~ Tough Luck ~

by

Catherine A. Winn

Annie lay across her bed talking on the phone. One ear listened to her best friend while she kept the other one tuned for the sound of her parents coming home. She picked at the hem of her shorts with two fingers. “I bet they come home all upset, and I’ll have to listen to the same long lecture for the hundredth time.”

“I know the one. They’ll go on and on about how a good education is important for your future,” Teresa said.

“You’ve heard it with your good grades?” Annie’s voice squeaked in surprise. “No way.”

Teresa chuckled. “Believe it or not, I hear it all the time. If I come home with a grade like ninety-five they want to know why it isn’t a hundred.”

Annie groaned. “I thought if you were an honor student your parents would leave you alone.”

“Nope, instead they find ways to get you qualified for the Gifted and Talented program or, like they did my brother, advanced placement classes in high school. It’ll be me in three years.”

Just for a second Annie felt a twinge of jealousy deep inside. School was hard for her and getting harder; it would be nice to have Teresa’s problems. “I don’t know what I’m going to do if they hear I’m failing something. They’ll come home all upset and hurt, and they’ll overreact.”

“Of course they will; that’s just because they’re parents. Just promise them that you will study harder in the fall and bring your grades up. Pretty soon they’ll forget about it.”

Annie sat up. “I hear the car in the drive.”

“You scared?”

Annie scrambled to the side of the bed. “My heart is pounding like crazy. I’ll call you as soon as I know if the end of the year conference ruined my life.”

“Good luck,” Teresa said, disconnecting.

Annie hung up the receiver and put the phone back on the night stand. Then she straightened her bedspread, tucking the pillows under it and smoothing them out. If they gave her the talk up here she didn’t want to hear any comments about keeping her room clean. With a quick look around, she pushed her long, straight hair behind her ears. In the doorway she took a deep breath, let it out slowly and headed downstairs.

In the living room, she felt her stomach flutter. Nerves. Maybe she wouldn’t be as nervous if she sat on the couch. She chose the middle cushion. Her palms sweated so she rubbed them on her shorts. It was always rough going through this because she really did try to make good grades. Each year she started out with the intention to be the best student in class. That never lasted very long. By the end of the third week, she just quit trying. Her grades usually stayed somewhere in the middle range, but this year had been tough.

When the failing slips arrived in the mail, her parents took turns working with her every night. Her grades went up and she decided she didn’t need their help. They agreed. She tried really hard, but her grades fell as soon as they presented new material.

Annie took several deep breaths to calm down. Her mind raced, imagining what would happen. They were going to come in and tell her she was smart enough. Why didn’t she apply herself? Didn’t she know what school meant to her future?

She would cry and yell. They would yell and ground her. Then there would be this great big huggy-kissy apology scene. If only Mrs. Waters would tell them not to worry, that she would be just fine next year, her parents would come in ready to go straight to hugs and kisses.

When she heard the key in the lock, Annie braced herself. Her mother walked in first looking over her shoulder...laughing? She could hear the ring of her dad’s laughter from the porch. Relief flooded through her. She had brought up her grades at the last minute by passing the finals. Annie hopped off the couch.

“Hi, how’d it go?”

“Mrs. Waters gave us this brochure.” Her mother handed it to her all smiles while her father grinned. “She said by the end of summer the program at Wentworth Academy would get you all caught up and ready for junior high. She graduated from Wentworth and loved it. We’re so lucky to have her take such an interest in you.”

It took Annie a second to understand what she held. Stricken into stunned silence, she could only gape at them. Her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. They grinned back at her like they had just won the lottery.

“We knew you’d be surprised,” her father said. “Mrs. Waters put a lot of thought into how we could help you.”

“She really thinks a lot of you, Annie,” her mother said. “What do you think?”

Annie recovered her voice as she held up the brochure. “A boarding school. You’re sending me to a boarding school for the whole summer?” Her knees felt like they were about to buckle so she sank on the edge of the couch.

“It’s a wonderful school,” her father said, narrowing his eyebrows the way he did when he was about to get serious. He sat in the club chair and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “It’s also a great opportunity for you to get back on track. Your final scores were not good. You didn’t fail, but they were very low.”

Annie decided to ignore the grade comment. “It’s in Georgia!” She counted on her fingers. “That’s four states away from Texas!”

“Annie Louise Mitchell, lower your voice,” her mother warned as she sat next to her. “This is not a bad thing. It’s perfect for you. Mrs. Waters had it all arranged for us to talk to the headmistress of the school on her computer if we liked the idea. It was so exciting. She could see us and we could see her. Mrs. Crutcher is an absolutely lovely woman, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she’s terrific. You are going to like her, Annie,” her dad answered. “Mrs. Waters is emailing her all your records and what skills you need to master. She’s sure their program will get you all caught up.”

Annie felt like she was watching a tennis match. As soon as one of them stopped talking, the other took over. She wanted to hold up her hands to stop them so she could think.

“And after you start junior high next year, you’ll be on the same level as the others.” Her mother squeezed her knee. “You won’t have to struggle anymore. So what do you think?”

Annie couldn’t believe how happy they looked about getting rid of her for the summer. These were the same parents who wouldn’t let her go on a camping trip with Teresa’s family because she’d be away from home a whole weekend.

“You’re sending me away for the whole summer. That’s not fair! What about summer vacation? I’m going to miss out on everything. How can you be so mean?”

“Mean?” Her father raised his brows. “We’re spending a lot of money so you won’t continue to be embarrassed making poor grades.”

“We know Teresa is an honor roll student and it bothers you,” her mother told her. “We don’t like to see you hurt.”

“It doesn’t bother me!” Even as she said the words she remembered that jealous twinge she felt just a few minutes ago. Teresa’s grades did bother her. “I don’t want to go to boarding school,” Annie said, shaking her head no. “You can’t do this to me. I don’t care what you say or what Mrs. Waters thinks. I’m not going!”

Her parents gave her that look she had come to despise. The one that said Annie would make a scene. They would patiently wait for it to end. Then they would ground her. Annie threw herself against the sofa cushions and glared at them. They didn’t care how she felt. It was already decided.

“I’m not going. It’s not fair and I’m not going.”

“Granted, the school is far away,” her father explained in a softer voice, totally ignoring the fact that she had just refused to go. “But everything you need to become a good seventh grade student is what Wentworth has to offer. Besides, you make friends easily. I have no doubt you’ll be having fun in no time.”

“I’m not going.”

Her father’s jaw worked as he glanced at her mother. Annie didn’t care if he got angry. Right now, she wished they were having the big fight she expected. It would be better than this.

“It’s a summer academic program for students who need to strengthen their academic skills,” her mother said, ignoring her words the way her dad had. She picked up the brochure, flipped to a page and held it out for Annie. “It’s not all work. Look at the requirements. You only have to take two academic classes. Yours will be science and math. But you also get two free choices. Here’s the English saddle class you’ve always wanted to take. That should be fun.”

“Yeah, really fun with strangers in a strange place.” Annie folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not going.”

Annie’s mother put the brochure on the coffee table. Then she faced her. “Honey, you can do this the hard way or the easy way, but you will be attending Wentworth Academy this summer.”

“Can’t you get a tutor for me right here? It would be cheaper.”

“Because this is better,” her father said. “Now, go upstairs and call Teresa. Tell her how mean and unfair your parents are. Get it all out of your system. But when you come down, we want you to be back to your old sweet self.”

“Fine.” Annie got up to go, then stopped to ask, “When do I have to go?”