~5~
Anni awoke to the same irritating voice she’d been hearing since age eleven. Almost four years of this.
“Anni Jean! Rise and shine! Front and center, ten minutes!”
It was as if he’d fancied himself some sort of drill sergeant, in another universe where shrill-voiced, underweight men were feared and respected. Anni groaned and looked at the bright red numbers on her clock. 9:00 AM. You’ve got to be kidding me.
“Yes, sir.” Anni yawned and rolled—quite literally—out of bed. She landed with a thump on the floor and winced, both from the impact and the possibility that Brent heard her fall. She held her breath for a moment, but thankfully she didn’t hear anything from the living room.
She got up and found her nightgown, as she’d fallen asleep without pajamas the night before. I wonder if I’ll get to do some homework before he makes me do chores. What Brent didn’t realize was that the dial-up Internet connection made it possible for Anni to talk to her friends on the sly. She was a master of the minimize button whenever Brent walked by the computer.
Anni stumbled groggily into the living room, where Brent sat in his chair, wearing only his boxers and a beer already in his hand. A little early, isn’t it? He was smiling, at least. Brent was rarely in a good mood lately.
“Good morning, Anni Jean. Do you have your homework all caught up?”
Anni bit her tongue, as she had finished her coursework days ago. This was the perfect opportunity for some instant messaging.
“…No, I actually still have some math to finish up.”
“Get that done, I’m going to take a nap. I got up with your mother this morning, so I’m beat. No phone calls until I wake up, understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
Brent tottered down the hallway, while Anni looked in the fridge for some breakfast. She noticed that the case of beer was almost empty again, and figured that meant Brent had been drinking since 6:00 when Mom got up. Beer is so gross…who would want to wake up and taste that shit? I’ll stick with cereal, thanks. Anni poured herself a bowl with two spoons of sugar instead of just one. A small act of defiance, but she was breaking a rule just the same. Rule number 79: you can only have one spoon of sugar on your cereal or in your coffee. Any more will rot your teeth out. Anni quickly devoured her food and sat down at the computer desk.
Anni pushed the power button on the tower and smiled when it didn’t take thirty minutes to boot up. This machine was a loaner from the home school program, and it was light years faster than the computer she’d been using. The old computer was something straight out of the early ‘90s, and didn’t even have the necessary memory to connect to the Internet. Anni double clicked the browser icon and waited for the modem to finish making noise, then heard “Welcome. You’ve got mail!” through the speakers. I do enjoy that friendly, deep voice welcoming me to the Internet!
After checking her email (nothing but junk), Anni checked her online friends list to see if anyone had skipped school today. Yes! Both Kyra and Mindy were online. They were probably talking to each other.
Kyra Garrison had been Anni’s on-again, off-again best friend since second grade. The two lost touch often, but always found one another again. Kyra had been in and out of foster care since third grade, when her mom was arrested for selling drugs (Kyra never would say which drug, but Anni never pried).
Since then, Anni had sometimes gone up to three years without hearing from Kyra, and then Kyra would suddenly appear in one of her classes. The last time Anni reunited with her longtime friend was last year, when Anni was still in public school. They’d made it a point to stay in touch, which was much easier now that Kyra was finally living at home after ten years. It seemed that fate had kept them inseparable ever since the moment on the playground when two lonely, outcast little girls found each other.
Kyra met Mindy Voigt during her brief stint at one of Vegas’s many high schools, and was eager to introduce her to Anni. She was convinced that the two would hit it off, and insisted on Mindy and Anni becoming online friends. Anni agreed, because she could generally trust Kyra’s judgment. Kyra was a sweet girl, naïve but a decent judge of character.
Mindy and Anni had conversed several times, and they got along just as well as Kyra had predicted. They both listened to similar music, both had a wry sense of humor, and both smoked a lot of pot. Kyra never really got into smoking weed, and Anni’s wit was sometimes lost on her, so Anni found it nice to have a friend like Mindy who was on her wavelength. She really hoped to meet Mindy in person soon, and find out if she was as awesome (and pretty) in person as she was online.
Anni opened conversation windows with both girls and was soon typing away. The conversation with Kyra was typical: Kyra complaining about her mom, her siblings, and everything else. After a while, Kyra dropped offline and Anni focused on her chat with Mindy. It’s time to take some initiative; I want to meet this girl!
LilToknAnni: so, mindy…when am I gonna get to meet you??
CrzyMindyChik: whenever you can get ur ass the hell ova here!
LilToknAnni: easier said than done! i don’t even know where you live!
CrzyMindyChik: u know where sand dune apts is?
LilToknAnni: over on sahara? no way! my friend kandace lives over in sparkling bay right behind you, and my new b/f lives down the road in the cantons!
CrzyMindyChik: no shit???
LilToknAnni: no shit!
CrzyMindyChik: whens the next time ur gunna b down here?
LilToknAnni: I was gonna go see Randall on saturday. when we’re done doin our thing, why don’t we come see you if we have time?
CrzyMindyChik: hellz yeah! c u then!
LilToknAnni: kk! laterz!
Anni smiled, and then she logged off and walked into the kitchen. Brent was still asleep, so she hurried to get the house clean before he awoke. Maybe he’ll stay passed out till Mom gets home! With the chores finished, Anni swiped a cigarette from Brent’s pack and smoked it. She hoped he hadn’t been counting his smokes, but that thought didn’t stop her. She leaned back, exhaled, and contemplated how Saturday was going to go. A full day with Randall, a chance to finally meet Mindy…as long as Mom and Brent both went to work like they were supposed to, Anni was free until at least 6:00 that night. Saturday is gonna be freakin’ awesome!
Anni went through the usual motions, both that night and in the few days that followed. She was on her best behavior, thinking of the great things Saturday would bring, not to mention her upcoming 15th birthday. Anni hoped that if she played nice with Brent, he’d let Kandace come sleep over that night. As long as she didn’t get caught sneaking out this Saturday, Anni figured a sleepover wouldn’t be a problem. Once she comes over, I can ask her what the hell happened the other day when she stood me up!
Friday night came, and Anni was almost too giddy to fall asleep. She set her alarm for 7:00 AM, a full two hours earlier than she normally awoke and an hour after the parents cleared the house. She crawled into bed, under the big blue afghan her mom had crocheted by hand for her birthday last year. Anni’s unabashed excitement kept her tossing and turning for some time, but at long last she dozed off. In what seemed like minutes, the loud blare of the alarm clock startled Anni from her slumber, and signaled the beginning of both Saturday and an amazing new friendship.
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