Free Odd Stuff by Virginia Nelson

to look at my face. 
    A pale me gazed back from the looking glass, the long night leaving my eyes with a slightly bruised look from too little sleep. The eyes…shit. My eyes weren’t true blue like my mother’s. Mine were hazel and tended to change hue. I preferred blue, so I bought contacts—one of my few vanities. I padded to my bedroom, grabbed my bag and slunk back to the bathroom. It only took seconds to turn my brown eyes blue and a dab of foundation under my eyes hid the dark circles. After a coat of chapstick, I decided I was appropriate for school. On my way out to the kitchen, I smelled coffee. 
    Pouring myself a mug, I considered Vickie. Dressed in new jeans and a pink sweater, her feet kicked out happily under the table as she munched on strawberry swirled yogurt topped with granola. A half eaten bagel and a half drunk cup of juice sat next to her and she chattered away about some God-awful boy band to Sven, who spoke with equal animation. Well, at least she isn’t worried about him being an ax murderer anymore.  
    Her hair was a disaster, looking like a blond rat’s nest perched on her head, and I frowned. “Can I fix your hair?” I awaited her battle cry of, No!  
    “Okay. Anyway—” And she went back to her conversation. 
    My eyebrows rose, and I grabbed the brush. Splitting her hair in two, I quickly wove and French braided each side. She didn’t complain and finished her breakfast as I went back to my coffee. Leaning on the counter, I watched her some more. “Are you nervous about your first day?” I blew on my coffee while waiting for her reply. 
    “No, mom.” She smiled a beatific smile.
    This was going too well to be true. Something was up. “Why?”
    “Grandma called while you were sleeping. She said she would meet us at the school office.” She smiled at me sweetly, the little creep. I knew she was being too cooperative.
    Well, I guess I couldn’t put off seeing my mother anymore.
     
    ~
     
    In the car in front of the school, I flipped through my folder. Social Security numbers, birth certificate, custody papers…yup, had everything. 
    I checked again while Vickie shifted in her seat. Social Security numbers, birth certificate, custody papers…yup, I still had everything. 
    I looked at Vickie. She glared at me. I checked again. Social Security numbers, birth certificate, custody papers…yup, of course, I still had everything. 
    “Mom, I am going to be late. You have everything, and Grandma will just wait for us, no matter how long you flip through that folder.”
    I scowled at her, but she was right. There was no putting it off. We strode into the school. The smell of crayons, dirty sneakers and industrial cleaner still permeated the school. Puke green and brown lockers lined the corridors and the black and white tile of my childhood still covered the floors. Art hung from the walls and ceilings of the hall, lots of it Christmas-y. I smiled and dawdled some more gazing at it. Vickie nearly danced with anticipation by the time we got to the office. 
    The door to the office stood open. I took Vickie’s hand, and she looked up at me as her cold fingers closed around mine. All joking about her Grandma aside, she was clearly nervous. I smiled at her reassuringly. I didn’t get to do that as often now that she was older. 
    We went in together.
    There, seated on one of the metal fold-out chairs, was my mother, looking very out of place. A molten cloud of red framed her delicate, heart shaped face. Petite and pale, her face’s did not show her age. Vibrant blue eyes, very nearly violet, snapped up to meet mine. Her spine was ramrod straight, her posture elegant but aloof, as if she sat at a king’s side, rather than on a plain, old, metal chair in an elementary school office. She looked as out of place in the room as a vampire had in Mia’s kitchen. Vindictively, I hoped the last occupant of that chair had lice. 
    “No wonder you ended up divorced.” She frowned at me.