            Mandy grinned, her heart sinking as she thought of the rainbow cake her mother made each year and the first rainbow cake she'd made with Jessie. She sighed, sitting in silence.
            "So...can you drop me off at someone's house tomorrow?" Mandy asked. "I have to work on a project with my classmates."
            "Is this a friend?" her dad asked.
            "Sort of. Her name is Iris. She wants to meet tomorrow at 3. She lives in Montpelier. I know it's a longer drive, sorry."
            "Not at all," her father replied, grinning as he looked ahead at the open road. "I'm glad you're getting close with your classmates."
            "They're not my friends, Dad," Mandy argued.
            "I didn't say that," her father replied.
            The evening was quieter than Mandy expected. While dinner was great and she enjoyed dessert, she exhaustedly made her way to bed, dread growing as each power passed.
            By early afternoon the next day, she was packing her school supplies in her dad's car, relaying the address to him again and again.
            "I just want to make sure it's right," he argued as he asked for it once more.
            Soon, they were on their way, and Mandy felt like her insides were going to come out of her throat. She didn't want to do this. She couldn't do this. She hadn't gotten together with anyone outside of school since...
            Mandy took deep breaths, trying to remain calm. She hoped her father couldn't notice her panicking, though she supposed he had his suspicions. Every once in awhile he'd glance over at her, showing a look of concern.
            Soon enough, her father pulled up at a medium-sized white house with a black roof. The snow nearly blended in with the color of the house, looking like a giant snow pile with some doors attached.
            Mandy's legs shook as she grabbed her things. She expected her father to drive away, but he stopped the car and came out with her.
            "I'll walk you up," she suggested.
            Normally, Mandy would argue against this, but she was so nervous, she was forced to agree. She slowly walked up Iris' driveway to her front porch, ringing the doorbell and waiting impatiently.
            Not a moment too soon, the door opened to reveal a small Asian woman, whom Mandy guessed to be Iris' mom.
            "Oh, you must be Mandy!" she exclaimed, holding out her hand.
            Mandy nodded, awkwardly shaking the woman's hand.
            "I'm Iris' mom," she introduced herself, then looked up to Mandy's father. "And you're her dad?" she guessed.
            Her father nodded.
            "Come inside. Don't stand in the cold!" Mrs. Huang exclaimed.
            Mandy awkwardly stepped inside as Mrs. Huang grabbed her coat from her shoulders.
            "Roy and Iris are down the hall," she exclaimed, pointing to a narrow hallway to the right. Mandy nodded, waving her father good-bye, though she could hear him and Iris' mom chatting eagerly amongst themselves.
            Mandy slowly walked down the hall, finding Iris and Roy surrounding Iris' laptop. As she approached, they glanced up.
            "Hey, you came!" Iris exclaimed, rushing up to hug Mandy. Mandy went stiff in Iris' grasp, muscles relaxing as Iris let go.
            "We're just getting started," Roy explained. "You can read off the notes over there," he explained, pointing to the notes sitting by the laptop.
            Mandy nodded, picking up the sheet of paper. As she began reading off notes for Iris to type, she listened to Iris' mom and her father chat loudly with each other. It was twenty minutes before he finally left and Mrs. Huang entered into the room.
            "Your father will return at five," she explained. "I'll bring out some chips for you kids."
            "Thanks, Mom," Iris called, typing away furiously.
            Two hours. You have less than two hours, Mandy told herself as she continued working with Iris and Roy.
            Thankfully, their conversation seemed to be limited to schoolwork only, with the occasional crunching of chips. Mandy supposed it wasn't that bad after all. That was until Iris finished the last slide at 4:30, leaving a half hour for them to sit and wait for Mandy's father to return.
            "Are you sure there's nothing else we need to do?" Mandy argued.
            "We've already checked the spelling and grammar, played the presentation twice, and looked over it countless times. I think we're good," Roy explained.
            "Are you done?!" came a tiny voice from the doorway.
            Mandy looked up to notice a younger boy.
            "Joshua, we're working!" Iris snapped. "Go play upstairs."
            "But I want to watch T.V.," the boy, Joshua, groaned.
            Iris sighed, shutting her laptop. "Fine. Let's head upstairs."
            Mandy was against this idea, but she was forced to comply with it. She followed Iris and Roy upstairs, her heart shattering as she thought of her and Xavier. Would she use a harsh voice with him now? She missed him more than ever...
            "How old is your brother?" she asked.
            "Ten," Iris replied as she entered into her room. It was small and quaint, everything neat and orderly. The walls were painted a light blue, a wide square window allowed light in, and warm carpet coated the floors.
            Iris shut the door, setting her laptop down on her mahogany desk.
            "Do you have any siblings?" she asked.
            Mandy froze. "Uh, an older brother," she stammered. "He-he goes to school in California."
            "Wow, that's far out," Roy observed.
            Mandy nodded.
            "I bet visiting him is fun though," Iris spoke, smiling.
            Not wanting to tell them the truth, she only nodded slightly.
            They sat down on Iris' bedroom floor, chatting quietly. It was mostly just Roy and Iris chatting, occasionally asking Mandy to join in, though most often she'd reply with one word. It was mostly about schoolwork, plans for the week, movies to see, and so forth. She felt very distant in their conversation.
            "So...that time calculator thing," Iris spoke at last after a moment of silence.
            Mandy froze. "I said I wouldn't talk about it, and you promised not to mention it."
            "Oh, but I'm so curious!" Iris exclaimed. "How is it scientifically possible? Who gave it to you? What other secrets are being kept?"
            "It was a birthday present, and that's all I know. Case closed."
            "But--" Iris argued.
            "Iris, lay off," Roy spoke quietly.
            "Come on! Don't you want to know about it too?"
            "Mandy, your dad's here!" Mrs. Huang called from downstairs.
            Relieved, Mandy was the first out the door of Iris' bedroom. She came downstairs, fetching her belongings. She then rushed to her dad's side, glad to be free from their poking questions.
            "Did you get all your work done?" her father asked.
            "Yup," Mandy replied.
            "Mandy was really helpful," Iris explained.
            "Well, good," her father responded. "I thought..." He then shook his head.
            "Bye," Mandy called.
            "Thanks for coming, Mandy," Iris replied as they made their way to the door.
            "See you Monday!" Roy shouted as Mandy stepped on the front porch. She sighed in relief as she left Iris' house and crawled into her father's car.
            "So, how was it?" her father asked as he drove away.
            "It was schoolwork, Dad, that's all," Mandy stated. Sometimes, her father was just as bad as her mother about making friends.
            Receiving the message, her father was quiet for the remainder of the trip home, leaving Mandy with an odd sense. Looking back on the experience, she realized she'd almost enjoyed it. Perhaps the disgust and dread she felt around her group partners was more of a disguise than what she actually felt...