Page 33 of The Prodigy

12

Malika

“Sorry,Ididn’tknowyou were in here.”

Ms. Windermere blew out a smoke ring and smiled. It was an unsettling image, a bit like the calm before the storm, or the baring of fangs before the animal attacks and bites your face off.

But all she said was, “Are you hungry?”

“No ma’am. Just thirsty.”

“Girl, call me Gab. None of that ma’am stuff around here.”

“Okay.”

It was early afternoon. I didn’t have to be at work until five, so I was killing time until Cyrus showed up to take me to Sliders. Jakari was gone when I woke up, so I sat holed up in the bedroom reading an old magazine I found in his closet. I would have stayed there if I hadn’t gotten thirsty.

I made my way over to the refrigerator to hunt down a bottle of water. I could feel her eyes on me, boring holes into my back like red laser beams on a rifle. I shuddered as I grabbed a bottle and closed the fridge door.

“Who are your people?” she said.

I turned to face her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, who are your people. Y’all from Midling?”

“Oh. Yes. Well, my dad is. My mom wasn’t.”

Her eyebrows went up. “Who’s your daddy?”

“Freddie Andrews. He went to Blane.”

“Oh, okay. I went to Hightower.”

“Me too.”

“That’s why you look familiar.” She took another pull and released the smoke through her nostrils. “You were in Kari’s class?”

“No. A few years behind. He didn’t know me.”

“Yeah. But you knew him, right?”

I nodded.

“You knew him but he didn’t know you. That’s how it goes.” She smiled. “You had a crush on him?”

“Everybody did.”

She chuckled. “And now you’re married to him. So I guess you won.”

“Technically. On paper.”

“Right.” She peered at me. “Well, make yourself at home. Might as well get comfortable.”

I nodded. “If you ever need me to do the dishes or take the trash out or cook something, I can.”

Gab’s eyes bucked for a split second before she caught herself. She struck me as a woman who liked to keep her emotions in check. After a few beats, she smiled. “That’s very nice of you. I’ll let you know. Or you can just step in whenever. There’s plenty to do around here.”

“You have a beautiful home.”

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