My Rose | M. Wheeler

II. Guilt

"Nancy?" She assumed the caller on the other end.

"Yes, it's me. I'm outside your house, I need you to come with me."

Nora got up out of her bed, pulling the wired phone with her to look out the window, seeing a car sitting in the front of her house. "Who's car is that?"

"It's Steve's."

"Steve's with you?" Nora asked as she held the phone to her ear with her shoulder as she rumaged through her laundry to find some decent clothes to put on.

"I--Yes, he's with me. He's coming with us" Nancy hesitated on the other end.

She put the phone down for a quick second to pull a long sleeve shirt over her head, "Okay and do you want tell me where exactly we're going?"

"I'll explain it to you on the way, can you please just hurry?" Nancy said as Nora rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, okay. I'll be down in a second" She hung up the phone as she put on her jacket.

She grabbed the bowl of ice cream from her bed, running downstairs and leaving it in the kitchen.

She put on her shoes before she headed out the door, approaching Steve's car as she opened the door to the back seat.

She closed the door behind her as he pulled off, "So?"

-

MIKE AND JULIE SAT at the dinner table with Mike's family, minus Nancy. Before that, the two were in Mike's basement, completing homework for Mr. Clarke.

It was silent at the table as everyone ate quietly before Mrs. Wheeler spoke up "After dinner, I want you to pick to your toys for the yard sale. Maybe Julie could help."

"Fine" Mike said, sitting back in his chair. "Two boxes worth" His mom said, Mike sat up in his chair .

"Two boxes worth?!"

"You heard me."

"I'm fine with you giving away a couple, but the others have way to much emotional value!" Mike tried to argue but his parents weren't hearing any of it.

His mom scoffed, "Emotional value?"

"They're hunks of plastic, Michael" His dad spoke up.

"You already took away my Atari" He told them, still trying to argue.

Julie awkward slumped in her chair a bit, feeling as if she shouldn't be here for this.

"Didn't wanna lose more toys, you shouldn't stolen from Nancy."

"I didn't steal. I borrowed."

"Oh, and you didn't curse out Mr. Kowalski last week either, right?"

Julie recalled when Mike told her about how he got in trouble with his parents for yelling at his math teacher for being unfair with grading.

Mike glanced at Julie, annoying that his parents were doing this while she was here.

"Or plagiarize that essay? Or graffiti the bathroom stall?"

"Everyone graffitis the bathroom stall" Mike told them.

"So if your friend jumps off a cliff, you're gonna jump, too?" His dad sarcastically asked him.

Julie stopped chewing her food, remember a year ago when Mike nearly jumped off a cliff for Dustin but she saved him.

Mike rolled his eyes with a frustrated groan.

"We know you've had a hard year, Michael. But we've been patient. This isn't strike one. This isn't even strike three."

"It's strike 20. You're on the bench, son. And if it'd been my coach, you'd be lucky to still be on the team" His dad said, agreeing with Mrs Wheeler.