Verda Foster - Graceful Waters

"No, ma'am."

"Extremely rich relatives to which you are sole heir?"

"No, ma'am."

Carey's eyes burned into Grace. "You're giving me a great deal of no's. Tomorrow I want you to tell me the positives. What you have managed to accomplish."

"Yes, ma'am."

"What do you want out of life, Waters?"

Grace focused on the crystal egg sitting in the front center of the instructor's desk. "To be left alone, ma'am."

"And how do you plan on accomplishing that?"

Grace shrugged. "Once I'm out of here, I'll get a place of my own and do what I want."

"You'll need a job to pay for it," Carey said. "That means you'll be working for someone else. Not going to be left alone that way."

“I'll start my own business so I don't have to answer to anyone else, ma'am."

Carey leaned back in her seat. "You think that's so, hmm?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"You'll have customers to answer to, suppliers, employees, bankers, the list goes on and on."

"I'll figure something out, ma'am."

"Until you do, get used to answering to other people," Carey said. “You were a peer tutor?"

"Yes, ma'am," Grace said, surprised by the change in subject.

"Two years," Carey said. "You didn't sign up for it when you became a junior, why?"

Grace paused, thinking through her answer before speaking. "I didn't feel like it, ma'am."

"You didn't feel like attending class or doing homework either," Carey said. "Started skipping classes the first week."

What? Do you have a day-by-day report of my life? "Yes, ma'am."

"You missed two days as a freshman and none as a sophomore. See a pattern here?"

Still staring at the egg, Grace shrugged. "I was sick, ma'am."

"I doubt that," Carey said. "So what happened between tenth and eleventh grade?"

"Nothing. I just decided I didn't like school anymore, ma'am."

"Look at me," Carey said. "I have a feeling school had little or nothing to do with it. I took a closer look at your grades. You aced almost every test but never turned in homework and skipped classes, that's why you failed so many courses." The instructor let out a breath and reached for paper and a pen. "All right, we'll do it this way. Since you can't come up with any productive goals, we'll come up with some together. Goal number one."

Oh great, Grace thought to herself. Why didn't I just put some bullshit on that paper instead? "To do better in school, ma'am," she said.

"Let's be a bit more specific," Carey said. "You'll get your GED."

"What?" she yelped.

"You heard me," Carey said. "And you owe me ten. Try again. Goal number one?"

"To get my GED, ma'am," she said, looking down at the egg again. Fuck. I can't believe I did that. Ten pushups for forgetting ma 'am.

"Goal number two?"

Grace thought about it but came up with nothing. "I don't know, ma'am."

"Forget about academics. Your mouth and your attitude get you in trouble, so goal number two will be to learn how to deal with situations in an appropriate manner. By the way, sixth period on your B schedule will be Anger Management."

"I don't need anger management, ma'am."

"Oh yes you do," Carey said. "You're looking at me right now like you'd like to come over this desk at me and you're going to say you don't need Anger Management?"

"I just need to be left alone, ma'am."

"Which isn't going to happen, so you'd better learn to deal with it," Carey said. "Sit up. Are you going to slouch in your boss's office?"

"No, ma'am," Grace said as she straightened up.

"Then don't think of doing it here."

Grace put her face under the stream, rinsing off the dirt of the day.

"I'm telling ya, Jan. If Campbell and Grenner didn't go get those nose things, I'm going to kill them myself."

"I'll help," Jan said, soaping her upper body. "You didn't grab your razor."

"Naw," Grace said. "My hair doesn't grow that fast. I won't need to shave my pits for a few days."

"Speaking of shaving, did you see Rosetti?"

Hitting the shampoo dispenser, Grace pushed a healthy amount onto her hand. "No. What about her?"

"She's bald down there. Shaves it all off."

"Why bother?" Grace asked.

"Maybe she doesn't like getting her hand covered with short and curlies," Jan said.

"Hey, girls."

"Hey, Latisha," Grace said as the younger teen stepped up to the shower next to her.

"What's up?"

"Nothing," Jan said. "Just talking about Rosetti and her bald spot."

"I shaved there once," Latisha said. "Itched like hell when it grew back in."

Grace looked at the area in question. "You've got the Black Forest going on there. What'd you use, a lawn mower?" Jan laughed while Latisha flipped her the middle finger. "Just kidding," she said, putting her soapy head under the water. The chatter died down as others entered and the sound of running water increased. Make sure no one notices, she thought as she covertly stole glances of the other girls, making them brief and infrequent for fear her guilty pleasure would be discovered. Ever since she'd found a magazine left around by one of her mother's boyfriends, Grace had found breasts fascinating. Of course, it was not something she would ever admit to anyone else, nor would she ever speak of just how good a shower felt on her nipples. Adjusting her position, Grace closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of the pelting water. Maybe I can sneak into the bathroom for a little while, she thought, rinsing the rest of the soap from her body before she became too aroused. She would have wished for more time but Jan and Latisha shut off their showers within seconds of each other, forcing her to reluctantly do the same.

Instructor Carey blew the whistle. "All right, enough chatter. Hathaway, you know the shirts get tucked into the shorts." She held the basketball up. "Obviously you know what we're going to be doing. The focus here will be on teamwork, not trying out for the WNBA. No Harlem Globetrotter bullshit, no hanging from the hoop." She walked to the center of the basketball court. "Five girls from each squad. Let's go." She held the ball in one hand and the whistle in the other. "All right, play nice, play fair and have fun." The two squads moved into position on the court or on the benches. "Ready?"

Grace won the tip-off and the game was on. A quick pass from Jan to Campbell resulted in the first basket, but was answered quickly by a three-point shot by Lauren Grenner for Alpha Squad. Carey ignored the street talk between the two teams as the lead went back and forth with Grace and Jan scoring the most points. Unfortunately, ignoring the talk also meant she missed the comment Grenner made when she blocked Grace's shot and sent the ball down court for Rosetti to make the basket. She did notice when guarding became nudging and was just about to intervene when an elbow flew.

"Foul on Grenner," Carey said.

"I didn't do nothing," the heavyset redhead protested.

"All right, that's it," Carey said. "Grenner, drop for twenty. Jones, go get the ball."

"It was an accident, ma'am," Grenner said as she lowered herself to the ground.

"Bullshit," Grace said, rubbing her jaw.

"Waters!" Carey said, glaring at the blonde teen. "I don't need your help. Grenner, that was no accident. You owe me a two-page report on sportsmanship and fair play."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Waters, if I thought washing your mouth out with soap would help, I'd need a bar the size of Kansas. Do you think civilized young women swear like that?"

Grace rolled her eyes, knowing she was about to get a lecture. "No, ma'am."

"Drop for twenty!" Carey shouted. "I've warned you before about that stunt with your eyes." She knelt down next to the teen. "You will break that habit, do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Do you?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Grenner, you need to learn to keep your hands to yourself."

"Yes, ma'am."

"You two better get over this, and quick, or you'll be very unhappy little girls. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," they said in unison.

"Let's go Waters, you're holding up PT," Carey said as Grace continued to do pushups. "Now," she said when the teen finished and stood up. "Take your free throws. Grenner, I'm not going to warn you again."

Grace set her tray down on the table, then lifted her legs over the long bench and sat down. "Z-burgers again," she said, looking at the cheeseburger on her tray.

The dark-skinned girl sitting next to her chuckled. "Damn straight. I know I'm going to fall asleep in class again."

Grace smiled. "I hear you, Latisha. It doesn't help we have the most boring class right after lunch."

"Better than PT," Latisha said, popping a lukewarm French fry into her mouth.

"I don't know," Grace said. "I'm not happy about running three miles right after breakfast." As she lifted the cheeseburger to take a bite, a sharp elbow caught her in the back of the head.

"Sorry, accident," Grenner said, though the girl with her began giggling.

"Bullshit," Grace said, rising to her feet and turning to face the bully. "What's your problem, Grenner?"

"Sit down, Waters," the redhead said. '''Fore you get your ass kicked all over the floor."

"It was a basketball game, Grenner. It's not my fault you suck." The normal din of chatter stopped, replaced by the sound of the nearby girls moving their trays away.