were today.
She liked to fantasize about living in a place where there were no schools. Imagineânever having to pay attention to a teacher or do your homework. But what would she have been doing instead? On a summer day like this, keeping an eye on children playing wasnât a bad way to pass the time. Yet it wouldnât all have been like this. She would have had to spend many hours scrubbing, knitting, and sewingâwork that was now done by machines. There were some real disadvantages too, like head lice and scratchy clothes, and sleeping on a mattress stuffed with straw, not to mention the absence of certain things, like antibiotics and anesthetics if you became ill.
There was one other thing that Andrea couldnât quite picture for herself. Young women were sometimes married at her age. They might even be mothers by the time they were fifteen. A wife. A mother. Could she possiblyâ¦? Well, someday. Not yet.
Her fantasy came to an abrupt end with the pitiful sound of Kenzie bawling his eyes out. He was lying on the ground, clutching his knee and making a terrible fuss. Andrea rushed over, stood him up, and inspected his bleeding knee.
âI f-f-fell down!â he wailed.
âCome on,â she said, putting her arm around him. âItâll be okay. Weâll go and wash this off and get you a nice Band-Aid.â
ââKay,â he sobbed and limped after her, tears streaming down his face.
There was a first-aid kit in the staff room for minor emergencies like this. Andrea dabbed his knee with a wet cloth, then covered the scrape with three Band-Aids. Kenzie finally stopped crying. He liked Band-Aids.
âWant my mommy,â he demanded solemnly.
âSheâs over in her office. Letâs go and show her your new Band-Aids.â
Jackie gave her little boy a hug and told him how brave he was. She even found a toffee in her desk drawer, which cheered him up. As Andrea and Kenzie were about to leave, Jackie said, âI guess you heard what happened up the road last night?â
âNo, what?â
âThat little shopâ¦in town hereâ¦â
âVivianâs?â
âYes, thatâs the one. They were robbed.â
âRobbed!â cried Andrea. âWhen?â
âI havenât got the whole story. It happened at closing time. There was a fellow on dutyâ¦â
âCory!â exclaimed Andrea.
âThatâs the name. He was alone there. He was held up at knife point.â
âOhmigosh! Is he okay?â
âYes, heâs okay. A bit shaken up, but he wasnât hurt.â
âPoor Cory,â Andrea stammered.
âI didnât realize you knew him,â said Jackie.
âI donât. Not really. Justine does.â
Andrea could hardly wait to tell Justine. She would have run all the way back to the hoop-and-stick game, but Kenzie was still hurting and limping and making the most of his injury.
Justine was busy supervising a game of ninepins by the time Andrea found her.
âJustine, wait till I tell you!â Andrea called.
âWhat?â
âCory was held up at knife point last night at the store!â
âYouâre kidding!â gasped Justine.
âItâs true. I just heard it from Jackie.â
âOh my God! Is he okay?â
âYes, he is.â Andrea relished being the bearer of dramatic news. âIt seems that it happened when he was closing the store,â she added.
âDid anything get stolen?â
âI donât know. I only heard about it a few minutes ago from Jackie, and sheâd just heard it from somebody else,â Andrea explained.
âWeâve got to go there as soon as we can,â said Justine urgently.
âRight after work.â
Chapter Ten
The two girls jumped off the bus and ran all the way to Vivianâs store. They were out of breath by the time they charged through the doorway. Vivian was behind the counter, facing a
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley