In Plain Sight by Laura Langston

Author:Laura Langston
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781459814189
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2016-11-30T16:00:00+00:00

At lunch April and I walk the twenty minutes to Subway. If she’s surprised that I want to walk that far, she doesn’t say so. Nor does she complain when it takes forever to get our food and we have to wolf down our sandwiches and take our drinks with us when we leave.

“I talked to my parents,” she says as we walk back to school. Her voice is almost drowned out by the rumble of a delivery truck going down the busy street.

I’ve been scared to ask.

“And they feel bad for you, they really do, but it’s just—” She fiddles with her straw. “Well, the spare room is crammed with my mom’s new spinning wheel and a pile of sheep fleece, and that stuff really stinks, so you wouldn’t want to stay there. Trust me.”

I can tell she’s lying. I’m sure her parents have seen the news. The anniversary of the bombing is approaching, a huge memorial is planned to honor the victims, and news of Mom’s arrest is everywhere.

“Tell me the truth,” I say when we reach the corner and the light turns red. “What did they really say?”

Her face fills with color. “That…you know…it wouldn’t work out.”

“Because of what happened with my mother, right?”

“Not entirely.”

“What else then?”

She’s sweating. Her blue eyeliner is starting to run. “They didn’t like me being hauled down to the police station. They think you’re a bad influence on me.” She rolls her eyes.

“I didn’t force you to go to the rally. You went so you could skip math.”

“I know.” She fans her face. “And I told them that. But it doesn’t matter.” She hesitates. I stare at her, hard. Finally she says, “My parents don’t like your ‘cause queen’ attitude.”

Cause Queen Caliente. That Instagram name.

“They say that’s how it starts. First it’s a demonstration, and then the cops get called, and before you know it things get out of hand, and bombs go off and people get killed.” She forces a laugh. “Which is a totally lame, stupid parent thing to say, but I guess it’s their job to worry about weird shit, right?”

It’s not weird shit. It’s what happened fifteen years ago. April’s parents think I’m like my father. So does everybody else. Are they right?

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