Chapter Text
Chapter 13: Parents Weekend
Jenny watched excitedly as the cars, trucks and other vehicles pulled into the visitor’s parking lot of St. Cecilia’s. It was Parent’s Weekend, and she’d finally get to see her dad again. She had actually written to him several times when she had first come here, pouring out pages about how miserable and lonely she was, but instead of writing back, her dad just sent her funny cards in response. One had a kitten hanging off a rope that said, “Hang in there!” and another one with a frog that said “I Hope You Have a Hoppy Day” in bright green letters. The cards were cute, and she’d hung them up on her corkboard, but it somehow seemed like she was being blown off. But never mind all that now she thought. This was going to be the perfect weekend. They were going to celebrate her birthday this weekend too.
Her actual birthday had been on Tuesday, and Marnie had made it a good day. Despite her hurt feelings from last Saturday, things seemed to have smoothed out between them. Jenny had woken up on Tuesday morning , to Happy Birthday signs and posters all over their room that Marnie, Abby and Alina had made. It was the best thing she could have woken up to, and she had started the day with a smile. Marnie had also given her a keychain for her room key, it was a “Best Friends” keychain. Jenny’s said “ B-E-S-T” In purple block letter beads, and Marnie had made one for herself that spelled out “ F-R-I-E-N-D-S” in matching blue beads. Jenny thought it was one of the best presents she had ever been given. During lunch Marnie had somehow scrounged up cupcakes for her, Abby and Alina. Jenny still wasn’t sure where she had gotten them from, but they had been a delicious surprise. They had sang to her, and even though she had blushed bright red, and tried to hide her face. She could not help but grin from ear to ear.
She was eleven now, and she wondered if she looked older. She was so excited to see her dad and celebrate with him that She didn’t even mind seeing Gayle again. She couldn’t wait to introduce Marnie to them and show off her room. She glanced out the window again, and finally she saw her dad’s SUV pull into the parking lot. Tonight, she would get to go back to the hotel that her dad and Gayle would be staying at for the night. And she would stay with them overnight, then they would go out to breakfast one last time before they drove back home tomorrow.
She looked around anxiously wondering where Marnie was. She and Marnie had signed up to help with the presentation for the parents that would happen right before the tour of the classrooms. She hadn’t wanted to do it at first due to shyness, but Marnie had convinced her. “Come on,” she’d said, I’ll be with you, we will do it together, it will be fun! Please?” she’s looked at Jenny with big pleading eyes. So, Jenny had relented, and agreed to do it with her. Thankfully she only had one sentence, well half of a sentence really, since Marnie said the first part, and Jenny was to finish the next part Marnie’s sentence for her. It seemed fitting since they often finished each other’s sentences now. They had practiced over and over, Marnie coaching her and practicing with her, so that they got their lines right on cue. But this morning when Jenny had woken up, she had not seen her and then she had not been at breakfast. Oh well, she thought, pushing the worry aside. She would find her.
She clambered down the stairs to where parents and students were greeting each other. She scanned the crowd until she saw her dad standing there and bounded over to him. “Dad!” she shrieked and ran full force into his arms. “Jenny!” He picked her up and swung her around. “Hi baby!” He said “I missed you. How’s my sweet pea?” He set her back down on the ground gently. She beamed up at him. “I’m good she said I missed you too!” She saw Gayle standing next to her dad, and impulsively wrapped her arms around her too, deciding for once to throw out an olive branch. “Hi Gayle!” she said. Gayle looked startled but returned the hug. “Hi Jenny.” She said. How are you liking it here?” For a minute Jenny blanched. She didn’t want to admit it, but Gayle was right, this had been good for her, and she actually liked it here, well, most of the time. She’d still rather be at home, just her and her dad, but this wasn’t such a bad second choice. She loved getting to hang out with her best friend every day, she like her classes, and teachers, and was settling in. So, she grinned up at Gayle, “I like it!” she admitted. Gayle’s smile widened. “See I knew you would.”
Just then, Ms. Enderson clapped her hands together. “Alright parents and students, I am glad to see you have all found each other. She motioned towards the door, beckoning them to follow her. “Parents, our students have a small presentation prepared for you, and then we’ll take you on a tour of our school that we have prepared! So, let's give them a minute to get up to the auditorium and then we’ll join them. Afterwards we’ll start our tour of the classrooms, and even bring you up to see their living quarters and after we will let you go through the classrooms on your own. You’ll be able to meet our teachers, because everyone will be in their rooms, so you can get a peek at what your students have been working so hard on this semester. Then we’ll go into the dining hall, and you will be able to eat lunch with your students.”
Jenny raced into the auditorium hoping against hope that Marnie was there. She could not figure out where her friend could have gone. And with Ms. Enderson flanked by dozens of parents, she could not go get her to ask what to do. Panic seized her. She had her part memorized. The half of a sentence she was supposed to say, but not Marnie’s. She saw Alina up ahead of her and ran up to her. “Hey” she whispered. “Do you know where Marnie is?” Alina’s forehead crinkled with worry. “She’s not here?” Jenny shook her head. “I haven’t seen her.” she shrugged as Abby got in line behind Jenny and they prepared to go onstage. Jenny’s heart was pounding, both with nervousness, and worry about her friend. It wasn’t like Marnie to just not show up like this, was she sick? Had something happened? She didn’t have time to think though, because the Alina moved forward and up on to stage. The lights were bright, and Jenny squinted out into the crowd looking for her dad, who she saw immediately, she looked in the back for Marnie, but saw nothing. All too soon, the time came for Marnie’s line and for several seconds there was silence that echoed loudly in the crowded auditorium. Finally, Jenny remembered Marnie’s part and she delivered it with a shaking voice just as the crowd of parents started chuckling and murmuring to each other. She delivered Marnie’s line and then her own. “Girls at St. Cecilia's spend their days learning with friends.”
The rest of the presentation went off without a hitch and Jenny joined back up with her dad and Gayle. Her dad kissed her on the head, “Great job honey,” he said proudly. “Were you nervous?” Gayle asked? “We could tell you were nervous.” Jenny flushed and shrugged. For some reason she didn’t want to tell them that her friend had ditched her. Ms. Enderson came up and found them. “Jenny, she said “What happened to Marnie? Is she sick?” Jenny shook her head “I don’t know.” she said. Ms. Enderson's eyes clouded with an expression that was somewhere between worry and anger. “Who is Marnie?” Gayle asked curiously. “She’s my best friend.” Jenny said spinning to face her. “Oh.” Gayle sounded surprised, almost as though she did not expect Jenny to have friends. “Well, you’ll have to bring her to breakfast with us tomorrow,” Jenny wanted to smile at that. But she couldn’t because of the worry gnawing at her insides.
Next, they toured the building and then it was time for the parents to go off to different classrooms individually. Jenny introduced her dad and Gayle to Ms. Bennett, “Jenny, that’s wonderful, her dad said, “I didn’t know you were playing again.” Jenny looked at him incredulously, “I put it in my letter to you. Didn’t you read them?” she questioned indignantly. But her dad’s attention was caught by something else. After the music room, they went to Ms. Enderson's classroom. Jenny was excited to show them some of the things she had been working on. Ms. Enderson had hung up several of the students’ essays, including a few of Jenny’s which she showed her dad excitedly. “Good Job Jenny,” he said. But Gayle watched Ms. Enderson carefully. You are the Jenny’s Head of house too, aren’t you?
“Yes, I am. It’s nice to meet you.” Ms. Enderson smiled and shook hands with both Gayle and Rob. “So,” Gayle, asked. “How has our little Jenny been behaving ? I trust she’s listening and doing as she’s told?” Rob looked over at Gayle a little confused. And Jenny looked up startled. Gayle had never referred to her “ours” before, in fact when speaking to her dad, Gayle often referred to Jenny as Your daughter, when speaking to her dad, not even bothering to use her name. Surreptitiously, Jenny slid her eyes over to Ms. Enderson to see what she was going to say. She hoped Ms. Enderson wouldn’t tell them about the eavesdropping incident or her math test. “Jenny’s a lovely girl,” Ms. Enderson said smiling She thought about Jenny’s punishments so far, but for some reason she could not explain, it didn’t seem like the right time to divulge any details regarding the matter. “Jenny’s a lovely girl,” she said again, stalling a bit to figure out how to answer, “And she actually tested into our advanced ELA class. Her reading comprehension level and writing ability are quite advanced for her age. Rob’s eyes crinkled with pleasure and a smile brightened his face. “Ah well,” he said, shrugging a little, bringing a hand to the back of his neck, “She gets that from my wife- my um late wife. She was always reading to Jenny when she was little.” Ms. Enderson nodded and smiled at his memory but before she could say anything she noticed Gayle staring at them coldly.
After showing them her classrooms, Jenny took Gayle and her dad up to her and Marnie’s room. She was excited to show it to them but was a little sad that Marnie wasn’t there, and she was still worried. Right as they were about to go down to the dining hall for Lunch, Ms. Enderson stopped and knocked on the door. “Jenny, she asked again, “Are you sure you don’t know where Marnie is? If we don’t find her soon, I am going to have to contact the police.” Her brow wrinkled with worry, “No one has seen her, and we have looked all over the school.”
Jenny looked on anxiously. “I don’t know where she could be. When I woke up this morning , she was already gone. Rob stepped in, “Is there something we can help with? He looked over at Gayle, “We can drive the grounds and see if we can find her maybe she went off somewhere?” Gayle nodded in agreement. Ms. Enderson smiled, despite her distress. “Thank you, that may be a help “
“Did you check the soccer field Jenny asked. “I already called Coach Kelly and she is not over there, Ms. Enderson explained. Jenny paused. “I think I know one place where she might be, can I go look first, by myself?” The three adults exchanged glances and seemed to come to a consensus. “Sure,” her dad said at the exact same time that Ms. Enderson said “Ok,” And needing no further encouragement, Jenny bolted out of the room and ran out. She exited the door and went straight for the walking trails, the same ones that she and Marnie, walked on almost every day. There was one trail, and one tree that Marnie particularly loved. There was nothing specific that made Jenny believe Marnie would be there, but her best friend senses were tingling. She walked as fast as she could down the winding trail.
When she got about a quarter of a mile in, she quickened her pace to a jog. Finally, she saw the tree. It was Marnie’s favorite tree, and her favorite spot on their walks. She veered off the path and onto the grass, “Marnie” she called out but heard nothing, so she walked over to the tree. It was a large Red Oak, that was big and wide with its canopy of leaves spreading out far and wide, the perfect place for someone to sit in its shade. With the October sun shining through the leaves, it seemed especially inviting. A few yards away was a small creek, that Jenny and Marnie both loved. Sometimes they would skip stones in it, even though there was barely enough water or try to use sticks to build a bridge across it, which never worked. Jenny could hear the flowing water trickling gently. She crept around the other side of the giant tree. There sitting with her back against its massive trunk, her knees pulled up to her chest, arms wrapped around them was Marnie.
Jenny’s relief was so immense that for a minute she was overwhelmed. “Marnie” she yelped and went running towards her friend. But she stopped dead when she saw Marnie’s face. It was flushed and her eyes were red and puffy, she had very clearly been crying. “Oh hi” Marnie said, not looking up at Jenny. Her words broke the spell and Jenny ran the rest of the short distance to her friend.
She sat down next to Marnie and with tears in her voice she demanded “Where have you been? Everyone was so worried!” Marnie looked surprised, “Really?” she asked, “I didn’t think anyone would notice.”
“Well, I noticed,” Jenny said. “You ditched me, again and I had to do my line and yours for the presentation. I messed up and sounded horrible.” Even though she was relieved that Marnie was ok, that she had found her, Jenny couldn’t keep a touch of anger from creeping into her voice. Now, Marnie looked up at her. “I’m sorry she said, I didn’t mean to make you mess up. I forgot about our presentation, honestly. But I saw all the parents coming in and I just couldn’t. I had to—to go. My dad couldn’t come this weekend, Marnie looked down darkly, “He wouldn’t have come even if he could, she muttered, so quietly that Jenny had to strain to hear her. She kicked at the dirt beneath her feet. He doesn’t do these things. And I just saw all these parents with their kids, and I couldn’t deal. Marnie angrily wiped her eyes. “I really am sorry I worried you though. She reached over for Jenny’s hand. “And I’m sorry about messing up the presentation. I’ll make it up to you. I don’t know how, but I will.” There was a small part of Jenny that was still mad, that still felt betrayed, this was the second time Marnie had ‘ditched’ her. But she pushed the feeling down. Her friend was clearly heartbroken, so instead she reached her arms around Marnie and pulled her into a hug. “Come on,” she said pulling her friend up. “Let’s go.” And together the girls walked back towards the dorms.
Once they got back, Jenny walked Marnie back up to Ms. Enderson’s office where Ms. Enderson, her dad and Gayle, were waiting. Rob saw the look that crossed Ms. Enderson's face, when she saw Marnie, and gently steered Jenny and Gayle towards the door. “I think your teacher and friend have some thigs to go over. Why don’t you say goodbye to her, and we can meet her later. Jenny gave Marnie one last sympathetic glance as her dad led her away, “ It was nice to meet you, Thanks for everything.” he said, nodding to Ms. Enderson. As they walked down the hall Jenny winced as she heard Ms. Enderson start scolding Marnie. She knew her friend was not in for a fun night.
Marnie gulped as Ms. Enderson came towards her. She instinctively took a step back. But she was surprised to find herself engulfed in a hug. “Where were you?” Ms. Enderson demanded, pulling away and stopping to look Marnie over to make sure she was in one piece. She noticed the girl’s puffy red eyes and softened her tone just a little. “I was ready to call the police.” She continued before Marnie could say anything “What was the meaning of you running off like that and disappearing? Do you have any idea how worried we were?” Ms. Enderson’s voice actually sounded worried, and Marnie looked up. “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice barely a whisper, her eyes filling with unshed tears. “Oh, you’re going to be young lady.” Ms. Enderson said. “Sit down,” she sat down at her desk and motioned Marnie to sit in the chair in front of it. Marnie sat. “I want an explanation, Marnie.” she said firmly. Marnie shrugged “It’s hard to explain.”
“Well, you’d better find an explanation and quick or my paddle is going to be doing some explaining sooner rather than later, and then after that we’ll discuss your punishment, her voice came out sharper than intended due to her the fear that been growing for the past few hours when she did not know where Marnie was. Elizabeth Enderson took a deep breath to slow her heart rate. She watched as Marnie’s eyes widened. “I just couldn’t do it.” The girl explained.
“Do what?” Ms. Enderson questioned? “Deal with all the parents” Marnie said, my dad’s not gonna come, I didn’t really want to see everyone else with parents who actually cared.” Her face flushed with anger and embarrassment, and she swiped at her eyes and looked down, placing her hands in her lap. Ms. Enderson felt a pang of sympathy. She should have expected something like this. She remembered how much pain the issue of her dad supposedly not caring had hurt Manie last year. Still, she had to know that were better ways to deal with her issues. “I’m sorry Marnie, I really am, she said empathetically. I know you hate not having your dad here, but you know he can’t come. Marnie rolled her eyes at that. “Yeah, I know,” she said, “Serving the country, and all that. But why is the country more important than me?” she asked plaintively. Marnie folded her arms over her chest and stretched out her legs, her toes scuffing the bottom of Ms. Enderson’s desk, and she dragged the top of her foot forward and back across it.
Ms. Enderson chose to ignore Marnie’s remark for the moment, even though the raw hurt on Marnie’s face tugged at her heartstrings. But she knew there was no winning with Marnie when she got off on this track, at least not when it came to using logic anyway. “You should have come and talked to me about this. I could have found an assignment for you to do that would have kept you away from everyone.” She looked at Marnie to make sure the girl was paying attention. “Instead, you chose to run off where no one knew where you were. You put your own safety at risk. What if something had happened to you, how would we have known? Not to mention you let everyone down by almost ruining the presentation. You let me down, you let your class down and you let your best friend down. Most importantly, you let yourself down.”
Hot tears continued to stream down Marnie’s face. She felt horrible. This scolding was as bad as the spanking she knew she was going to get.
She wanted to offer an excuse, but she couldn’t explain how much she’d wanted, no----needed to run. As soon as she had seen all the parents start pulling up her stomach had dropped, and she’d just had to go. Seeing all the parents who wanted to be there for their kids, opened up an emptiness inside of her that felt like a black hole. And it had felt like it was eating her, gnawing away, until there was nothing left. She’d thought about waking up Jenny and telling her, but she knew that Jenny was excited to see her dad. Even if she had to deal with her stepmom too. Not that Jenny talked about it much, but Marnie had picked up that her friend didn’t get along with her stepmom. Jenny hadn’t mentioned her real mom, and Marnie had understood that it was a touchy subject, so she didn’t ask.
Jenny had been over the moon about getting to see her dad though, and Marnie had been determined not to rain on her parade. So, she’d just bolted. At the time she had not been thinking about the presentation. She felt horrid now. She had wrecked everything. Again. She was good at doing that. As her thoughts continued to race, her shoe left even more scuff marks on the desk. Ms. Enderson looked down and noticed the scuffs. “Put your feet down, Marnie, or else you can come in for detention on Monday and polish all those scuffs away.” Defensively, Marnie pulled her feet back under her chair. Ms. Enderson looked over at Marnie’s face darkened with emotions and understood that now was not the time to deal with her. She moved from behind her desk and sat in the chair that was next to Marnie’s. She put a hand on Marnie’s arm. I want you to go upstairs and wait in your room. I have some things to take care of down here. I’ll be up later, and we’ll talk then, ok?” Marnie nodded, and slunk upstairs to await her fate.
As they drove away from the grounds of St. Cecilia’s with Jenny in tow, Rob pulled carefully on to the main road. “Alright ladies,” he said, I think we are about due for some lunch. What do you say?” and both Gayle and Jenny agreed. “Italian?” her dad asked winking back at Jenny. I know it’s your favorite and since it is your birthday lunch, we thought we’d let you choose?”
“Sure,” Jenny said enthusiastically. So, they went to an Italian place in town, Antonio’s. Once they had ordered, Rob pulled out a couple of bags and a card. “Well, birthday girl,” he said smiling broadly, “We might have a few thigs for you in here. And Jenny’s face lit up with a grin. She opened the gifts excitedly. The first one was a set of drawing pencils, and a journal from Gayle, which surprised Jenny, she had not thought that Gayle cared enough to even know what she liked. The journal had lined pages on one side, and blank pages on the other. Jenny thought it would be perfect for drawing and writing in. The next one was from her dad, it was a beautiful silver necklace, with a peapod charm on it. The peapod had three peas in it, and Jenny knew he meant it to be the two of them and Gayle. But as she caressed the tiny trinket, she vowed that she would only think of the three peas as being her, her mom, and her dad. “I love it!” she told them. “Thank you!” she said beaming, as her dad leaned over to put on the necklace on her.
Rob beamed down at his daughter, well, we have one more thing for you. We actually just got this one today, it was Gayle’s idea.” He handed over a large pink bag, with purple tissue paper. When Jenny opened it, it held a St. Cecilia’s sweatshirt inside. She grinned broadly holding it up to her chest. This made her happier than she wanted to admit. “Thank you!” she said excitedly. And she was genuinely excited. She would be able to wear this on Fridays now when they had “Spirit Days”. Gayle and her dad smiled at her. We are glad you like it honey, and we are glad you like your new school. “
After her birthday lunch, they took her to the bakery where she picked out a cake, double chocolate, and then they took it back to the hotel room and ate it after singing. Jenny thought that eating fresh bakery cake, with frosting roses while sitting in bed, might be the best way of all to eat it. Later they went to the hotel pool. It was the most fun Jenny’d had with her dad in a long time, and the most fun she could ever remember having with Gayle. Her stepmom, Jenny was still loath to call her that, threw out a few sharp barbs, but for the most part she was nicer than usual. Later that night, as Jenny snuggled in the extra bed, her thoughts drifted back to Marnie. She hoped her friend was faring ok. She’d asked her dad if they could go back and get Marnie tomorrow so she could go out for breakfast with them, and her dad had promised to call Ms. Enderson and ask.
Marnie waited in her room, lying on the bed, her socked feet kicking at the wall in frustration. She'd been waiting for Ms. Enderson to come up She knew it was going to be awful. She was angry, nervous and sad, all at once. She wanted to run again, but this time didn’t dare. Finally, late in the evening, by the time most of the parents had left with their children for the night. Ms. Enderson came up. She knocked on the door, “Come in” Marnie said, sitting up as Ms. Enderson entered.
“Alright Marnie,” she said walking over to the bed and sitting down next to Marnie, who she thought looked for all the world like she was seconds away from bursting into tears. “Tell me why we are here” she said gently. ‘Marnie looked down at the floor digging her feet into the carpet. “Because I ran off and didn’t tell anyone and you were all worried, she said sulkily. “And then I messed up the presentation and let everyone down. Does that cover it?”
Now that the day was pretty much over, and most of the parents had left she felt calmer. “Just about,” she told Marnie. “You forgot the part about running from your problems. You must learn to face things Marnie,” She gently took Marnie’s arm, and pulled the girl closer. “Come on she said, guiding Marnie over her lap. Because she knew what was coming, Marnie tensed and let out a small cry when Ms. Enderson pulled down her pants and underwear. She felt a cool breeze as the air hit her bare skin. There was a pause and then, Crack! She felt the first smack land, and even though it was not especially hard, she tensed, and when she did, she felt Ms. Enderson increase the pressure of her other hand on the small of her back, and rub it gently, just for a moment. Trying to focus on anything else, Marnie buried her face in her comforter, and tried not to yell too loudly as she swats landed over and over, in a flurry, first three, then two—one on each cheek and then a series of five on one side and five on the other. “Marnie, I won’t have you running off like that again. I know you were upset, but it is never acceptable to not let someone know where you are or where you are going. Do you understand me?” Marnie nodded and clutched the comforter even tighter and gritted her teeth. As the swats grew harder and the pain increased, Marnie tried to keep her composure, but found it hard.
She hadn’t slept well the night before and was completely exhausted and somehow being tired made it hurt so much worse. She yelped as several swats landed on the backs of her thighs, and then started crying for real. Ms. Enderson wasn’t lecturing as much as she usually did during a punishment and Marnie figured that this was because she’d gotten most of her lecturing done earlier that day. She tried to hold in the sobs but found she couldn’t, and she kicked her legs and yelped again in surprise as another swat, a harder one this time landed on the back of her thighs. the next several were placed directly on her sit spots and Marnie yelled again. “No, please,” she cried out, unable to stop herself from pleading. She felt something shift and Ms. Enderson picked something up off her bed. Then suddenly, Thwack!
It was the small paddle Ms. Enderson sometimes used. it was black and oval shaped, and it was made of leather, and was lighter than the big wooden floor paddle, but it still packed a mighty sting. Seeing it set fear in Marnie’s heart. At least it wasn’t the strap; she had been expecting Ms. Enderson to use one of her straps, or the bigger floor paddle. But apparently, she was to get some mercy tonight. Even if she didn’t deserve it. That thought was short lived. Marnie yelped as the first stroke landed, and her pain level instantly doubled. She kicked and yelled out “Please, no more.
P-Please, I won’t do it againnn.” her voice rose an octave and then broke. She to tried to stay still but as the blows continued to fall, she couldn’t help but struggle and start to kick furiously, almost launching herself sideways off of Ms. Enderson’s lap in an attempt to get away from the punishing blows.
Ms. Enderson stopped spanking long enough to soothe her “Shh...Marine, we are almost done.” With that, she landed an incredibly fast flurry of swats, from the top of her bottom to the tops of her thighs. Marnie gave in and stopped fighting and lay limply over her teacher’s lap, no longer struggling, just sobbing softly. Ms. Enderson put the paddle down and let the girl cry. She surveyed the bright red bottom in front of her, she knew the message had gotten across. She rubbed the girl’s back gently making no move to get up or make Marnie get up. Instead, she just traced soothing circles, all the while whispering words of comfort. “Shh… Marnie, its ok. You’re ok,” Slowly, Marnie became aware that the punishment had stopped, and that Ms. Enderson was rubbing her back and speaking to her, although she could only half understand. She took big gulping breaths trying to regain some composure.
I’m sorry she cried. “I’m really sorry” Now Ms. Enderson moved to help her up. “I know you are sweetheart; I know.” She gently pulled up Marnie’s underwear and pajama pants. “Let’s get you up,” she said, helping her up sit. Marnie’s sobs slowed and then began to quiet as she sat up on the bed. Wincing when her sore bottom made contact with the bed. Ms. Enderson waited for her breathing to slow down with her arm wrapped around Marnie’s shoulder still lightly rubbing her back. Finally, she turned so she was facing the girl, “Marnie,” she said, “you can’t run away from your problems, I understand you were upset, but you have to face things head on, sometimes you have to ask for help. I am not sure how may times I can say that. I would have gladly helped you. You don’t always have to struggle by yourself.”
“I know.” Marnie sobbed , her tears starting up fresh. “Jenny’s going to hate me now, isn’t she? “ She swiped at her eyes. “What? Why?” Ms. Enderson looked at her confused. “Because I ruined the presentation. “ Marnie wailed. “ She didn’t even want to do the stupid thing, and I practically forced her. She only signed up because of me, and then I messed it all up anyway.”
“You didn’t ruin it.” Ms. Enderson said. “The show went on just fine, there was a little bit of a stumble, but we recovered. That’s part of performing live or presenting live, in this case.”
Yeah but Jenny had to do my part, and she messed up, because I wasn’t there... “She’s going to be so mad!” Ms. Enderson put a comforting hand on Marnie’s shoulder, “It’s going to be ok, Marnie,” she promised. “Jenny is your friend, “just talk to her, tell her what’s going on she’ll understand. And the presentation really did go fine. The parents loved it.” Marnie flinched slightly at the word “parents” and Ms. Enderson reached out and patted her hand. “Well,” she said. “ I don’t think Jenny hates you too much, because, Mr. Lisbon called earlier, he wanted to invite you out to breakfast tomorrow with Jenny, and him and her stepmom.
“Really?” Marnie asked, looking up hopefully. “Can I go?” Ms. Enderson smiled at her. “You can if you promise to not go running off and hiding every time you run into something you don’t want to deal with. You cannot go through life running away from your problem. It’s not a good way to be. We try to teach you girls here at St. Cecilia’s to face things head on.”
Marnie nodded; I know . She said. I won’t I promise.”
“Good Ms. Enderson said, then yes, you can go to breakfast with the Libsons tomorrow, they’ll be here at 9 am to pick you up.”
“Yay!” Marnie cheered, smiling for the first time that day. Ms. Enderson smiled back at her. “Just make sure you are on your best behavior, ok? You are representing both yourself and St. Cecilia’s when you go out into the world.” Marnie let out a small sigh and tried to refrain from rolling her eyes, since she and the paddle were in arm’s reach of Ms. Enderson. Sometimes her Head of House could sound so old and boring, which was funny because even though she was old, she wasn’t old- old. “Yes, Ms. Enderson,” she said dutifully, “I understand.” Before she could think of anything else to say, Marnie's stomach growled. Ms. Enderson laughed. “I guess we both missed dinner, didn’t we?” Marnie nodded. “Well,” Ms. Enderson said, “how about if I go down to the dining hall and see what I can scrounge up for us. We can eat It in here if you want, ok? She said, letting Marnie skip the dining hall for the second time in as many weeks. But she saw no reason not to. It was technically closed now anyway, and most of the students had left with their parents for the night anyway.
With the dorms being so deserted, and Marnie being so upset, she felt the girl needed some extra company, and maybe just a bit of extra coddling tonight. “I’ll be back up in just a few minutes ok, why don’t you finish getting ready for bed in the meantime? She told Marnie, who nodded. When Ms. Enderson came back up, she had two trays of Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, the perfect comfort food. They sat down to eat and Marnie was extra quiet, but after some coaxing started chatting a little bit. Finally managing to get more than a ghost of a smile out of her, Ms. Enderson put her plate down. It was nearly nine p.m. She looked over at Marnie who looked more tired than ever, I think it’s time for you to get in bed, she said gently, and Marnie nodded. Ms. Enderson pulled back the covers, and Marnie climbed in. Ms. Enderson pulled the covers up around her. Try not to get into too much trouble ok, she said gently arching one eyebrow at her and Marnie nodded
The next morning when the Lisbons picked her up Marnie bounded happily into their vehicle. She was excited to be going somewhere and doing something. Gayle and Mr. Lisbon both greeted her warmly. As soon as she buckled her seatbelt, she looked over at Jenny. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed. Jenny reached across the seat and squeezed her hand. They ate breakfast at a local diner, and Marnie chatted happily. Gayle took to Marnie right away and asked her several questions. Marnie proudly told them about soccer, and the project she was working on. Jenny thought it was a little bit strange that Gayle was acting so nicely towards Marnie, she had thought that Gayle just hated all kids, but maybe it was only her. Still, she shrugged it off, as long as Gayle had her attention focused on Marnie, she could not throw her usual backhanded insults at Jenny, which was a relief since her dad never seemed to notice. Besides, she had been mostly nice this weekend.
Later that night when the girls got back to the dorms after saying goodbye to Mr. Lisbon and Gayle, Marnie finished her homework and Jenny who was sitting on her bed, curled up with her new journal, was still a little quiet. She wasn’t angry anymore, her anger had long since come and gone, but there was a small kernel of hurt that stayed buried in the pit stomach. She tried to ignore it, but still it was there, irritating everything, and reminding her that her supposed best friend had ditched her. Twice in the past two weeks in fact. She had been ditched by friends before and the memory left a sour taste in her mouth. She tried to find the right words to express what she was feeling, but for once they wouldn’t come either out loud or on paper, where it was usually so much easier to express herself. She ignored the feeling, and pushing it down and decided to see if Marnie wanted to hang out in the common room and watch a movie after dinner, but when she looked up, Marnie was gone