Page 23 of The Sandbar saga

Chapter 9

Katie's door opened, and Kendrid stuck her head into the dorm room. "You have a package in the office."

"I do?" She stood from the desk, putting down her pencil. "From who?"

Mail came every day, but after the first eight months of being at St. Mary's, she'd stopped going downstairs to see if anyone sent her a letter or care package. Her hope that her mother would remember her birthday or care enough about her died within the first month of attendance without a word from her.

"Ms. Scott wouldn't say. Just told me to come and get you." Kendrid stepped out into the hallway and fell into step with her as she made her way down to the office. "If you get any cookies, I'll trade you two brand new notebooks and a friendship bracelet."

"No way." She nudged Kendrid with her elbow. "I promised to stop you when you tried to smuggle cookies into your room."

The school had put a ban on cookies being sold in the cafeteria at lunchtime because girls were sneaking them to their room. There was an ant invasion in two of the rooms, including Kendrid's, and the exterminators had to come and spray the area, forcing everyone to bed down in the gym for two days.

At the door of the office, Kendrid stopped. Katie frowned. "Aren't you going in with me?"

"The less I see of Ms. Scott, the better." Kendrid leaned against the wall and curled her lip. "Watch out for her eyes. They see everything."

She shook her head at Kendrid's drama and opened the door. Because Kendrid was assigned as her buddy person while at school, she'd learned fast that there was a small group of girls attending St. Mary's who enrolled because they were in trouble with the law. The word reform was thrown around a lot, especially when someone got in trouble.

Since she had never been arrested for shoplifting, breaking curfew, or getting into fights, she could only blame her home life for putting her here. That came down to her mom being the one responsible for sending her away. Not her old school, Langly Elementary, or Dr. Conner.

"How can I help you, Katie?" Mrs. Thompson, the secretary, gave her full attention to her.

"Kendrid said there's a package for me?"

"Yes." Mrs. Thompson stood and motioned for her to follow. "It's in Ms. Scott's office. I can help you find it."

The secretary retrieved a large box and handed it to Katie. It was heavier than she'd imagined, and she struggled to hold on to it.

"Got it?" Ms. Scott took her hands off the package. "I'll get the door for you."

Unable to see in front of her, she carried it forward and out into the hallway. Kendrid grabbed onto the box, seeing her struggle. She shifted her hands and sidestepped up the stairs, carrying the delivery.

"I'm totally jelly." Kendrid bugged her eyes. "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know." Her stomach fluttered.

What if the box had been delivered to the wrong address? What if she opened it and found out the contents belonged to one of the other girls at St. Mary's and not her?

The only possible person who could send anything to her would be her mother. But why would she when she'd sent her away without a goodbye and then silence all those months?

"Here, you take it. I'll get your door." Kendrid moved in front of her and went into the room.

Hit with the need to be alone while she opened the box, she avoided Kendrid's gaze. If the package was from her mother, she wanted to keep the moment to herself. Kendrid, while her closest friend, liked to overshare everything, and Katie was a private person.

She put the box on the bed and read the top label. It had her name. The address was unfamiliar to her. She had no idea what the street address was at St. Mary's.

"What are you waiting for? Open it." Kendrid patted the box.

"I will...later." She plopped down on the bed. "I need to read three chapters of that book for Mrs. Larson's class first and don't want to get distracted."

"You're kidding?" Kendrid pushed the box closer to Katie. "Come on. Open it now, so I can see what you got."

She shook her head. The more she thought about it, the more determined she became.

"I have to read," she said.

"Fine. Fine." Kendrid waved her arms and walked to the door. "If it's good stuff, though, come and get me. I want first dibs on cookies, ants or no ants, I need them."

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