The Silver Lining

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Authors: Jennifer Raygoza
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help me. Just fantastic.
    “Lead the way.” I tossed up my hand.
    “How are you today, James?” Ronald said.
    “Can we just not do this? The small chat. It’s weird,” I said.
    “Okay. This is my office. Go ahead and step in.”
    I looked at the doorknob and frowned. I knew once I opened this door I was going to have to deal with the wicked witch of Cherry Hills. What the hell was she doing here? I placed my hand on the knob and turned it as slow as I could. I pushed opened the door and there she was. She stood up and smiled so brightly you would of thought a grenade blew open her mouth. She walked over to me and grabbed me in a tight hug.
    “There you are, James. I have been waiting for you. I was worried.”
    “Seriously?”
    She leaned in and placed her mouth close to my ear. “Go along with it or I’ll fire that pretty little tamale you’ve been staying with,” she whispered.
    I pulled back and stared at her. She was on a whole new level now. Let’s see where this goes.
    “James, your mother was just telling me what a great man you are. I hear you got wrapped up with the wrong people and here we are.”
    “Excuse me for a minute, Ronald.” I paused and turned to my mother. “I’m sorry, Mom. Can you remind me why you are here again?”
    “Support, dear. I’m here for you. We talked about this.”
    “Is this a joke?” I snorted. “You’re really doing this?”
    She pulled out her cell phone and started dialing a number.
    “What are you doing?” I asked, trying to see who she was dialing.
    “I need to make a call to one of my employees. I think I’m over staffed at the moment.”
    She was dialing Emily. I just knew it. I snatched the phone out of her hands. I gestured for my mother to sit down, as I took a seat. Ronald kept a close eye on both of us. By the look in his eyes, I could see he wasn’t sure what to think of us just yet.
    “No. I remember now. It must have slipped my mind. I apologize. Thank you for coming. I appreciate it.” I cocked my neck to the side and squinted my eyes at her.
    “So, let’s talk about your case.” Ronald tapped on his desk with a pen.
    “My case?” I turned my entire body in chair toward him.
    “Yes. I want to know why you think you’re in here.”
    “Go ahead, honey.” My mother encouraged me. I tried not to laugh at her attempt to sound sincere. Who in the hell was this woman sitting next to me, acting like she cared? There was definitely an agenda up her sleeve, and before we parted ways today I would figure out what she was up to.
    “I’m here, because I had poor judgment in character when it came to choosing friends.”
    “James, this is a safe place. You don’t need to hold back.”
    Not that bullshit again. I swear if I heard safe place one more time I was decking the person. I shook my head and rolled my neck around. Ronald smiled, as he waited for a response.
    “Are we done here? I thought I was just checking in to schedule classes for later.”
    “Yes. Yes we are. Just know that I am here for you, James.” Ronald stood up and reached out his hand. I stared over at my mother and then back to him.
    “How much is she paying you?” I blurted out. Ronald pulled his hand back.
    “I’m sorry,” he said, “I don’t understand.”
    “James, I think we should go. I have a nice meal cooked up for you at home. We wouldn’t want that to go to waste,” my mother cut in, as quickly as she could. This charade just keeps getting better. What’s next? A birthday party with clowns. That train had passed. What the hell was she up to?
    She grabbed my arm and escorted me out while waving at Ronald. She was literally pulling me toward the exit door. Once we made our way outside I planted my feet on the concrete. I wasn’t moving another inch. It was confession time. Enough with the mommy dearest act.
    “What are you doing?” I shouted and threw my hands up. She looked around and shook her head. She leaned into me, but didn’t say anything.

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