School Note

 by Emelia

Andi fingered one of her dark brown braids as she sat on her school bench. She bit her lip and glanced at the front of the school to make certain that Mr Foster’s dark eyes were not on her. No, he was helping Virginia with something. Andi gently lifted the lid of her desk, fully expecting to see another of Cory’s “welcome back to school” gifts - probably a snake. To Andi’s shock, there wasn’t a snake, only a small paper, folded and creased carefully. Andi caught her breath and looked around the school room. Who would give her a note? Unfolding the paper was a simple task, as was reading the note, but understanding the words and who said them was a more difficult endeavor. Andi bent over the paper, whispering the words as she read them. “I need your help, Andrea. Please meet me by the oak tree after school. A life depends on it,” she wrinkled her eyebrows and reread it to try a second time to understand the cryptic words. Something brushed against her, and she yelped. Cory leaned back in his bench behind her and chuckled. “I scared you for sure.” “Andrea, are you well?” Mr. Foster suddenly appeared next to Andi’s bench. Andi gulped in a breath and nodded. “Yes, sir. I was just startled, thank you.” Mr. Foster nodded back, a small smile on his face. He turned to Cory. “I would advise you to keep in mind, young man, that frightening your young female classmates is not a favorable pastime for a 14-year-old boy.” “Yes sir, I’m sorry, and I understand,” Cory smiled, mischief lurking in his eyes. Mr. Foster grunted an acceptance of Cory’s apology before moving on to another desk. Andi whirled around to glare at Cory. “What is this?” Cory’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “What do you mean, Andi? What is what?” Andi waved the piece of paper in Cory’s face. “This note. ‘A life depends on it’? I’m fine with smaller jokes, but this isn’t funny.” “Andi, I genuinely have nothing to do with that note,” Cory snatched the paper away from Andi. He smoothed it on his lap before quickly scanning it. He shook his head and looked up. “I don’t think this is a good idea. What if it’s someone dangerous?” “I don’t think someone dangerous would call me Andrea,” Andi pulled the note back out of Cory’s grip. “I have to know what is going on. If I can help, I will,” she pocketed the note, sliding it into one of her deep dress pockets. Cory crossed his arms and shrugged. “Well, if anyone knows they can’t stop you when you get your mind set, it’s me. And since I can’t stop you, I’ll go with you.” Andi opened her mouth to protest, but the realization that Cory would just follow her anyway if she said no made her shrug. “Okay, fine,” she paused to think a moment, then would have said more, but Mr. Foster’s droning voice interrupted her. Andi glanced over her shoulder. “After school,” she whispered to Cory before turning her full attention to Mr. Foster’s reading of the scripture. “After school” seemed like such a simple sentence, but finding Cory in the flood of children was a lot harder than Andi had bargained for. After the crowd thinned, however, it was easy to see where he was standing at the bottom of the school steps. Andi hurried to meet Cory. She threw one of her braids over her shoulder and glanced around. “I really don’t think you should come with,” she said, nervously fingering her other braid. Cory grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eye. “Andi, I’ve gotten you in and out of more scrapes and dangerous situations than I can count, and I’m not going to let you get into something by yourself that you possibly won’t be able to get out of without my help,” his gray-blue eyes held an unfathomable concern for Andi. Andi jerked out of his grip and let out a nervous chuckle. “Right. It’ll be good to have a back-up,” she glanced around before shrugging. “Well, we better get to the oak tree,” she grinned. “I’ll race you.” It only took a moment to run to the oak tree, and when they got there they had the surprise of their life waiting for them. Andi gasped for breath after her race. A young girl stood under the oak tree, and Andi breathed her name. “Virginia?” Virginia Foster. Andi’s old nemesis, who was slowly yet surely learning how to ride a horse under Andi’s tutelage. Virginia kept her hands behind her back and a concerned look in her eyes. “I . . . I need your help, Andrea.” Andi glanced over at Cory, and they exchanged a nod before Andi turned back to Virginia. “What do you need?” Virginia pulled her hands out from behind her back. Grasped tightly in them was a small, squirming kitten. Its dark orange fur was painfully matted, and one of its ears was torn off. “This is Charlie. Grace and I found him wandering the streets, and we love him dearly, but mother says that there is no place for a kitten in our house, and father agrees,” she cradled the kitten gently and bit her lip. “Andrea, will you take him? He wouldn’t survive back on the streets.” Andi let out a deep breath and held out her hands. “Of course. There’s always room for a kitten on our ranch.” Cory snorted and mumbled something under his breath, but Andi ignored him. Virginia gave Andi the kitten, then looked away. “I’ll take good care of Charlie, Virginia, and you can come see him when you come to ride.” Virginia flung her arms around Andi. “Thank you so much, Andrea!” Andi let out a sharp breath, but slowly relaxed as she was filled with the happy glow of knowing she had done the right thing.