Read Online After Dakota by Kevin Sharp - Free Book Online

harmful.”
    “Did you see what Nora’s wearing today?”
    “Don’t you mean Hor- a?”
    How many more days of this?
     
    Claire and the other students develop their first rolls of film in the darkroom, the air hazy with a chemical smell. Mr. Duran circulates; the red ceiling bulb makes his white mustache pink. “I see overexposure in some of these, folks,” he says. “Remember what we talked about.” Claire pulls from the water her picture of Baloo lying in a patch of sun on the back porch. Mr. Duran stands over her shoulder, nods at the photo, and moves on.
     
    Meredith has a piano lesson after school on Tuesdays, so Claire goes home, makes a float (a scoop of coffee ice cream in a tall glass of 7-Up), and watches Love Connection . Some poor person will come on, looking for a date, then go out with one of three choices. The best episodes are the ones where the dates go terribly wrong, where the host, with his coiffed hair and fancy suits, shakes his head as the couple argues.
    After the show’s over, Claire puts on a Journey record in her room, then lies on her bed and starts her homework. Right as side one ends, she hears her mom’s low voice out in the hall. “Ask her how her day was.”
    When the knock comes, she knows. “Come in.”
    Her dad stands in the doorway, cigarette smoke hanging over him. “Permission to enter Claire’s lair.”
    “Daddy, I’m not ten years old anymore.”
    “You certainly aren’t.” He stands in the middle of the room, trying to look at ease. “How was your day?”
    “Fine.”
    “What are you working on?”
    “Algebra.”
    “Wouldn’t you be more comfortable at your desk?”
    “Nope.”
    “You wouldn’t?”
    He looks around like he’s touched his plane down on some uncharted planet.
    He used to come in here at night, lie next to Claire after her mom had read a bedtime story, and sing “My Darling Clementine.” Claire wished her name were Clementine so that she could have her very own song. She would fall asleep to the tune, his fingers scratching her back, the smell of his green aftershave.
    He picks up Animal Farm off her desk. “This is a good one. You like it?”
    “I haven’t started it yet. The first chapters are due tomorrow.”
    “Sounds like you have a lot of work. I’d better let you get back to it.”
    “Yeah.”
    “Well, ok, then.” He’s not sure whether to leave her door open or closed, so he settles on ajar.
    Dinner that night is spaghetti with Ragu sauce, the first time the Vanzants aren’t mentioned at grace. Claire’s good news is that Mr. Duran liked her photo. Bryce offers that he aced an Economics quiz. Claire takes her dessert – a Sara Lee frozen cream puff – and the newspaper up to her room, where she hunts for an article to cut out for her current events notebook in Mr. Hagen’s class.
    Ireland bans abortion.
    Mice die from radiation poisoning somewhere called Love Canal.
    A girl sits in her bedroom in Albuquerque, wishing she were anyplace else.

26
    Even if you don’t care about sports, you go to the homecoming game. Between the daily countdown on the announcements (“Get your tickets early, Thunderbirds!”) and the handmade banners in every hallway, it’s not like anyone doesn’t know it’s happening. The school colors – red and white – are painted on cars, painted on faces the day of the game. Random chants echo through the parking lot. The stands fill early as the sky bruises with black and blue storm clouds.
    The opponent tonight is Del Norte High.
    Even if you don’t care about sports, you go to this game.
    Unless you’re Bryce and you have a church youth group event to attend. So Cameron and Geoff meet outside the main gate; Cameron parks across the street, to spare his car not only dents but any celebratory decorating.
    Inside, past the parent ushers, the Peace Club sells snacks at a folding table. “Dude, you know this is gonna be good stuff,” Geoff says as he gets in line. Manning the table are