"Oh!" she said, pulling her sleeve down again. "I got attacked by a dog when i was a kid, it's a scar." She looked away. She knew he could tell she was lying.
Ben did figure she was lying, the way she wouldn't look him in the eye, but he didn't think anything of it. "Hey, Kassy?" he said, waiting for her to say, 'what?'.
"Yeah?"
Close enough. "Do you wanna come over to my house after school today and i can help you out alittle? My brother should be able to help, too." His blue eyes widened slightly.
"Um, yeah, i guess," Kassy replied, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. "When does the bell ring, anyways?" she was eager to change the subject.
"Well, right about now, actually." The bell sounded and the class stood up to leave. They filed out into the hallway, Ben in front and Kassy close on his heels. Ben ran to catch up to Luke, and they waited for Kassy to 'excuse' her way through the hallway.
"Kassy, hon, if you wanna get to class on time in this school, push, don't be polite," Luke told her.
"Okey dokey," she replied. She looked at Ben. "What's our next class?" she asked, as if slightly afraid of the answer.
Ben frowned. "Reading."
"Oh, no! I'm not going to that one! I'll just leave now." She turned to actually leave, but Luke pulled her back.
"I don't think so," he said, dragging her by the hand. "The room's this way." He started to say something else, but shut-up when he felt Kassy leave his grasp. He turned around quickly to see her running down the hallway, Ben chasing after her. "Oh, yeah! This is exactly what i need on the first day of school," he mumbled, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. He started to chase after them.
The hallway was empty and the bell had already sounded. Kassy had been smart and had located a girl's bathroom. Ben stood on the other side of the door yelling through the thick wood. "C'mon!"
"NO!" was the sobbed reply.
"Alright!" Ben shoved the door open and dissapeared into the bathroom. Luke grinned.
"This kid is going to get in sooo much trouble," he said to himself. He heard the click of a teacher's high heels on the floor down the hallway. He knocked on the door and said quickly, "Ben! Beat it! Agerwal's comin'!" and ran down the hallway into his classroom.
Inside the bathroom, Kassy heard a terrified, "Yikes!" escape Ben's mouth. "Serves ya' right for bein' in the girls bathroom." She watched the door open and stared up at the tall teacher from the floor.
"And why aren't you in class young lady?" she said bitterly, placing her hands on her hips. Kassy looked around the room for Ben, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Because i'm not, duh!" Kassy replied.
"Young lady!" exclaimed the teacher. "Learn how to be respectful to your elders! But until you do, we'll be contacting your parents."
"What parents?" Kassy mumbled. "and could you please stop callin' me 'young lady'? I do have a name ya' know."
"Well, i didn't know what it was."
"You didn't ask, either, dip stick."
Ben jumped down from the toilet seat he was standing on when he heard the bathroom door shut. He carefully peeked around the door, but no Mrs. Agerwal was in sight, nor was there a Kassy. "Uh oh," he said softly. "Kassy got herself in big trouble. I wonder what she meant by 'what parents?'" he asked himself. "Oh well, better scoot off to class now, shant i?" he shoved the bathroom door open... into Judy's face. "Judy!" Ben exclaimed.
Judy grabbed her nose. "Ben! The boy's bathroom is down the hall!"
"NO! Well, yes it is, but i wasn't using the bathroom, i was talking to someone. I'm not into the toilets in here, they're weird."
"Who? Your hornball friend, Luke?"
"One, Luke is my brother as well as my friend, and two, no. He's in class." He glared at Judy.
"Then who were you talking to?" she asked, finally letting go of her nose.
"Not that it's any of your business, Judy, but i was talking to Kassy."
"Well, then, where is she?"
"She mouthed off to Agerwal and got taken to the principals office."
"And how come you didn't get in trouble for being in the girl's bathroom?"
"Agerwal didn't know i was in here. I'm not stupid, i hid."
"How come you were talking to Kassy in the first place?"
"That you have no right to ask, and you won't be getting an answer to. Now, if you'll exuse me, i have a class to get to and a phone call to make to my parents to explain my suspension for skipping." He pushed past her and walked down the hallway. "Snob," he muttered.
"I heard that, Benjamin Seaver," she said.
"Like i care, Judy Jones!" he called
back.
"Look, lady. I told you i don't know," Kassy sat back in her chair, holding back the grin that wanted to spread across her face.
"You mean to tell me you don't know your own phone number? I find that very hard to believe young lady." The secretary, known as Mrs. Burch, pushed her glasses up onto her nose and folded her hands across her desk. The typical secretary.
"Why does everyone keep callin' me that?" Kassy stood up and walked over to Mrs. Burch's desk. "Now look, i told ya' a million times, i haven't lived there in over a year, and i don't remember the phone number. And i have a name, and i'd like if you used it. Or you can just call me Kid, i don't really care what you call me, just as long as it isn't 'young lady'."
"Well, Kid, if you haven't lived there in over a year, then where have you been living, and why are you enrolled in school?"
"Well, where i've been living is none of your business, and as for why i'm here, i dunno. Maybe they finally got the money to put both of us in school." She returned to her seat across the room.
"Who are both of you?" Ms. Burch leaned forward curiously.
"Look, i'm through answering questions, especially stupid ones like these. Now, i think you need a pass to go back to class, and i'd like one of those, please." She held out her hand for a hall pass.
Ms. Burch, obviously too frustrated to argue, wrote out the pass and handed it to Kassy. Kassy left the room with her head high. When she walked out into the hallway, she ran head first into Luke. He was standing there, looking good, with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.
"Gee, Kassy, you could've waited for the second week of school, at least," he grinned.
"Ah, shut up!" She couldn't help but grin. "How did you know i was in trouble anyways?" She bent down to get a drink at the water fountain. "What? Did ya' see Ben or somethin'?" She wiped a little water off her chin and began walking down the hallway.
"Actually, yeah, i did. He wrote out a fake pass and came in and handed it to me. He was pretending to be an aid," he paused and grinned, "on the first day of school. The cool thing is, the teacher bought it! Well anyways, he told me what was up and i decided to wait for you and there you were." He stopped and turned to her. "Where ya' been all my life, gorgeous?"
"Oh, waiting for you, handsome." They both smiled and began walking again. "Oh! Do you live in the same house as Ben or somethin'? 'Cuz you guys sure spend a lot of time together.
"Well, yeah, we do live in the same house. See, i was a foster child at one point, and then they adopted me."
"A Foster Child? What's that?" she asked casually.
"Oh, it's like living with someone temporarily until they find you another home, either temporary again, or a permanant one. It's not that bad, actually."
"Yeah, believe it or not, i know how it feels." A bell rang. "Um, oops? Does that mean i just skipped a class?"
"It sure does! But you're new at this, so they'll probably give you a break. Just watch your mouth around the teachers. I'll lead you to your next class, how does that sound?"
"Alright, or i'll end up skipping that one just trying to find it?"
"Hey there! How was your first day at school?" he asked. Kassy noticed that he blushed slightly.
"It was alright, i guess. I skipped my second class, though," she laughed. "Am i still going to your house?" she asked as she walked with him to his bus.
"Don't you have to call your parents first?" he asked, shifting his backpack from one shoulder to the other and back again. He leaned against the bus, pushing his brownish-blonde hair out of his blue eyes.
"No, i don't-" she stopped herself. "They won't care, trust me. Is this the right bus?" She pointed to the huge bus he was leaning against.
"Yep, it sure is! Hop on!"
Kayys walked onto the bus, sitting down in one of the seats. Ben sat next to her, putting his bag on the floor. Luke boarded the bus next.
"Hey, shove over. There's enough room for three in this seat," he smiled and sat down.
Kassy stared out the bus windows at the familiar neighborhood. The bus stopped, and Luke and Ben stood up. Kassy stood with them, assuming it was their stop. It was. She was the lat to get off the bus. The house that stood before her was huge. It had a large front porch, and windows lined the front. A red convertible sat in the driveway as well as a station wagon.
"Oh, the red car's Mike's," Luke pointed out when he saw her staring at it open-mouthed.
"Mike? Who's Mike?" Kassy was still staring at the car. Ben touched her back lightly.
"Mike is out brother. Now walk so we can meet him?"
"Oh, yeah! Sure!" Kassy was becoming more friendly by the minute. Ben looked at Luke and smiled.
Ben opened the front door and they all walked into the house Kassy saw a girl, two older people, a young man and a little girl all gathered around a television set staring intensly at it. The little girl came running up to Luke and gave him a big hug. "LUKE!" she screamed. He lifted her up and spun her around.
"Chrissy! How was your day at school?" he put her down and bent over, resting his hands on his knees so he was about at her level.
"It was fun!" Chrissy looked at Ben. "BENNY!" she jumped into his arms and hugged him also. Ben hugged her back, and then set her down gently. Chrissy looked at Kassy. "Who's that?" she asked, looking back at Ben and Luke.
"Yes, boys, we were beginning to wonder the same thing," the older man said.
"Oh, right!" Ben sounded a little bit nervous. "Kassy, this is my mom and dad, Dr. and Mrs. Seaver. Um, this is out sister Carol, her boyfriend Dwight, and this little tyke is Chrissy." He ruffled Chrissy's curly brown hair.
"Ben, Luke, come over here. Mike's on TV!" Mrs. Seaver exclamied amidst the greetings.
Ben, Luke, Chrissy, and Kassy walked over and stood behind the couch. Kassy's eyes bulged when she saw what Mike looked like. "That's Mike, right there," Mrs. Seaver said proudly. "The one with his shirt off," she beamed at her son.
"He's gorgeous!" The room was silent, and all eyes turned towards Kassy. "Sorry, but he is." Just then, Mike came through the kitchen door.
"Hey, you guy's watchin me on TV?" He stood next to Kassy behind the couch. The entire family turned back to Kassy and Mike, and started laughing. "It's a serious role, why are you laghing?" Mike demanded.
"Oh, nothing Mike," Carol said, turning back around with the rest of them to watch the TV again. Mike turned to Kassy and held out his hand.
"Hey there, i'm Mike," he smiled.
"Hi, i'm yours. I mean, Kassy!" She shook his hand. Ben started laughing and Kassy smacked him in the leg. "Hey, Ben, where's the bathroom?"
"I'll show her where it is, watching Mike act makes me wanna puke anyway," said Carol, standing up and leading Kassyup the stairs.
"Very funny, Carol," Mike called from the family room.
Once Kassy and Carol were up the stairs Kassy exclaimed, "I'm yours? What posessed me to say that?"
"I don't know, but you didn't really have to go to the bathroom, did you?" Carol asked.
"I confess. No." Kassy admitted.
Carol led Kassy into the room she occupied when she was home. It was Luke's room when she stayed at the dorm; he was bunking with Ben temporarily. She sat down on the bed.
"So, you like Benny, huh?" she asked, smiling broadly.
"Ben? No, what makes you think that?" Kassy gulped nervously and started to sweat.
"Well," Carol began.
"I'm a bad liar, aren't i?" Kassy interrupted.
"Slightly."
"Yeah, i thought so. The problem is, i've only known him for, like, less than a day. And he would never like me, anyways. He likes Judy Jones."
"Judy?" Carol exclaimed. "Judy may have given Ben his first kiss when he was twelve, but he can barely stand her!" Carol started laughing.
They heard the doorbell ring downstairs. Carol and Kassy came down the stairs as Mike opened it. A police officer stood in the doorway. "Can we help you?" Mike asked politely.
Yes. Is a miss Kassandra Miller here?" Kassy looked off to the side where someone else was standing. That someone was BJ!
Kassy took off running in the direction of the litchen, hoping there was a backdoor. "Hey, Kass!" Ben shouted as she ran. Kassy bolted out the back door to see a squad car and two more officers waiting for her. She quickly turned around and came face to face with BJ and the other officer. She looked around for someplace to run, but there wasn't anywhere she could go.
Kassy looked at Ben as she was handcuffed by one of the officers.
"What's going on, Kassy?" Ben asked, his eyes showing confusion.
"Kassy?" Luke asked, also confused.
Kassy didn't answer, she just looked at them both over her shoulder as she was put into the squad car. Ben ran up to the officer and asked what was going on. "I won't tell you, i'm not allowed, but if she wants you to know, she can tell you." The famile looked at Kassy. She just closed her eyes. BJ stood grinning.
"Hey, you guys, i know what it was all about. And I'll tell you." They watched the squad car pull out of the driveway.
If Kassy didn't want us to know, then we won't be listening to anyone else tell us what happened," said Luke, with his arms around Chrissy's shoulders.
"Hm. Well, when she gets out of juvie, she'll come back here. You wouldn't want her corrupting this delicate little flower, now would you?" he asked, smoothing Chrissy's hair.
"Hey, don't touch her," Luke said, knocking BJ's hand away.
"Ok, ok, don't get your pants in a knot. I just thought you'd like to know, that's all. But since you don't..." his voice trailed off and he started to walk away.
"Ben's curiosity finally got the best of him. "Wait," he said to BJ. "Why was Kassy arrested?" he asked.
"Ben-" Mrs. Seaver began. but Dr. Seaver placed a hand on her shoulder and she said nothing.
"What?" BJ said, sounding surprised. "You couldn't tell from her arm? Heroine, boy. You're little girlfriend was shootin' up." BJ walked away.
"Liar," Ben muttered. "LIAR!" he screamed.
"Believe what you want, boy, but what else can you think of? You were with her all day, you must have seen her arm."
"A dog bit her arm."
BJ laughed and walked away.
"No, Ben, it doesn't. It doesn't make any difference where you come from, it matters who you are, If Kassy was doing Heroine, then she'll get help. If she wasn't, then you have nothing to worry about." She rubbed his back. The phone rang and Mike answered it.
"Hello?" he asked, picking up the receiver. There was a pause. "No, Kasysy isn't here, who's this?" Another pause. Ben looked up at the mention of Kassy's name. "Who? Karen Linix? How did you know Kassy was here?" A longer pause. "Oh, alright. I'll tell her you called if she comes back. Ok, bye." He hung up the reciever.
"Karen Linix? She hates me and Luke, why was she calling?" ben asked.
Mike stood next to the phone. "She lives down the street and saw Kassy get off the bus here. Then she saw the police cars drive away and wondered if Kassy was in one of them." He sat down next to Ben. "It seems like everyone knows something we don't know."
Ben stood up and walked over to the bookcase, removing an encyclopedia marked H. He sat down on the couch and started flipping through it. He came across Heroine and leaned forward, reading about it. Mike and Mrs. Seaver left the room.
"I already told you that i got it from BJ," Kassy replied.
"BJ who?" Deanna insisted.
"I don't know!" She leaned on the desk and cradled her head in her hand. It was the guy who turned me in." She paused, realizing what she had just said. "But i'm not saying that just because he turned me in, either." She looked the officer straight in the eyes. "I swear."
"We'll check it out. Until then, you can stay in here." She lead Kassy to an open cell and pushed her gently in. She closed the barred door and locked it. "Everything you need is in there," she said, walking away.
Kassy looked around. "Well, she was right about one thing, at least. Everything i need is here." She sat on the bottom bunk of the bed. "Hm, barred windows, nice touch," she commented. She lay back and put her hands behind her head. "Well, this is fun." She closed her eyes and was soon asleep.