Butterflies in May by Karen Hart

Author:Karen Hart [Hart, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bancroft Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

In English class, we start Hamlet, Carrot Top’s personal favorite. Lucky for us, she found the original uncut version, which is something like four thousand lines. “After Jesus,” she says, “Hamlet is the most quoted figure in Western culture.” She pauses for a moment to let this sink in, as if we care. Then she gets teary and dabs at her eyes with a tissue.

Monica slips me a note: “I HATE THIS SHAKESPEARE CRAP.” While I’m reading it, Carrot Top marches towards me and confiscates it, which gets Monica one-on-one time with Carrot Top after class. So after class, instead of leaving with Monica, I walk out with Niles, who shows me his latest tattoo. Next to the star on his left wrist is one word: Tory.

In second period study hall, Matt’s in a good mood, so we’re talking and joking around before class the way we used to. I ask him if he’s seen Niles’ new tattoo. “Yeah,” he says. “He’s really into Tory. They’re intense.” Neither of us brings up the baby or the Gardners. When the bell rings, he slips me a Jolly Rancher— watermelon (my favorite). After class, he asks if I want to skip the cafeteria today to get a taco for lunch, but I can’t. I’d set up a meeting with Ms. Connor.

“Do you want to come with me?” I ask him.

He shrugs. “Maybe next time.”

In business class, Mr. Fitz lectures about inventory control. He drones on about FIFO and LIFO. . . First In First Out. . . Last In First Out. My brain shifts into autopilot. I open my notebook and start doodling hearts. The guy next to me puts his head on his book and falls asleep in two seconds. At first, I don’t think he’s really sleeping, but his mouth is open, and he’s starting to drool.

After business class, I grab a veggie sandwich in the cafeteria and eat it on my way to Ms. Connor’s office. This is my second appointment with her. I met with her the first time earlier this week. Ms. Connor has long dark hair and looks younger than most of the teachers at Lakeview. She wears long print skirts, boots, and a lot of ethnic jewelry. She keeps a jar of lemon drops on her desk. At the first appointment, I ate five lemon drops, one after another. I wasn’t even sure I’d tell her I was pregnant. But, then we started talking, and somewhere along the way, it just came out.

“So how are things going?” Ms. Connor asks. I’m in her office, which is so tiny there’s room only for a desk and two chairs. Her office is at the end of a corridor near the chemistry labs. I’ve walked past it countless times, but never noticed it before.

“Pretty good.”

“Where should we start today?”

“I dunno.”

“Well, how about your boyfriend—Matt, right? What’s he like?”

Just the mention of his name makes me smile. “Matt’s not like most guys. . .” I want to explain this isn’t some high school crush.

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