Chapter 5 - The Girls on the Curb
I found Cleo and Maisie outside their elementary school with their backpacks between their feet. Mom hadn't abandoned them in a parking lot; the office had kept them inside until the regular dismissal crowd cleared, then called the emergency contacts. But she'd refused to answer Ms. Calder's call, and the school could not release them to me without checking the pickup list.
Simone came with me because she was on the approved list. When Maisie saw her, she ran forward and held on.
"Did I do something wrong?" she asked.
"No, bug," I said. "Adults are sorting out a problem."
Cleo wouldn't look at me. In the car she finally said, "Mom told us you don't love us enough to stay."
I waited for the anger to cool before answering. "I love you. I also want to go to school. Those two things can be true."
"Then who helps with my math?"
"I'll still help when I can. But it can't always be me."
She pressed her forehead to the window. She was old enough to hear the truth and young enough to believe every argument was her fault.
At Simone's house, we made grilled cheese. Cleo drew a crooked chart showing which grown-ups could pick them up: Mom, Simone, and the after-school program coordinator. She asked if we could add a second adult besides me.
"That's a good idea," Simone told her. "A kid shouldn't have to be the backup plan."
Dana arrived just after six, furious that the school had called her supervisor. She'd left work late, she said, and couldn't possibly be expected to do everything herself.
"Neither can Zarya," Simone replied.
Mom turned to me. "Those people from the university are making you think you're better than your family."
"I don't think I'm better. I think I'm a person."
Her expression changed. She pulled an envelope from her bag and slapped it on the kitchen table.
May you like
"Read this, then tell me how eager you are to leave."
It was a notice from the landlord. We were six weeks behind on rent, and the payment deadline was less than fourteen days away.
