Chapter Nineteen: Welcome to Paradise:

If only it was that easy.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I looked down at my lap.

“You going to answer that?” Mallory asked.

“No,” I said.

“Could be important,” she said. I shook my head.

“It’s not, trust me,” I said. My phone went still. I already had a guess of who it was. Why are they still calling me? I’m not their teacher anymore. Don’t they have anything better to do?

My phone buzzed again. I reached into my pocket and turned off my phone. There, problem solved. I looked up to see my sisters and mom staring at me.

“What?” I asked. “It’s nobody important, okay? It’s just my former students.” Mallory raised her eyebrow.

“Why would they be calling you?” she asked.

“I don’t know!” I said. “It was just to keep in contact with them at the beginning of the year.”

“Do you delete them when the year is over?” she asked.

“Yes! Why wouldn’t I?” I asked. Kim and mom still stared at me. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

“I’ll check it later,” I said. “Right now we’re having breakfast!” I picked up my fork and started eating again. My mom and sisters all looked at each other.

“What?” I asked with food in my mouth. “Eat! Eat!” They all started to do so uneasily. My former students weren’t going to ruin today for me.

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Oh my god! They won’t stop blowing up my phone. Don’t they have anything better to do? I scrolled through all of the unread texts and frowned. Somehow, I ended up being added in a text thread. Why would they do that? I sighed and let my finger hoover over the screen. I could already guess what they were talking about. And sure enough, there it was. They won’t stop talking about the cheating scandal. It's already hit the news. This looked like it was going to be pretty bad.

I looked up when I heard a knock on my door.

“Yes?” I asked. I watched as the door and mom poked her head inside.

“Are you okay, dear?” she asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

“I’ve been better,” I said. I scrolled through the endless pile of texts. I wished that my former students would do something else.

“Did you want to see me?” I asked. She walked into my room and closed the door behind her.

“I just wanted to see how you were doing,” she said.

“Honestly, I don’t know what I am doing,” I said. “I have no idea what I am going to do after the summer is over.” Mom sat down on my bed.

“You could move back here and teach,” she said. “Or you can get a job at the library. Both of them are looking for new people to hire.” I pressed my lips together.

“I’m sure if I want to start over here,” I said. “It’s just too… familiar.” Mom cocked her head to the side.

“And what’s wrong with that?” she asked.

“It just doesn’t feel right,” I said.

“It doesn’t have to be bad,” mom said. “More young people are coming back home these days.”

“I don’t want to be one of them,” I muttered under my breath.

“Hm?” mom asked. I didn’t say anything. My eyes went back to my phone and scrolled up. Suddenly, I paused.

“Oh crap!” I said, sitting up.

“What?” mom asked, turning to me. I showed her my phone. She narrowed her eyes.

“What am I looking at?” she asked.

“It’s Spoony,” I said. “You remember him, don’t you?” Mom looked like something was failing to connect in her brain.

“No,” she said, shaking her head.

“You know, Spoony?” I asked.

“Dear, what are you talking about?” Mom asked. I rolled my eyes and groaned. Oh that’s right, she has no idea about my group in high school.

“Roger,” I said. “Roger Novak.” Suddenly, the lights turned on in mom’s brain.

“Oh! You mean the skinny guy with the acne scars on his teeth and the crooked teeth?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“What about him?” mom asked, making a face.

“He says that he’s coming here from California,” I said, reading over the text. I had a confused look on my face.

“Why would he do that?” she asked.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t say,” I said. I had to have read that text about five times. Mom and I looked at each other. If memory serves me well, this summer is going to get more hectic. So much for a carefree summer while I try and get my shit together. Oh boy…