What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles

Author:Gail Giles
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: (¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯), JUV018000
ISBN: 9780316055116
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2008-12-13T13:00:00+00:00

BEN

Ben scrawled David Kirby's name on the board. Scowled. “Roger?”

Roger set up a tape recorder. “This is the best of the interviews I taped. English teacher. Because of scheduling changes this woman taught Cass freshman and sophomore years.”

“Let's have a listen,” Ben said.

“For the record, this is Cynthia Forman. She teaches at Sterling Valley High School and is speaking for the record with me, Officer Roger Oakley.”

“Cass McBride. Yes. You wanted to know about her. Was she popular? That's a word that's not used like we used it when I was in school. Cass and her friends are what are referred to now as ‘resume packers.’ She's wealthy and attractive and, thankfully, quite intelligent These RP kids run for Student Council offices so it looks good for their extracurriculars. They can't get into a top university with just good grades anymore. A girl like Cass wants to be Prom Queen and Homecoming Queen and Student Council President to pad out that high school file and show herself in every possible good light.

“The kids that aren't competing for the big colleges let the RP's take all the prizes. Don't need it. Don't want it. Don't care. You end up with a yearbook that shows the ‘same cadre of kids in all the pictures. Well, they are on the yearbook staff too. And the real go-getters, like Cass, go beyond school; they sign up to work for the ASPCA dog wash and make sure they're there for the photo shoot. Clean Up the Highway Day—she'll be there and she'll be in that picture when the paper comes out.

“Cass isn't as cold as all that sounds. She puts up a good front, but she's just a little girl with her britches hanging out. Oh, I see your face, Officer. Not like that. That's an old Southern expression, meaning she's showing things she doesn't know she shows.

“In our poetry unit Cass turned in interesting work. Here, let me read one for you:

I climb the sheer wall of my father's expectation

While his determination of the greatness that I'll achieve

Tells of the nothing he knows me now to be

The steepness attracts

Draws me

Though there is no soft place to fall,

Not to climb

Will leave me in the cold.

“I was never much good with poetry, but all that stuff about her father's ‘expectation,’ does that sound any alarms for you?”

“Officer, your mind went to the gutter again. No, I don't think there is sexual abuse in that house. But Ted's love for Cass is conditional. Somewhere deep down, she knows that. It makes me sad for her. I know, sad for the poor little rich girl. How trite.

“Who do I think took her? That's unfathomable. Her father is wealthy, but not that wealthy. Let's hope the kidnappers think he is and she's alive.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.