Meet My Sister Tess by Kristin Billerbeck

Author:Kristin Billerbeck
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2014-08-11T22:00:16+00:00

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The lecture hall for her first class was a monstrosity of cement, open and cavernous inside, the kind of place that echoed naturally. The hall would have accommodated hundreds of students, but a small group of about forty students huddled toward the front. Tess took a seat in the center of the theater, sheepishly taking out her notepad and the used book she’d bought for the class. She felt out of place and restlessly fidgeted in her seat.

After a three-hour lecture, the last thing Tess wanted to do was go sit in her old sedan for the hour drive home, but she had little choice. Berkeley was not a place to hang out alone.

She entered her trusted Honda and tried the ignition; nothing happened. She tried again; still nothing. She looked at her watch and saw it was 9:30. It would be 10:30 before she got home on the peninsula without car troubles. Now what?

She tried one last time, grabbed her purse, and ran toward an all-night pizza joint. She walked briskly by all the students, some of them working industriously on homework in the earsplitting environment and some laughing and chatting. She dialed Clark’s number. His phone rang and rang until his answering machine finally came on. “You’ve reached the residence of Clark Armstrong. Please leave your name and number and I will most certainly return the call as soon as possible.” Beep.

“Clark, it’s Tess. My car won’t start and I’m in Berkeley.” She looked at her watch again. “It’s 9:35. If you get this message soon, call me back at 555-2343. Thanks.”

Tess hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment. She dialed home and there, too, listened to the recorded message of the answering machine. She pressed her code to hear any messages. Kelly had called to say she and Ryan were at a youth-group planning meeting and she would be home by eleven. “Oh, Kelly, why tonight? You never go out on weeknights!”

Beginning to feel fear, she immediately thought of Greg Wheaton. He was in San Mateo and it wouldn’t take him that long to cross the San Mateo bridge. He would miss San Francisco traffic altogether, she reasoned. She took out his business card and dialed his home number that he’d scribbled on the back.

“Hello?” Greg answered on the second ring.

“Greg?” She sighed with relief at the sound of a live person.

“Tess, is that you?”

“Greg, I’m in Berkeley and my car won’t start. I’m afraid to ride on BART at this time of night and I can’t reach Clark or Kelly,” she explained.

“I’ll be right there. Where are you?”

“I’m at Popeye’s Pizza, across from Sproul Hall. Do you know where that is?” she asked hopefully.

“I’ll find it. In the meantime, stay put. Don’t go back to your car and don’t leave the restaurant. Okay?”

“Don’t worry. As I speak there’s a purple-haired, mohawked kid trying to sell something outside the door.” Tess shuddered. “I think I’ll just sit down inside.”

“I’m leaving now.” Greg hung up and Tess breathed a huge sigh of relief.

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