Casey Barnes Eponymous (15 page)

It
suddenly hit Casey that Leigh going to boarding school meant she would,
technically, no longer have any friends at Walton.
 
“You know the more I think about it the
more it occurs to me this whole boarding school idea is not in your best
interest.”
 

“No shit,”
Leigh said.
 

“We’ll come
up with a plan B.”

“What?”

Casey
paused.
 
“I have no idea.”
 

20

A playlist for Le Runaway Extraordinnaire Leigh
Robinson – 9.26.10

1. Song 1 - “She’s Leaving Home” by The Beatles*
.
 
*But of course you knew that, right?
 
If you didn’t know that was a Beatles
song well then THAT would be reason to ground an otherwise innocuously mannered
adolescent.
 
But here’s something
you probably didn’t know:
 
Paul
McCartney wrote the lyrics for it after he read a piece in the newspaper about
a runaway girl.
 
(In real life the
guy the girl ran away with was a croupier, NOT a man from the motor
trade.)
 
The weird-funny part is that
Paul McCartney had actually already MET this girl.
 
She was a dance contestant on a televised
band show he and the Beatles played on a few years before. !

2. Song 2 - “Static” by Jawbox.
 
My BANDMATE Ben mentioned this song two
days ago at BAND practice.
 
That’s
right, band practice.
 
Did I happen
to mention to you that I’m in a rock band?
 
Anyway even though Ben can be wicked I
went home and downloaded it and liked.
 
Even if they did go to Georgetown.

3. Son--

“Hey.”

Casey’s
hand slipped.
 
She gulped and looked
up.
 
It was her library period and
Alex Deal was, suddenly, standing in front of her.
 
“I’m sorry but there will be no autographs
today,” she said.
 
“If you’re
desperate you can try going through the label or management.”

“You guys
still trying out for talent show?”

She folded
her arms over her chest.
 
“Is the
pope Catholic?”

“You didn’t
seem so sure about the whole deal a couple of days ago.”

“My poker
face is the stuff of legend.
 
We’re
auditioning alright.
 
And once we
do, this school will never be the same.”

“Is that
so?”

“Sure as
thunder.”

He paused
and she sensed he was trying to make his mind up about something.
 
“Can I stop by your band practice
today?” he asked.

“Um.”
 

His green
eyes were soft and imploring.
 
Clearly pretending to be interested in her band was his way of trying to
get her back.
 

“Meet us by
the front door after classes,” she said.

At lunch
Yull made the rare move of not going out with the most popular kids in the
school but, rather, finding his kid sister in the cafeteria, where she had been
eating alone up until five minutes prior, at which point Ben had joined her.

Yull
sat.
 
“Hi,” he said to Ben.
 

“What’s
up--?” Ben began to respond.
 

Before he
could finish Yull turned back to Casey.
 
“Question.”
 

“Yes, dear
brother?”
 

“Why was
Leigh sleeping in the basement bedroom when I went down this morning to get my
blue sweater?”

Yull’s
class schedule began an hour earlier than Casey so they never saw each other in
the morning.
 

Casey
tapped her finger to her temple.
 
“That’s an interesting question.
 
But are you sure you saw her and not the dog?”
 

“The dog died
three years ago.”
 

“That’s
true.
 
But perhaps you were
sleepwalking and got confused because you thought you saw the dog.”

Yull
frowned.
 
“What the hell are you
talking about, Casey?”
 

“That’s a
maroon sweater you’re wearing, bro.”

“The blue
one had a hole in it.”
 

“See what
I mean?”

“Casey!”
 

Ben’s
head, which had been moving back and forth between Barneses as they spoke,
started.

“Why did
Leigh sleep in the basement?” Yull snapped.
 

She
sighed.
 
“Because she’s seeking
refuge in our good home, and any attempt to turn her into parental authority
will get you blacklisted to Amnesty International watchdogs faster than you can
say Pol Pot.”
 

“Refuge?”
 

“She ran
away from home.
 
Her parents are
going to send her to a boarding school in Massachusetts where capital
punishment is permissible.”
 

“Are you
serious?”
 

“About the
boarding school bit?
 
Yessirree
Bob.
 
I’m not one hundred percent
sure about capital punishment but if I had to lay bucks down on that one I
would.”
 

“They’re
sending her to boarding school because of the roach clip?”

“Affirmative.”

Yull shook
his head.
 
“That’s lame.
 
But she can’t just stay in the
basement.
 
They’re going to come
looking for her.”

“Evidently
that thought hadn’t occurred to the fearless front woman,” Ben said.
 

“Don’t
speak unless spoken to,” Casey said to Ben.
 
He held up his middle finger and tapped
it to his temple.
 

“You think
Mom’s not gonna know there’s another person living under her own roof?” Yull
asked.

Casey
waved a hand in the air.
 
“Please.
 
Keeping a secret
from that over-programmed workaholic’s as easy as drinking water.”
 

“This is
not going to end well,” Yull said.
 

“What am I
supposed to do?
 
Stand by and let my
best friend get shipped off to hell?”
 

“Has she
attempted swaying the ruling of her elders with freshly baked pies and
cookies?” Ben asked.
 

“Good
idea,” Casey said, “I’ll mention it.”

Yull
sighed.
 
“She better remember to
hide from the cleaning lady.
 
Today’s her day, you know.”

She
nodded.
 
“The stowaway was
informed.
 
She plans to loiter in
the public library during household cleaning hours.”
 

“I’d come
up with another plan sooner rather than later if I were you,” Yull said.
 

“Don’t you
have refueling to do?” Casey asked, “Surely you didn’t skip lunch out just to
talk with me.”
 

“Of course
not.
 
I have a test next period and
I want to study.”

“Oh.”
 
As a matter of fact she had been
thinking he had skipped lunch out just to talk to her.
 

“Which
reminds me that I have to do the same now,” Ben said.
 
“See you guys after school?”
 
Both looked to Yull expectantly.
 

“Yes,” he
sighed, “I can give you guys a ride again.”
 

Ben got up
and left.
 

“One more
thing,” Yull added.
 

“Yes?” Casey
said.

“Why’s
Alex Deal coming to your band practice today?”

“Excuse
me?” she asked coyly.

Yull wasn’t
buying it.
 
“I just saw him in the
hall.
 
He said he’s going to stop by.”
 

“He came
into the library and was asking all about my band…” The unimpressed look on
Yull’s face caused her to hesitate.
 
“Then he asked if he could stop by band practice.”
 

“Casey.”
 

“You don’t
him
that
well, Yull.
 
He was being really nice.”
 

“Because
he knows only two bands are being accepted into talent show this year.
 
He wants to check out the competition so
he can report back to his bandmates.
 
Maybe they’re even deciding which songs
to audition with based on what you guys are doing.”

“He
wouldn’t do that,” she sniffed.
 

“Oh yes he
would.”

“Has
anyone ever told you that you’re evil?”

“Other
than you?” he said, “No.”

In math
class, Maxine French turned around one hundred and eighty degrees and peered at
Casey.
 
They were supposed to be
doing problems in workbooks.
 
Casey
was reading the
Rolling Stone
hidden inside
hers.
 
She shook her head.
 
“Not now, Max.
 
This math problem’s really busting my
gut and if I break my concentration now I’ll never get it.”
 

Maxine
plucked the
Rolling Stone
out.
 
“Newsflash.
 
Articles about pop culture don’t contain
algorithms.”
 
Casey took the
magazine back and stuck it inside her workbook.
 
“I heard Alex is going to your little
practice today,” Maxine added.

Casey
commanded her eyes not to move from the page in front of her. She used her
index finger to spell
FUFUFU
out on
it.
 
“I think he said something
about stopping by.”

“You
think?” Maxine repeated.
 
Casey did
not reply.
 
“I happen to know he
did,” she continued, “He told me he was going to go there first because that’s
why he’s going to be late to my place.”
 
She turned back around.
 

Casey got
the same sensation that struck her when her iPod ran out of juice and it was
hours before she could access a charger.
 
“May you die listening to Muzak,” she muttered.
 

When Casey
rounded the corner into the main hall with Sukh after English class, the first
thing she saw was Ben.
 
He was
standing by the front door alone.
 
Then the following happened:
 

1. Yull
exited the college office, which was only a few feet away, and went over to
Ben.
 

2. Casey
and Sukh reached Ben and Yull and Yull said, “Are we all here?” in a way that
only Casey knew contained a taunt.
 

3. Alex
Deal rounded the corner from the other side of the main hall and walked up to
Casey.
 
“You guys all going in one
car?
 
I can take a couple of you
too.”
 

4. There
was a silent and confused pause.
 
It
was most especially evident on Ben’s face.

“What are
you talking about?” Ben asked.