The Garbage Queens Pt. 02

Now, the girl not only spoke, she spoke with assertiveness. She even laughed from time to time.

"Show her your back," Sandy demanded.

Nadia turned and raised her pajama top. Jordin's eyes opened wide, seeing the horrible welts. Then she forced herself to sneer.

"Shit, that ain't nothing," Jordin said.

"Ain't nothing to you, maybe," Nadia said. "Something to me."

"Girls, for the last time, go to sleep," Linda softly said from the doorway.

"Yes ma'am," four girls said.

"You not a bed wetter, huh?" Sandy asked as Jordin climbed into the top bunk.

"Maybe," Jordin said.

Freyja! Switch?" Sandy called out.

"No ma'am," Freyja laughed.

"And uh, hey, why I'm in here? Olivia's black; why I'm not with her?" Jordin asked.

"Jordin, we're all just girls," Freyja gently corrected.

"You cut me, I bleed red," Sandy said. I cut you? Same thing."

On Thursday, after her father's funeral, Amelia returned to the U.L.D. campus. She went to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee and sat at a table to drink the coffee and review her notes for her Sociology 101 class.

At least the worry of where Amelia would go after leaving Andrew's apartment had been answered. She now owned a small, comfortable home in Baylor Lake, Louisiana. And Mr. John, their next-door neighbor had said he wanted to buy her daddy's truck. Blue Book value said it was worth five thousand and Ms. Bernice made her husband offer Amelia four thousand for it, instead of the two thousand he tried to offer her.

For now, she slept in her old room; Amelia couldn't bring herself to sleep in what had been her parents' bedroom. Besides that, the master bedroom stunk. Amelia was willing to bet that the sheets had not been changed since her mother's death.

"Need throw all that out," Amelia thought, also thinking of the drab furniture in the living room.

"And the carpet, and..." Amelia continued to muse, then had to stop.

The last time the house had been painted, she and her daddy had done the painting. He had even bought her a painter's hat to protect her long brown hair.

Amelia tugged on her brown hair. She'd had it cut recently; it now grazed her shoulders and was parted on the side. Kerry, Paula, and Todd had said it was cute. Miss Kelly also said she liked it short like that.

Daddy had shown Amelia how to dip the brush into the paint, how to carefully apply it to the wall. Up and down strokes, up and down.

"Hi," an attractive blonde smiled, interrupting Amelia's thoughts.

"Um. Hi," Amelia said, looking up at the girl and her companion.

"I uh, I'm Tipton," Tipton McCall said.

"I uh, okay," Amelia said.

"And I'm Jamie Thibodaux," Tipton's friend said.

"Okay. I'm Amelia Waters," Amelia said, still puzzled as to why these two had approached her.

"I uh, you and oh shoot, oh, what was it? The Amazing Andy?" Tipton said, sitting down, uninvited at the small table.

"The Amazing Andrew," Amelia said as Jamie also sat down.

"That's it. Anyway, my brother? The not so amazing Stephen? Was telling everybody how y'all were doing your tricks," Tipton said and turned. "Jamie? Get me a Dr. Pepper? Please? Pretty please? I'll be your best friend."

"Oh yeah," Amelia said, smiling lightly. "Stephen and Stephanie McCall."

"Yes, your highness," Jamie agreed and walked to the soda fountain.

"You know, if you wasn't there? His show would suck. I mean, he's okay, but not really. A little tweaking, y'all could go from good to great," Tipton continued.

"We're in Theater," Jamie said, handing Tipton a large soda. "Half that's mine, hear?"

"Well, we're not doing the show anymore," Amelia said.

"Oh," Tipton said, discouraged.

"We're in Theater," Jamie repeated, holding out his hand for the soda.

"I told Jamie, a little lighting, a little music, we could make your show spectacular," Tipton said, reluctantly giving Jamie her cup.

"We could also take y'all from kiddie shows to grownups," Jamie said, taking a hefty gulp of the soda.

"Next time? We're getting Vanilla Sprite, hear?"

"Yeah well, Andrew wanted to keep it kiddie show," Amelia said tightly.

"Well, I uh, you ever decide want do something with it? Give me a call, okay?" Tipton said. "Jamie, that's why I get Dr. Pepper, give it back, bitch."

"For a kiss," Jamie agreed.

"I hate you," Tipton said, but pressed her lips to Jamie's lips.

"Hate you more," Jamie said, relinquishing the cup of soda.

"Are y'all brother and sister or something?" Amelia smiled.

"Best friends," Jamie said.

"Have been like, forever," Tipton agreed and took another sip of the soda.

Amelia gave Tipton her cell phone number and Jamie and Tipton gave her theirs. Just as she put the phone back in her purse, the phone vibrated.

"Hello?" Amelia asked.

"Ms. Waters? Well, I guess its Waters. This is Amelia, right? Greg's daughter?" a soft voice asked.

"Yes ma'am," Amelia said, waving as Tipton and Jamie walked away.

"This is Britney Richards. With Kendricks," the soft voice continued. "I saw you at the funeral, but when I turned to talk to you, you were gone."

"No need to stick around," Amelia wanted to say. "The ass hole cut me out of his life long before he died. And now he's out of mine."

Instead Amelia said, "Yes ma'am, I had to get back to school."

"Oh. Well, when you get out, could you stop by and see me?" Britney asked.

Amelia agreed to stop by the Kendricks Engineering office at four o'clock. She hurried to her Sociology 101 class, managing to enter the room just as Professor Huvall was closing the door.

While Amelia hurriedly scribbled notes, in the rear yard of the King house, three Superior Lawn Care employees were cutting the grass, using a weed eater along the back-yard's fence, spreading fertilizer to keep the grass lush and green.

Raoul cursed the heat, cursed the noise of the lawnmower, cursed his two companions. But as he pushed the noisy contraption back and forth, he studied the home. The rear door looked quite easy to open; there was just a standard knob and dead bolt. He did not see any stickers announcing an alarm system.

But the housekeeper's cottage faced the rear door. All it would take is an observant employee to spot him, to alert the family inside of an intruder.

After they completed the King house, Raoul quit working for Superior Lawn Care, LLC. Anita pursed her lips in distaste and paid him a half day's wages.

Raoul wanted to laugh at the disgusting woman; he'd made nine times that amount selling heroin to four of her employees. He left the office and climbed into Mrs. Duvalier's battered old car. He had known he would be dirty, sweaty and did not want to sully his own SUV.

Besides, if her neighbors saw Mrs. Duvalier's car coming and going, none would wonder why they had not seen the miserable old woman.

After a shower, washing the sweat and grime from his body, Raoul dressed and left again, driving his SUV. He sold some heroin to a few girls that stood in front of Club Fantastic, a little more to the people that stood around outside of the homeless shelter in DeGarde, then drove again to the King house.

He drove by slowly as a Mercedes-Benz SUV pulled into the driveway. Just as the garage door slid down, he saw her. His little senorita, getting out of the SUV, with two small boys.

While Raoul drove to Club Fantastic, to enjoy an ice-cold beer, Kerry again teased Paula as they showered off the sweat from their Tae Kwon Do class.

Kerry, I swear to God, I'm going kill you," Paula hissed, scrubbing her sweaty arm pits.

"Amelia looked terrible," Paula said quietly.

"At the funeral? Yeah," Kerry agreed.

"I mean, God, she looked, what? Lonely," Paula said.

Meeting Freyja and Amelia in the cafeteria, Kerry and Paula gleefully showed off their lunch boxes while

Freyja and Amelia complained about the turkey tetrazzini. Todd wearily joined them a few moments later, opening his own lunch box.

"By the way, thank you for coming," Amelia quietly said to the group.

"Uh? Yeah," Freyja said dismissively.

"You got the flowers though, right?" Todd asked.

"Uh huh," Amelia agreed. "Thank you; they're beautiful."

Freyja waved at a handsome young man. Todd looked over at the newcomer while Amelia, Kerry, and Paula twisted in their seats to get a look at whomever Freyja was waving to.

"Who's that?" Todd asked.

He hated himself; Todd knew he sounded like a jealous jerk. But Freyja's friend was tall, athletic, handsome.

"That's Jack; he's one of the football players," Freyja shrugged.

"He's cute," Kerry enthused.

"Uh huh," was Freyja's response. "He's in my oh shoot, my, English class. Vocabulary."

"Which is a freshman class. That guy's a freshman?" Todd asked.

"I don't know. Why? Jealous?" Freyja teased.

Kerry's eyes narrowed and her mouth took on a hard line. She didn't like anyone teasing Todd. Especially someone that was supposedly in love with her, with Todd.

"Girl," Paula said.

"See y'all later," Amelia said, finishing her lunch.

After her Early Civilization class, Amelia drove to Kendricks Engineering. In the Human Resources office, Britney Richards again expressed her condolences over the loss of her father, as well as her mother a few months earlier. Amelia quietly thanked the attractive woman.

"I uh, I lost my dad too," Britney said quietly. "It wasn't for my husband? I'd fallen apart."

Britney then gave Amelia the paperwork; Greg Waters had taken advantage of their stock options. He also had a life insurance policy with Young Insurance, as well as a 4O1 K program with Thibodaux Investments. This was separate from his stock options with Kendricks Engineering.

"I tell them and tell them, life insurance? Get at least a hundred thousand," Britney stated, jaw clenched. "It comes out before your taxes; you won't even miss it. But almost everyone? They all go for the fifty."

"Uh huh," Amelia said, surprised her father had not had her removed as his beneficiary.

Arriving home, Amelia reflected that fifty thousand dollars would not last very long. Fifty thousand, plus the seventeen thousand, four hundred and twelve dollars Greg had in his DeGarde Savings & Loan account, plus the nine hundred, no, four thousand nine hundred and eighty two dollars in her First Union checking account wouldn't last forever.

True, she could cash out the 4O1 K, could sell the six or seven hundred shares of Kendricks Engineering that Greg had owned.

"We could take y'all from kiddie show to grown up," Jamie Thibodeaux had said.

The Amazing Andrew had charged fifty dollars a show. Amelia wondered how much the 'Grown Up' show could make.

"Shit! And the foot locker's still at the apartment," Amelia said and threw the car in reverse.

While Amelia was scurrying up the stairs of the apartment complex, Derek was signing in at the DeGarde Police Department. He and Carter, his Narcotics Anonymous sponsor chatted with a few of the police officers that let them into the small meeting room.

"Service work keeps you clean and sober," Carter said as the first prisoner shuffled into the room.

"Uh huh," Derek agreed.

Derek stood and greeted each prisoner to the meeting. He wished Carter wouldn't lean so close. He wished Carter wouldn't clutch onto his arm so possessively.

While Derek handed out the numerous NA readings, Amelia stood in the living room, meticulously going through Andrew's trunk. Amelia made sure everything was in the heavy trunk. She also did one last walk-through, making sure to leave nothing of hers behind.

In the bathroom, in the back of the linen closet, Amelia found a pair of her thong panties. The gusset was heavily crusted with dried sperm and Amelia screeched in disgust.

Seeing Andrew's piggy bank on the low dresser, Amelia called Andrew's mother. The woman snarled that she wanted nothing of her son's in her home, even if it was a million dollars. So, Amelia took the quite heavy piggy bank.

Home again, Amelia walked silently from room to room. The carpet was a sea-foam green. Puke green is what she and her father had called it when it had been installed. Debbie had shrilled at father and daughter to shut up.

"See, Daddy?" Amelia said quietly at the doorway of her parents' room. "You used to love me."

Friday morning, Mrs. Kim sat in the passenger seat as Miss Kelly drove to the children's' school. In front of the school, Mrs. Kim got out, opened the rear door and helped Mia, Bobby, and Buddy out of the rear of the SUV.

Neither woman noticed the black SUV right behind them. Neither woman noticed that the black SUV did not drop off any children at William C. C. Claiborne Elementary School.

Raoul watched as his little senorita disappeared into the interior of the school. He smiled, even waving to the small child before driving away.

He had to brake as the school's crossing guard held up a plastic 'Stop' sign. Raoul watched two cute little girls walked across the street, holding hands.

Then Cheryl Kendricks, the school's crossing guard waved Raoul through.

While Cheryl Kendricks did her duty as crossing guard at her granddaughter's school, Amelia dressed for another day of college. She looked around at her bedroom, her bedroom for all of her childhood, and teenaged life. It hadn't changed, other than the puke green shag carpet from ten years ago, and the soft beige paint she and her father had painted the room six years ago.

"Is stupid; I've got the money," Amelia said aloud. "I can at least paint, right?"

Frugal Decorators came to Amelia Waters' home on Friday afternoon. Holly and Noelle Triche were identical twins and spoke to each other in minimal sentences; each able to read the other's minds.

The two blondes walked with Amelia from room to room. Noelle and Holly took numerous photographs with their digital cameras as Amelia guided them.

"Minimal?" Holly asked her sister as they looked at the very small Master bathroom.

"Pedestal; there's a linen closet," Noelle agreed, snapping a digital photograph of the room.

"Wire shelves," Holly said, looking at the three wooden shelves in the small closet.

"Claw foot in here?" Noelle asked her sister as they looked at the hall bathroom.

"Oh definitely," Holly agreed.

"Ms. Waters? What is your favorite color?" Noelle asked.

"Red," Amelia said.

"Oh goody," Holly clapped happily.

"And you said we're on a ten-thousand-dollar budget, right?" Noelle clarified, stepping through the sliding glass doors to the rear yard.

"Uh, yeah, that going be enough?" Amelia asked.

"Two beds, two baths? Probably more than we'd need," Holly assured the girl.

"Okay, anything you want to keep? Please put these stickers on them," Noelle said, handing Amelia a stack of bright yellow tags. "Items that are small enough? Do you have a key to the tool shed back there? Just put them in the shed; we're not going in there."

"Noelle's terrified of spiders," Holly loudly whispered to Amelia.

"Uh. Like you're not," Noelle said.

"Please tell me you don't want to keep this carpet," Noelle again said as she and her sister prepared to leave. "We'll email you a few sketches."

"Caught us in a bit of down time," Holly said. "You approve? We can get started Wednesday or Thursday at the very latest."

"Hello?" Amelia answered her cell as Noelle and Holly stood in her driveway, snapping photographs of the front of the house.

"Hey girlfriend," Tipton's happy voice bubbled through. "Listen, we're going to Sweet Pea's, tonight's fried catfish night. Why don't you come along?"

Amelia had replenished the refrigerator and pantry. But she did not feel up to cooking.

"When?" she asked.

"Six? Any later than that, it'll take forever get a seat," Tipton suggested.

As before, Jamie let Tipton do most of the talking. He filled in the blanks when it was needed, but for the most part, Tipton talked, Jamie and Amelia listened.

Amelia found out that Tipton studied ballet dancing and gymnastics; at one time she had even thought of becoming either a world-famous ballerina or gymnast.

"But then these came in and that went out the window," Tipton smiled, pointing at her 34DD breasts.

"Might have noticed, most of them girls? Flat as a board."

"Poor baby," Jamie mocked.

"Yeah, well, at least I can eat now," Tipton smiled as the server brought three heaping platters of steaming hot fish filets to their table.

"So, why are you in theater?" Amelia asked Jamie.

"Ever see 'Who's Afraid Of Virginia Wolff?'" Jamie asked. "There's four principals in the film, but it took an army to make that movie happen. Elizabeth Taylor? Beautiful, talented, glamorous, even at her worst. But without makeup artist, costume designer, lighting, sound, she would fall flat. I have always been fascinated by not the story, but what it took to put that story together."

"In other words? He's a nerd," Tipton loudly whispered.

"What's that make you?" Jamie smiled, not offended.

"A nerd lover, I guess," Tipton smiled.

"So, you two are..." Amelia asked.

"Uh huh, but we're not exclusive," Tipton agreed.

"She sees a girl she likes? Hey," Jamie shrugged.

Home again, lips still tingling from Tipton McCall's kiss, Amelia got to the task of boxing up what she wanted to keep. Holly had told her that this would include plates, glasses, pots and pans, even down to food in the refrigerator.

"Oh, absolutely," Noelle agreed. "That refrigerator? They don't make enough bleach get that thing clean."

In her father's nightstand, Amelia found a few issues of Parasols magazine. She also found the rosary she'd made for him for Father's Day when she had been eleven years old. Her mother's nightstand had mostly pictures of Amelia as a child, as a young teenager.

While Amelia was going through her parents' keepsakes, tears streaming down her face, Freyja was in a motel room in Colfax, Missouri. She did feel guilty, horribly guilty as Jack McDermott hammered his very long and thick cock in and out of Freyja's wet pussy.

Her pussy made obscene squelching sounds as Jack pounded in and out. Freyja tensed, close, so close to orgasm.

She hadn't meant for this to happen; she and Jack were just friends. They shared two classes together and she saw him on the football field as she and her fellow cheerleaders practiced their routines.

"At least he lets me touch him," Freyja thought, somewhat bitterly after her orgasm waned.

"We going kick the Pioneers' ass," Jack said when he caught his breath.

Chapter 30.

Cheryl Kendricks smiled and waved to Ezekiel Richards, her son in law. She held up her plastic stop sign as Cheryl Marie Richards, her granddaughter crossed the street.

She also smiled and waved to Jared and Ann Broussard as Gloria and Kathleen Broussard held hands and crossed the street.

Then she stepped back to the curb and allowed a few cars to get through. William Richards, the principal of William C.C. Claiborne had offered Cheryl a small stipend, but Cheryl had smiled and said she would volunteer. After all, her granddaughter was a kindergarten student at the school.

As the cars slowly drove past, Cheryl kept her eyes scanning the area. Children were known to dart out, not pay any attention to their surroundings.

She did notice the quite large man that seemed to be waiting for someone. The man was at the opposite end of the street, where the parents turned off of the main street onto this small side street.

A brisk gust of December wind made Cheryl shiver and she again made a visual sweep of her surroundings. Two little boys waited for her to wave them across and she lost sight of the large stranger as she stepped off the curb.

"People are stupid," Raoul smiled as, right on time, the King SUV pulled onto the side street.

Like clockwork, the car travelled twenty yards, then stopped. Raoul imagined he could even hear the door locks being popped up and the short Asian woman got out of the passenger side.