The Best Girl by Joan Hicks Boone

Author:Joan Hicks Boone
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-63393-582-2
Publisher: Koehler Books
Published: 2015-11-25T16:00:00+00:00

REVENUE

“JOANIE! COME HERE FOR a minute, I need to talk to you about something,” Mom shouts from the doorway as she comes in from work. Gloria and I are in my room listening to records, and Mom’s request surprises me. Usually, she doesn’t speak to us until we sit down to eat supper.

“Be right there!” I call out, turning off the record player. “Come on, Gloria, let’s go see Mom.”

As I sit down across from Mom, I see she is in a good mood. She looks up at me, smiling. Is it possible she got another promotion at the bank?

“Okay, well, guess what? You have a job!” Mom says, her smile spreading across her face. Mom’s eyes have a sparkle to them that I haven’t seen in a very long time.

But a job? When do I have time to work? At thirteen, I can’t even drive, so how am I supposed to get there? Mark’s had a bunch of jobs, but he has a car and is almost eighteen.

“You mean like a paper route?” I ask. Sharon and Elise both have paper routes, so I know that’s something kids can do to make money.

“No, not a paper route. You’re going to work at the bank!”

Me, work at the bank? They allow kids my age to work at the bank? Not to mention that I’m no good at math. “Oh, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I say. “I barely have my multiplication tables memorized.”

“You’re not going to be around money. My friends, Jack and Arlene—you don’t know them, but Arlene works at the bank with me—are the ones that clean the bank after it’s closed. Their daughter is getting older now and can’t help them every night like she used to. I told them you were available, and they thought it was a great idea! Jack will even pick you up, and bring you back home. On Tuesdays, he’ll be here at 4:30 p.m. and you’ll be home by 7:00. On Friday’s, he’ll pick you up at 7:30 p.m. and you’ll be home around 11:00—that’s because they do a more thorough cleaning on Friday nights. They’re going to pay you six dollars every week. Isn’t that great?”

I have no idea whether this is great or not, but what comes to mind are the janitors at Johanna Junior High—one of them is a creepy, old man and there is no way I want to hang out with someone like that twice a week. “So I’m going to be a janitor? Like, clean the toilets and stuff?”

“Well, sure, you’ll have to clean the bathrooms—but there’s more to it than that. You’ll be vacuuming, emptying the ashtrays, dusting the desks, cleaning the teller windows. That kind of thing.”

“Who’s going to take care of Gloria?” I ask, hoping this will turn the tide back in my direction. I don’t think I want a job.

But Mom tells me she has that all worked out, I am not to worry about Gloria. Bernice will keep her on Tuesdays until Mom gets home, and on Fridays, I’m to take Gloria over to Mrs.

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