Good Morning, Arizona! Kaleb Richardson (essential books to read TXT) 📖

having all the money and power that he does. It just does not make much sense to me.

I heard the doorbell ring. Rare occasion that someone would be here during the day. I went to answer with precaution. I was thinking that it could be Harry, but he was working at the office today so that would be unlikely, but still possible. I opened the door to two kids, around Heather’s age.

“Hi. Is Heather home?” asked the boy.

“Who’s asking?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I should have introduced myself. I’m Derrick. Derrick Foster-Troy.”

“And I’m Cindy Kidd.”

7

It was Heather’s friends from school. Well, at least the boy was. She talked about him before. Haven’t heard many good things about this Cindy though. Which I always found crazy because she was such a sweet little girl when I babysat her. Then again, puberty can mess with the hormones of these adolescents. Cindy is over 18 years; probably the oldest in the class, so she’s a woman now compared to the little elementary student I took care of in my day.

“Oh hello! I’m her father, Cordell. Come on in.”

They seemed to have some sort of gift for Heather.

“Heather finally got the strength to go to school today. May I ask why you wanted to see her?”

“Well, I had gotten expelled. Cindy too. I had beaten up Marcus and Myan, our classmates, bad. Like… bad.”

“Yeah, and I had done the same to Marcy.” Cindy said.

“We both went to town on them.”

“They were talking shit about Heather and her situation, so I had to. We had to.” Said Cindy.

“Thank you both for standing up for my daughter. I know she’ll appreciate it.”

“Of course, sir!” Derrick said. “At school we call them the M’s. There’s three more but we didn’t get to them.”

“They ran.” Cindy said while interrupting Derrick and smiling.

“Yes. Yes, they did.” Derrick continued.

“We believe it was a plan.” Cindy started. “We want to check with Heather to see if it all makes sense. If all our stories align, I think this might be even worse than what we thought.”

It… was a plan? It–It couldn’t be.

“Also, Cindy and I wanted to stop by and tell Heather the good news!” He laughed. “Plus, we had brought her this.”

Derrick opened a box and pulled out a candle with a note and a card.

“She says it’s her favorite!” Cindy said. She was so smiley; I think it would surprise Heather.

We continued to talk back and forth. About their expulsion, school, how Heather’s been. It seemed as if they genuinely care! These were nice kids. I am very happy that Heather has some friends she can still rely on.

…

I took the long way home from school. All alone. Just a calm and collected joyride through Vanetta. I needed this alone time, that is for certain. Listen to some slow jams in my car as I take in this scenery. Arizona is truly a beautiful state. Especially Vanetta and Tope. The combination of grasslands and desert, the big rocks, and a few mountains in the horizon. Of course, the cacti. Cactus as far as the eye can see. Just pulling off the side of the road and taking it all in; gives me peace, hope, tranquility. I decided to head home after about an hour of driving. I think I deserved the time.

I pulled into our driveway. Those cars look familiar, but I can’t put my finger on who’s it is. I didn’t want company. I just wanted to sneak up to my room. Have my dad check in every-so-often. I didn’t want to talk to anyone else. Walking in the door, I about lost my lunch. I felt my heart jump. Derrick! And Cindy? What were they doing here?

“Oh, hi Heather! I’ve just been speaking to your friends; waiting on you!”

Did dad not realize that Cindy, like, hates me?

“Hi Heather, girly.” Cindy said.

“We brought you a gift! Cindy picked it out!” Derrick followed.

It was a dragon fruit candle. My favorite!

“But these are so hard to find.” I said. “How’d you manage to get your hands on one?”

“I looked everywhere! Derrick looked online while I went shopping in stores.”

“It’s… it’s so sweet! Thank you, Cindy. Thank you, Derrick!”

“You’re welcome.” They said simultaneously.

It was so sweet. I knew Derrick would do something sweet, even though I didn’t want him to do anything, let alone get me something! But Cindy? That was such a shock. I’ve always thought Cindy had this, like, suppressed hatred of me. I thought she was faking it all. I guess she wasn’t and really cared. That… means so much to me. Cindy does still like sleeping with a ton of guys, so I’m still legally allowed to call her a whore, by high school drama book of laws. But it’s not gonna be mean anymore, it’s all love between us. The card was just as sweet! It read:

Dear Heather,

We are sincerely sorry for what you are currently experiencing. We wish we could understand exactly how you are feeling to help you out the best way we can. We decided to get you this gift so you can calm your head. Cindy has one too; We know you love the smell, but she says it’s also a great stress reliever. We are here for you in these times you’re going through. There is no better way to get your head off things than some time with friends! You’re always welcome to call either of us whenever you need or want to. We are here for you. Through thick and thin, Heather!

Love,

Cindy and Derrick <3

“Do y’all wanna head upstairs? We can chat there a little more.”

“Sure thing, Heather!” Derrick said.

Dad stayed downstairs. I brought Cindy and Derrick up to my room to talk. They said