Chapter 13 - The Pick-Up Line at Lincoln Elementary
I didn't know school pick-up had a line. I thought kids just walked home.
We'd been at Lincoln Elementary for four days. Lily said it was normal that the cars wrapped all the way around the brick building and waited. Marcus said the parking lot was always like this at three. I sat in the back seat of the black SUV with my backpack on my lap and watched the clock on the dashboard.
The Bodyguard drove now. He still wore the black suit and sunglasses but he didn't stand by the SUV with his arms crossed anymore. He checked the side mirror and tapped the wheel and called Marcus by his first name when he asked if we should move up six inches. Marcus sat in the passenger seat turned halfway around to look at us. He still had the black shirt and the silver watch and the tattoo on his hand, but his stubble was gone and he looked tired in a different way.
"You're good?" he asked me.
I nodded. My backpack was pink like Lily's now, but mine had the teddy bear inside it. The zipper was open just enough so his head stuck out. I kept my hand on his ear the whole time.
Lily had picked my clothes that morning. A clean light blue dress with white tights. She said we didn't have to match but we both had ponytails. Hers had the big light pink bow. Mine had a small white one Mrs. Alvarez from child services had brought over with the other clothes. My cheek didn't have the mark anymore, just a faint line you could only see up close.
The bell rang and the glass doors opened.
Kids poured out in a wave. Teachers in yellow vests held up signs. I saw Lily first because of the bow, and then I saw me holding her hand.
We were holding hands. Lily had reached for me as soon as they came down the steps. We walked side by side and our backpacks bumped together. From the SUV I could see how people turned their heads.
Marcus smiled when he saw us. He hit the unlock button even though we weren't close yet.
"There they are," he said.
Mrs. Jansen, Lily's teacher, walked behind us with a clipboard. She was tall with short gray hair and the kind of voice that carried across a whole parking lot. She was the one who had shown me where the cubbies were and where to hang my coat and said I could keep my bear in my backpack if I needed to.
She looked at her list and then called out, loud and bright, "Emma Blackwell!"
I flinched. My whole body did it before I could stop it. My shoulders came up and my hand tightened around Lily's and around the bear's ear. The sound was too sharp and too close and for a second I wasn't in the parking lot at all.
Lily squeezed my hand right away. She didn't let go.
"It's okay," she whispered, so small only I heard it. "She just does that."
I couldn't answer at first. I breathed. I counted the breath like the counselor at school had shown me, in through my nose, out through my mouth. Mrs. Jansen waited. She didn't call again. She just lowered her clipboard a little and looked at me softer.
I swallowed and said, "Here."
My voice was quiet but Lily nodded at the teacher like that was enough. Mrs. Jansen smiled and checked something off and waved us toward the SUV.
We walked the rest of the way to the car. I kept my head down at first because the other parents were watching. A mom in a blue minivan had her window down and was staring straight at us, then leaning to the mom next to her.
I heard her whisper, "She looks like Lily. Like, exactly."
The other mom nodded and said, "I heard she's his niece or something?"
Lily must have heard it too because her hand squeezed mine again. I didn't know what to do with my face so I pulled the teddy bear out of my backpack halfway and held him up against my chest with both arms, the way I always had under the oak tree. His faded brown fur hid my mouth.
Marcus had gotten out of the SUV. He opened the back door for us and didn't look at the moms at all. The Bodyguard stayed by the driver's door with his sunglasses on, like he was still keeping watch, but now it was for us.
"Hey, girls," Marcus said, like it was just normal. He put his hand lightly on my shoulder and then on Lily's. "How was art?"
Lily started talking about glue sticks and how I'd made a tree with real leaves. I held the bear tighter and let her talk for both of us. Marcus listened and nodded and then he looked at me.
"You did good," he said, quiet, just to me.
May you like
He helped us into the back seat. Lily climbed in first and I went after her, still holding the bear against my chest. The door shut and it got quiet inside. Through the window I could see the moms still glancing over as the line started to move.
We pulled away from the curb slow behind the other cars. I kept breathing. In, out. Lily didn't let go of my hand until we turned out of the parking lot onto the road, and even then she left her pinky hooked around mine the whole drive home.
