Free The Summer of Our Discontent by Robin Alexander Page B

expulsion. Don’t put me in that position.”
    Rachel nodded. “There won’t be any more problems, I promise.”
    “That goes for me, too,” Faith agreed without much conviction.

Chapter Thirteen

    Faith didn’t buy Rachel’s act of contrition, and for her, civility meant avoidance. She kept her distance as Rachel sat at the craft table with the girls. She did agree on one thing—if Rachel was telling the truth, she was sick of the tension between them. At first, it was just fun to prank Rachel and the rest of the police department, but one prank begat another, and Faith was always wary of the next one to come. Perhaps Rachel was right when she said they needed one last blowout before they could put their animosity to rest.
    As she sat in the shade beneath a big oak, she thought about what Keely had said. Actually, she’d thought about it a lot over the years. What went on between her and Rachel was more than simply the inability to get along. They’d argued in elementary school because often they both wanted to do the same things and were too bullheaded to relent to the other. The dynamic changed when they entered junior high, the time when social status began to become important. They were both misfits. Faith was overweight, and because she couldn’t fit into the cool clothes, she pretty much wore her father’s shirts. Her fashion sense made her stand out, and the attention she received was not favorable.
    Rachel was the only redhead in a sea of dark hair or blond, and God help her when she was young, her hair was bright orange. Her teeth were another issue altogether. Until the braces, she looked like an orange version of Bugs Bunny. For her looks, Rachel received as much torment and taunting as Faith had.
    Instead of banding together, they had taken a different route and had become each other’s whipping girl for their inability to fit in. Faith remembered being in the school cafeteria and someone saying, “Damn, Faith, back away from the burger. Aren’t you fat enough?” Instead of throwing an insult of her own, she sought out Rachel and vented her frustrations by making her feel as low as she felt. They’d used each other as unhealthy crutches.
    The tide began to turn in their junior year. Rachel’s braces were gone, and her hair had turned a deep auburn. As much as Faith hated to admit it, Rachel had gone from butt ugly to painfully pretty. Her metamorphosis was the catalyst that made Faith stop eating whole pizzas by herself, and instead of sitting in front of the TV, she spent her time on the track and in the gym.
    As adults, they were both much more confident with themselves and no longer hurled insults that cut so deeply. But they were stuck in a rut and too proud to admit that they’d been two peas in a very twisted pod. Faith had been groomed by her father to join the fire department, and once she put on the uniform, her fellow firefighters became her brothers. Everyone knew of the rivalry between her and Rachel, so her enemy became theirs. Faith had truly fit in with a group of people for the first time, and it was easier just to go with the flow.
    She knew exactly what Rachel meant when she said she just needed that final blowout. Had Rachel not pushed for it, Faith would’ve done more to prompt it. She supposed in some way they needed someone else to say “enough.” Silly as it seemed, neither had it in her to lift the flag of surrender first. The next step, Faith wasn’t sure she could take. They were stuck in the woods together, and eventually, they’d have to talk.
    *******

    “What’s wrong?” Rachel asked when Sophie dropped the beaded necklace she was working on and folded her arms.
    “Aunt Faith is sitting all by herself. It makes me sad.”
    Rachel looked over and noticed Faith sitting on a tree root drawing in the dirt with a stick. She’d seen her already but couldn’t make herself walk over there and invite her to join them. The sadness in Sophie’s eyes tugged at her