Hell's Belles (11 page)

Tyler stepped carefully over Annie's boot and put his books on the desk. Actually, he kind of slammed them down. He gave Jesse a sharp look, then turned his back to Annie and slid into the chair.

“So should I come back at the end of the period?” Jesse asked. “Or is there someone in this class who can carry your books for you?”

Tyler turned around to face Annie and looked like he was about to say something, but Annie had already started to reply. “Thanks, but Tessa will help me get to history.”

Tyler frowned slightly and faced the front again.

“Tessa the Distress-a.” Jesse grinned. “Okay. Well, if I don't see you later, then I'll see you at the rink.”

“See ya there!” Annie assured him as he made his way to the door. She was actually looking forward to showing up for practice today, even if she couldn't skate. Maybe she could be the timekeeper, or even do some light stretching.

Her happy thoughts were interrupted by a sickeningly sweet voice from the row next to her.

“I've been meaning to ask you,” drawled Kelsey, “how did you get hurt?”

Annie really didn't want to have a conversation with her nemesis, but since it would have been rude not to answer, she tersely said, “I fell.”

“Not for that skater guy, I hope,” said Kelsey, pretending to misunderstand. “I mean, HELLO . . . did you see that shirt he was wearing?”

“No, I actually fell. Literally. On the ground. At roller derby practice,” Annie explained.

“Roller derby, right,” Kelsey said, tapping her nose. “Brutal bruisers on roller skates. Now I remember.”

“It's not brutal,” said Annie. “It requires a lot of coordination and skill.”

“Which,” said Kelsey, pointedly eyeing Annie's cast, “you obviously don't have, or you wouldn't be clomping around in that ugly boot.” She sighed. “Well, Annie, I'm just glad you found a sport that suits you. Personally, I never thought you were right for cheerleading anyway.” She gave her glossy blond hair a toss.

“Kelsey —” Tyler said in a warning voice.

But before Tyler could finish what he was about to say, Ms. Schwartz told them to open their books, and class began.

Annie's plan to go to the rink after school met one very stubborn obstacle. Transportation.

Usually she skated to the rink, but for obvious reasons, that was out of the question. All the extra Halloween baking Dad had to do meant that he would still be working in the shop long after closing time, and Annie hadn't arranged to get a ride from any of the other Belles.

At the last minute, she called Liz, who was a senior and had her own car. Liz said she'd be happy to drive Annie any other time, but today just didn't work. She had a dentist appointment right before practice and wouldn't have time to double back to pick up Annie before heading to the rink.

“I'll drive you on Thursday, though,” Liz had promised.

Once again, this left Annie alone on the couch with an ice pack on her ankle and a rerun of
I Love Lucy
on the TV. Annie sighed in frustration.

She was still struggling to get used to how dependent Americans were on cars. Back in London, she'd hardly ever traveled by car — there was no need, with regular buses and Underground trains to whisk her across town. But in Liberty Heights there was next to no public transportation and big distances between places. Annie was really beginning to understand why American teenagers couldn't wait to get their drivers licenses.

Ironically, last night her flyer on the café bulletin board had finally yielded a result: she'd gotten her first call for a babysitting job, but had to turn it down due to her injury. The lady on the other end of the phone had sounded disappointed, but promised to call again in the future.

The house felt so empty. What it lacked in current décor, it made up for in size, and Annie felt completely abandoned in the large space. She was so lonely, in fact, that she found herself desperately wishing that her mum was there.

Not that Philippa had ever been a cuddly, affectionate sort of mother, but at least she would be company.

Annie brightened, realizing that maybe Mum
could
keep her company!

She grabbed her crutches and headed to the kitchen, where she'd left her laptop. Seconds later, the machine was beeping musically, Skyping Annie's mother in England.

“Annie, love!”

Mum's voice preceded her video image by a half a second. When her face appeared, Annie could see that she was still in her office. There were takeout food containers cluttering her otherwise impeccably tidy desk. In London it was after eleven in the evening.

“Hi, Mum. How are you?”

“Busy. Big case, you know.”

Annie resisted the urge to say, “What else is new?” “I'm sure you'll win it,” she replied instead.

Mum smiled. “How are you doing over there? School good? Making friends?”

“Fine, it's okay, and yes.” Annie laughed, but she felt a tiny prickle of anger that Mum didn't ask about Dad. Even if it was just to be polite, she could have enquired.

“I have to tell you something,” Annie began. “Better yet, I'll show you. . .” Annie tilted the computer screen and gingerly lifted her booted foot. “
Ta da!
Lovely, isn't it?” She motioned gracefully to the ugly boot, pretending to be modeling it. “It's what all the trendy injured girls are wearing this season! Goes with everything. Except stairs. And roller skates.” She laughed, but even to her it sounded forced.

On the screen, Mum's face had gone pale. “You broke your leg?” she cried.

“I sprained my ankle,” Annie corrected. “I did it at derby practice.”

“When?”

Annie hesitated. She knew her mother would be furious when Annie told her the fall had happened five days ago. Annie considered fibbing, but as a lawyer, her mother sniffed out liars for a living. There would be no putting one over on Philippa Bradley.

“Five days ago,” she admitted.

Mum's eyes narrowed and she banged her fist on her desk. This caused her cardboard cup of tea to topple, spilling liquid all over the documents she had spread across the desktop. Great.

Furious, Mum began mopping up the spill. “Why didn't your father tell me immediately?” she demanded. “He should have called me the instant it happened.”

“Why?” said Annie in a frosty voice. “Would you have hopped on the first flight out of Heathrow and flown over here to hold my hand?”

Mum's head snapped up from the sopping papers. When her eyes met Annie's on the screen it occurred to Annie that they were looking at one another across thousands of miles — both literally and figuratively.

Mum, to her credit, didn't say, “Of course I would have,” because they both knew that would have been a lie. “I should have been told,” she said feebly. “I love you, Annie. Naturally I'd want to know if you'd been hurt.”

“Dad told me to call you,” Annie confessed. “I just didn't have the guts. I knew what you were going to say.”

“Did you?” Mum gave up on the ruined paperwork and sat back in her desk chair, folding her arms across her chest. “Did you know that I would say I absolutely hate the thought of you taking part in such a dangerous sport?”

“Gymnastics is dangerous,” Annie reminded her. “Girls get seriously hurt all the time.”

“That's different,” said Mum. “You were
trained
in gymnastics, so you knew how to protect yourself. And your coaches were among the best in the country. Who, may I ask, coaches this roller derby squad of yours? Some toothless ex-convict?”

Annie gasped. “That's a horrible thing to say!”

Mum looked contrite. “I'm sorry, Annie. I suppose I don't know much about this derby sport, but the stereotypes I'm familiar with —”

“Are stereotypes and nothing more!” Annie snapped. “My coach happens to be a wonderful woman. She's athletic and smart, and she's a registered nurse. In fact,
she
works night shifts so
she
can be at home with her kids.”

Annie felt guilty the moment she said it, but remarkably, Philippa didn't comment on the insult. “Be that as it may,” said Mum, “I think you should stop playing this game.”

Annie felt as though someone had kicked her in the stomach. “What?”

“It's too risky. Do you realize how lucky you are that it was just a sprain?”

Annie frowned at the screen, and Mum let out a long sigh. “I'm going to speak to your father about it,” she said. “I mean, really, allowing his daughter to play a contact sport . . . Where was he when you were being pummeled? Icing cupcakes?”

Annie's jaw tightened; it was all she could do to keep from clicking the “end call” button, which would have meant hanging up on her own mother.

Instead, she smiled into the tiny camera. “As a matter of fact, he was. Icing cupcakes, brewing tea, and counting money! He's very, very busy. Rosie Lee's is a huge success!”

Mum lifted an eyebrow skeptically. “Is that so?”

“Yes! It's the most popular place in town.”

“The most popular place in Liberty Heights, Illinois?” Mum rolled her eyes and gave a condescending chuckle. “The point is, your father has no common sense, and the fact that he's agreed to let you play roller derby is just further proof of it.”

That was it. Annie couldn't take any more. “Gotta go, Mum,” she said.

“What?” Mum looked surprised. “Why?”

“Well, you know us roller derby girls,” said Annie, rolling her eyes. “I've got a meeting with my parole officer.”

Mum's mouth dropped opened, but before she could say anything, Annie ended the call.

It wasn't until the screen was blank and she'd closed the computer that her tears began to fall. How could her mum be so unkind? So self-important and judgmental?

As she limped back to the living room, Annie felt a stab of pain.

But it wasn't her ankle — it was the realization that any fantasies she'd been harboring about her parents getting back together had just been blown to bits.

Annie visited Dr. Borden on Friday afternoon and was told that the swelling in her ankle had gone down enough that she could remove the boot. It was still too sore to walk on, though, so she'd be relying on the crutches a bit longer.

“What about the Halloween bout?” she asked, her voice so hopeful it almost sounded desperate.

Dr. Borden frowned. “Still can't say for sure. It looks promising, but I don't want to make a definite decision just yet. We'll have another look at in a week.”

Annie decided to take a glass-half-full approach and consider that good news. After all, he hadn't said no.

“By the way,” said Dr. Borden, as Annie's dad handed her the crutches. “I told my kids about the bout. They can't wait to go!”

“That's great!” said Annie. “I'll save them some extra pieces of candy.”

“Better not do that,” said the doctor, winking. “My wife's a dentist!”

In the hallway, Annie waved to the nurse, Martha. “Coming to the bout?”

“Wouldn't miss it!”

“Sounds like this is shaping up to be a real event,” Dad observed as they exited the emergency room.

“Yeah,” said Annie, struggling to remain optimistic. “I only hope I'll get to be a part of it.”