Page 46 of Searching for Nova

He mumbles something, then turns up the TV. It’s so damn loud. I think he might be going deaf.

At least the new job will get me out of the apartment and away from Ted. That’s a plus.

13

Nova

After lunch,I take Ted’s car to get groceries, but first I stop at the mall to look for shoes. I go to a discount shoe store, but almost every pair is over $50. I find one for $35 that’s fake leather and all white. They’re bulky with extra padding in the sole. They look like the shoes the school nurse wears. In fact, I think they might be the same ones, but they’re the only ones I can afford so I get them.

As I’m leaving the store, I hear someone calling my name. I look back and see Rielle coming toward me. She’s really showing now, especially in that fitted shirt she has on. At school she wears baggy shirts, not wanting to draw attention to her belly.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” I say as she stops in front of me.

“Looking for clothes.” She points to her stomach. “I don’t fit into any of my jeans. Karla gave me money to go shopping so I’m here trying to find stuff, but so far everything I’ve found looks like something an old lady would wear.”

Karla is the lady who’s adopting Rielle’s baby. Since finding out they’d be getting the baby, Karla and her husband have treated Rielle like their daughter. They even invited her to live in their house, which Rielle said is huge and in a fancy neighborhood full of rich people. Rielle decided to keep living with her uncle, but Karla still gives her money for groceries, clothes, haircuts, everything you could think of. Rielle just has to ask and Karla gives her the money.

“There’s a new maternity store in that strip mall by the taco place,” I tell her. “Maybe try there.”

“I forgot about that place. I’ll go there next.” She smiles. “You want to get lunch? Or did you already eat?”

“We’re out of food so I didn’t eat. I’m heading to the grocery store next.”

“Have lunch with me. We’ll go to the food court.”

“I can’t. I don’t have enough money.” I’d be embarrassed to admit that to some people, but not Rielle. She knows what it’s like to struggle. Everyone at my school does. We’re all low income, and sadly, a lot of people there are even worse off than me. Rielle got lucky and found rich people to support her throughout her pregnancy. The baby’s dad knows about the kid, but he didn’t want it and didn’t care if she gave it up. He goes to another school and broke up with Rielle a week after she found out she was pregnant.

“Lunch is on me,” Rielle says, smiling as she takes a wad of cash from her pocket. “Actually, Karla’s paying for it.”

“In that case, yeah, let’s have lunch.”

We go to the food court and I get way more food than I can eat. Rielle told me to get extra so I’ll have something for dinner. She knows what it’s like. You take as much food as you can when it’s available because you never know when you’ll run out and have to go hungry.

“Are you going to Mateo’s tonight?” she asks, pushing her tray aside. She finished her lunch, but I’m still eating my fries.

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from him.” I stuff some fries in my mouth. “He probably has a date tonight.”

She laughs. “Yeah, right. He’s probably just playing video games and forgot to call.”

“No, I’m serious. I think he has a date. Last week he told me he was going to ask out some girl from another school.”

“Wait—you guys broke up? When did that happen?”

Rielle and I haven’t talked much since she got pregnant. We used to be good friends, but now she spends all her time with Karla, shopping for the baby or going to doctor appointments or having dinner at Karla’s house.

“We didn’t break up,” I say. “We were never dating. You know that.”

“I know you said that, but I didn’t think you meant it. You spend the night at his house. That’s something a girlfriend would do.”

“I only spend the night there when I have to, when Ted kicks me out so he can have a lady over. It’s not like Mateo invites me. And when I stay there, he tells me to sleep on the floor.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No. He doesn’t want me in his bed. But last time he actually let me sleep in it as long as I didn’t touch him.”

“He really said that?”

“Yep.” I pop the last of my fries in my mouth and take a drink of my soda. “He thinks touching will make me think we’re more than friends.”

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