Read Online The Summer of Our Discontent by Robin Alexander - Free Book Online
Authors: Robin Alexander
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mouth flew open and it bit at the stick. Rachel dropped it, ran backward, and collided with Faith. They landed on the ground with a thud.
“Oh, my God, do you have that snake?” Faith yelled as she thrashed beneath Rachel.
“Stop hitting me.” Rachel rolled off of her and came face-to- face with a sandal. Her gaze trailed up a pair of orange capri pants as Keely glared down at her.
“I told you two that I wasn’t going to put up with your bickering. Y’all haven’t been here two hours, and you’re already going at it.”
“We’re not fighting, we’re trying to get rid of that snake,” Rachel said as she got up on her knees and pointed.
Keely’s jaw sagged. “Funky butt lovin ’, that’s one big snake. Handle it,” she said as she took off in the other direction.
Faith rolled over on her hands and knees. “You elbowed me in the boob.”
“A fortunate accident. Now get up and help me get rid of this thing. It’s good and pissed off now.”
“And you still want to go at it with a stick,” Faith said as she brushed herself off. “You’re brilliant.”
Savannah Daigle, one of the scouts, came jogging over. “Mrs. Keely told me there was a snake,” she said as she tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear.
“Yeah, you’d better stay back, it’s already struck at me,” Rachel warned.
Savannah looked around the steps. “Oh, that’s just a water snake, they’re not poisonous. Hand me the stick, please.”
“I don’t know,” Rachel said, looking at Faith. “You could get bitten.”
“I live on the bayou, Ms. Rachel. We see these all the time. That’s why Mrs. Keely sent me over here. I usually take care of the snakes.”
Faith stepped up and handed her stick to Savannah, who put it across the snake’s head, pinning it down. “It just ate, and it’s hard to move, that makes them kind of aggressive,” she explained as she grabbed the snake behind the head and picked it up. “I’ll take it down to the marsh and turn it loose. See y’all later.”
Faith and Rachel watched her go. “We were just shown up by a girl with hot pink fingernails and a bow in her hair. This is a very sad day,” Faith said and hung her head.
Rachel nodded. “Sad indeed.”
Chapter Eleven
“That’s it…sit…right there. Sit, sit, sit…damn!” Rachel whispered as she sat alone away from the campfire, disgusted that Faith had narrowly missed sitting on a charred marshmallow. It would’ve made a disgusting mess on the back of her navy blue running shorts.
Rachel wanted to take the high road and put petty differences aside, but if she wasn’t making a conscious effort to push ancient history from her mind, it seeped back in quickly. One of Faith’s favorite insults came leaping out of the recesses—“you buck-toothed, bunny-faced bitch.” Rachel had worn braces for two years to correct the overbite. With bright red hair, freckles, and teeth that could chew corn through a picket fence, she had a lot to be self-conscious about, and Faith exploited every one of her tender places. Rachel only had one card to play, and that was Faith’s weight, but in their senior year of high school, Faith seemed to grow smaller with each passing day. By graduation, she was slim and trim, and Rachel was fresh out of ammo.
The summer after graduation, Faith’s mother died suddenly of a heart attack. Faith didn’t frequent the hot spots anymore. At the creek where almost all the high school crowd hung out to cool off and drink pilfered beer, Rachel had looked over her shoulder, but her tormentor wasn’t in sight. Nor did she show at the diner where all the teens hung out on weekend nights. Faith had virtually disappeared. Rachel went off to college that fall and on her visits home never crossed paths with her nemesis, but she heard of her exploits. It seemed the chubby girl had morphed into somewhat of a Casanova and gave the gossip circles plenty to talk about with her activities. Faith Leblanc had come
“Oh, my God, do you have that snake?” Faith yelled as she thrashed beneath Rachel.
“Stop hitting me.” Rachel rolled off of her and came face-to- face with a sandal. Her gaze trailed up a pair of orange capri pants as Keely glared down at her.
“I told you two that I wasn’t going to put up with your bickering. Y’all haven’t been here two hours, and you’re already going at it.”
“We’re not fighting, we’re trying to get rid of that snake,” Rachel said as she got up on her knees and pointed.
Keely’s jaw sagged. “Funky butt lovin ’, that’s one big snake. Handle it,” she said as she took off in the other direction.
Faith rolled over on her hands and knees. “You elbowed me in the boob.”
“A fortunate accident. Now get up and help me get rid of this thing. It’s good and pissed off now.”
“And you still want to go at it with a stick,” Faith said as she brushed herself off. “You’re brilliant.”
Savannah Daigle, one of the scouts, came jogging over. “Mrs. Keely told me there was a snake,” she said as she tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear.
“Yeah, you’d better stay back, it’s already struck at me,” Rachel warned.
Savannah looked around the steps. “Oh, that’s just a water snake, they’re not poisonous. Hand me the stick, please.”
“I don’t know,” Rachel said, looking at Faith. “You could get bitten.”
“I live on the bayou, Ms. Rachel. We see these all the time. That’s why Mrs. Keely sent me over here. I usually take care of the snakes.”
Faith stepped up and handed her stick to Savannah, who put it across the snake’s head, pinning it down. “It just ate, and it’s hard to move, that makes them kind of aggressive,” she explained as she grabbed the snake behind the head and picked it up. “I’ll take it down to the marsh and turn it loose. See y’all later.”
Faith and Rachel watched her go. “We were just shown up by a girl with hot pink fingernails and a bow in her hair. This is a very sad day,” Faith said and hung her head.
Rachel nodded. “Sad indeed.”
Chapter Eleven
“That’s it…sit…right there. Sit, sit, sit…damn!” Rachel whispered as she sat alone away from the campfire, disgusted that Faith had narrowly missed sitting on a charred marshmallow. It would’ve made a disgusting mess on the back of her navy blue running shorts.
Rachel wanted to take the high road and put petty differences aside, but if she wasn’t making a conscious effort to push ancient history from her mind, it seeped back in quickly. One of Faith’s favorite insults came leaping out of the recesses—“you buck-toothed, bunny-faced bitch.” Rachel had worn braces for two years to correct the overbite. With bright red hair, freckles, and teeth that could chew corn through a picket fence, she had a lot to be self-conscious about, and Faith exploited every one of her tender places. Rachel only had one card to play, and that was Faith’s weight, but in their senior year of high school, Faith seemed to grow smaller with each passing day. By graduation, she was slim and trim, and Rachel was fresh out of ammo.
The summer after graduation, Faith’s mother died suddenly of a heart attack. Faith didn’t frequent the hot spots anymore. At the creek where almost all the high school crowd hung out to cool off and drink pilfered beer, Rachel had looked over her shoulder, but her tormentor wasn’t in sight. Nor did she show at the diner where all the teens hung out on weekend nights. Faith had virtually disappeared. Rachel went off to college that fall and on her visits home never crossed paths with her nemesis, but she heard of her exploits. It seemed the chubby girl had morphed into somewhat of a Casanova and gave the gossip circles plenty to talk about with her activities. Faith Leblanc had come
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