Page 55 of The Family Guest

There was, however, one thing we had to do before leaving. Use the bathroom. Neither of us had peed since we’d left our house three hours ago. And with all that lemonade…

A guest bathroom was located in the hallway off the living room. Will went first and then it was my turn. My bladder exploding, I scurried down the hall. And made it just in time. On my way out, I noticed something hanging on the wall I’d not noticed before in my haste.

A blue-and-white felt pennant. Indio High. The very name of the school splayed across that mysterious photo in Tanya’s suitcase. My heart galloping, I returned to the kitchen.

Grabbing my backpack from the floor, I asked Mary, “Were you a teacher at Indio High School? I noticed the pennant hanging in your hallway.”

She smiled. “Almost my entire adult life. Despite constant budget cuts, it was a great school.”

“Where’s it located?”

“About an hour away, a little past Palm Springs. It was worth the commute. I miss teaching all those kids. A lot of them still keep in touch with me and let me know what they’re up to. Many have thanked me for preparing them for college and their careers. Several of the kids I taught went on to become professors, scientists, and doctors.”

“That’s awesome,” I said. “What years did you teach there?”

“From 1976 to 2015. Almost forty years.”

The photo flashed in my head again. She was there! With her keen mind, I bet Mary would remember all the kids. And be able to identify the sad-looking girl whose face was circled in red.

Darn it! I so wish I had that class picture with me, but who would have known? As soon as I was back home, I was going to send Mary the photo, now that she had her laptop back.

And, fingers crossed, find out at last who the mysterious girl in the photo was.

TWENTY-EIGHT

PAIGE

The traffic going back home was worse than I’d imagined. Bumper to bumper the whole way because there were three accidents, including a big rig turning over. Will fell asleep while I navigated the freeway, cursing the whole way under my breath. Maybe one day, my brother would create flying robots that could transport us across the sky like those Power Rangers zords, and we could avert this kind of clusterjam.

We got home a little before six. The November sky already dark, I was surprised by how many cars were parked on our street. There wasn’t a spot to be had. It was never like this on a Sunday, unless somebody was having an event, which was rare. It didn’t really matter because I parked in our garage. Except I couldn’t. There was a car in our driveway, blocking me.

“What the hell?” I yelled, waking up Will.

“Huh? What’s going on?” asked my brother, snapping his head up.

“We’re home. But do you know whose car that is?” It was a black Explorer.

Rubbing his eyes, he shrugged. “No clue.”

Through the SUV’s dark tinted windows, I could see someone sitting behind the wheel. Pulling up behind it, I lowered my window, honked my horn, and shouted, “Get out of my driveway!”

No response. It took everything I had not to ram my Jeep into it, over and over, until whoever was inside got the message. I just didn’t want to screw up my car again.

Rage surging inside me, I jumped out of my Jeep and stomped up to the SUV. Furiously, I banged on the driver’s window. “Open up!” I repeated like a broken record. Finally, the window inched down.

“Hey, dude, what’s your problem?” I recognized the obnoxious voice. It was Xavier Forman, our school’s star quarterback. A total jerk. He was big and menacing, but I wasn’t afraid of him.

“Get your frigging two-hundred-fifty-pound jock ass off my property!”

“Chill, nerd girl.”

I swear I wanted to punch him out. “What are you doing here?”

“Duh. I’m here for the party.”

“What party?”

“Tanya Blackstone’s birthday party. Dude, everyone’s invited. I’m just waiting here till the valet comes back.”