Chapter 2 Ordinary Time
ORDINARY TIME
The following week at school, during Hannah and Wally’s unassigned period, Wally asks her if she wants to go somewhere off campus.
“Off campus?” she repeats. “What, like, just to experience the thrill of potentially getting caught?”
Wally laughs. “To get some food,” he says simply, stuffing his Calculus textbook into his book sack. “I’m bored and hungry.”
“You sound like Luke.”
“I feel like Luke.”
Hannah taps her pen against her mouth, considering the idea. “We could bring food back for our friends.”
“We could,” Wally agrees. “We’d be real heroes.”
Hannah pictures her friends’ faces lighting up when she and Wally surprise them. She sees that spark in Baker’s eyes, the one that means Hannah never ceases to amaze her.
“You’re driving,” Hannah says.
They sneak out the back entrance and cruise down South Acadian in Wally’s old Toyota Camry. Wally plays one of his standard mix CDs—the one with a lot of tracks by Eli Young Band—and lowers the windows so the fresh, wintry air rushes into the car.
“Where do you want to go?” Wally asks, looking over at Hannah.
“You wanna do Coffee Call?”
“For beignets?”
Hannah smiles and changes the CD track. “Always for beignets.”
Wally opts for the drive-through so their school uniforms will be less conspicuous. He orders six beignets and a café au lait and they pull up to the window to wait. The smell of rich processed sugar wafts out from the kitchen, making Hannah lightheaded.
An older woman opens the window and smirks knowingly at Wally’s red tie and Hannah’s plaid skirt.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Wally says, accepting the white paper bag from her.
The woman raises her eyebrows. “Y’all better get back to school.”
“We’re homeschooled,” Hannah tells her. “Our mom makes us dress up so it feels more authentic.”
The woman hikes her eyebrows even higher, and Wally thrusts the car into gear, bursting with laughter as soon as they’ve pulled away.
They take the long route back to campus, driving down Perkins until they can turn right into the Garden District.
The midmorning sun colors the trees and houses in wintry light, illuminating the purple-and-gold LSU flags that hang from the porches.
Wally lowers his window to swim his hand through the air, and Hannah looks at him, carefree behind the wheel, his russet-brown hair lifting with the oncoming rush of air.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so happy,” Hannah says.
Wally looks ahead through the windshield. After a moment, he says, “Yes you have.”
Hannah clutches the warm paper bag in her lap and turns to look out the window.
To: Baker Hadley & 4 more …
Jan 12, 2012 9:54 AM
Me: Wally and I request your presence in the senior lounge. We have beignets from coffee call. Hurry bitches!
Joanie: How did you go to coffee call??
Me: The way most people go … in a car
Wally Sumner: We snuck out like secret agents. Come eat!
Clay Landry: This is awesome, coming in a min, waiting for Akers to shut up so I can ask to leave, save me at least 4 beignets
Baker Hadley: Beignets?! But I’m in Computer Systems. I’m learning how to use the space bar
Me: As stimulating as that must be … we have SUGAR
Baker Hadley: Space … bar … space … bar …
Joanie: Coming now. Luke where are you
Wally Sumner: He probably fell asleep in class again
Luke Broussard: O ye of little tiny baby faith. I’m walking down the hall now! You know if you bring me food I’m there. Joanie hurry up or I’m going to steal yours and I won’t regret it
Joanie: And I will break up with you. Beignet > boyfriend
Luke Broussard: How long did it take you to find that symbol on the keypad
Joanie:… a while
Luke whoops with laughter when he bursts into the lounge.
Clay and Joanie follow close behind him, Clay clapping his hands together and Joanie whispering, “Bitches and hos,” with giddy reverence.
Baker comes last, her long hair swinging behind her as she closes the door and turns to face the table.
She meets Hannah’s eyes and her smile grows even larger than Hannah pictured.
“You really weren’t kidding,” Baker says.
“I really wasn’t,” Hannah says.
The six of them circle around the table for their feast. Clay and Luke end up with powdered sugar on their mouths and chins while Wally loses his coffee to the mercy of the group, all of whom drink from it without asking.
Wally catches Hannah’s eye and rolls his eyes up into his head, pretending to be annoyed, but Hannah can tell he’s not bothered in the slightest.
“Y’all hear about Cooper?” Clay asks through a mouthful of food. “He sent his deposit in to Alabama.”
“He’s going to Alabama?” Luke says. “By choice?”
They all look up, scowling, appalled by the notion that anyone would spend their college years at the university in Tuscaloosa.
“He said LSU losing the championship pushed him over the edge. Said he’d rather root for the Tide for the next four years.” Clay shakes his head at this unforgivable sin. “Treacherous asshole.”
“I always thought that kid was an idiot,” Joanie says, though Hannah doesn’t think she’s ever seen Joanie speak to him before.
“Okay, to be fair, both his parents went there,” Wally says.
“Yeah, but he grew up here,” Clay says. “Anyway, the hell with him. I’m glad I don’t have to spend another four years dealing with his shit. He always challenged just about every decision I made as captain.”
“God forbid,” Hannah says, smirking, and Baker chokes on her sip of coffee.
Clay crumples up his napkin and tosses it at her. “You know what I mean.”
“I’m just kidding. You know I don’t like Cooper anyway. Not since that time I saw him lock Marty in a storage closet the first time Marty got drunk.”
“Or when he kicked that dog at our community service site,” Baker says, her voice bitter.
“Tell me this, Han,” Clay says. “Have you decided on LSU yet?”
Hannah sighs, knowing the question was inevitable. “I told you, I’m waiting to hear back from the other schools I applied to.”
“It won’t matter,” Clay says confidently, sprawling back in his chair. “When it comes down to it, you’ll want to go to LSU with Baker and me.”
“Can we not have this conversation right now?”
Baker shoots him a look. “Don’t pressure her.”
“I’m not pressuring.” Clay grins. “Just predicting.”
Hannah opens her mouth to retort, but just then, the lounge door opens. The six of them, taken by surprise with their fingers still covered in powdered sugar, whip around and internally groan. Michele Duquesne is standing there, one hand on the door handle and the other clutching a bag of rosaries.
“Oh,” Michele says, her eyes narrowing as she spots the beignets on the table. “Am I interrupting Sunday brunch?”
Clay glances at the others before shifting to face Michele. “Not at all. We were just having a delayed celebration. You know, for the big win last week.”
“It’s the middle of second block,” Michele says pointedly.
“Mm-hmm, yeah.” Clay clears his throat. “Unassigned period.”
“All of you?”
“Yep. Lucky, right?”
She frowns at him. “You don’t have to lie to me, Clay.”
“Are you on unassigned?” Hannah asks.
Michele stares at Hannah as if trying to decide whether Hannah is worth her words.
“I am, actually,” she says after a moment.
“But I think it’s better to spend my unassigned period helping in the front office, rather than leaving campus illegally.
” She tears her eyes away from the group and continues, in a lofty voice, “Father Simon asked me to come drop off the rosary bags. We have prayer group after school today. Maybe you all should come.”
“Mm, maybe not,” Hannah says.
Michele glares at her before flashing her eyes in Baker’s direction. “I thought you said you had unassigned during fourth block.”
Baker tightens her mouth and looks into the corner of the room.
“Isn’t that what you said?” Michele presses. “So you could take care of student council stuff at the end of the day?”
Baker grits her teeth. “Yes. That was the plan.”
Michele hikes her eyebrows as she opens the rosary bag. “Probably should set a better example for the student body,” she says under her breath.
Baker tenses. Clay pokes his tongue into his cheek and says, “Come on, Michele. We’re just taking a five-minute break.”
“I have to get back to the front office,” Michele says, clearing her throat. “But y’all have yourselves a lovely time. And, Clay—you’re welcome to come back to prayer group whenever you’re ready.”
Clay pulls his lips together and nods. Luke, who sits with his back to the door, mimes throwing up on the table.
“See you later,” Michele says. “Oh—but, Joanie? I’m not trying to be mean, but the lounge is exclusively for seniors. If we start letting selective juniors in, then all the other underclassmen will think they’re entitled to use the lounge, too, and it kind of defeats the purpose, don’t you think?”
Joanie’s face flushes red as crawfish. “Yep,” she says, her voice prickly.
“Thanks for understanding,” Michele says with a sweet smile. Then she leaves, closing the door with a deliberate snap.
Joanie slumps down in her chair. “That brownnosing bitch.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Luke says. “Everyone knows you’re basically a senior anyway.”
“She’s not trying to be a bitch,” Clay says. “She’s just kind of a rule girl.”
“A rule girl?” Hannah says, trading incredulous looks with the other four.
Clay crosses his arms defensively. “What?”
“Thank God you dumped her ass.”
“Seriously,” Baker says, shaking her head.
“Aw, come on. She’s not that bad.”
“She’s pretty bad,” Luke says.
“She used to be different,” Clay says, his voice getting smaller. “Before she got all, like—”
“Zealous?” Hannah suggests.
“You broke her, bro,” Luke says, patting Clay on the shoulder.
“She’s gonna tell Ms. Carpenter that I was skipping,” Baker says, raking her hair back as she adjusts her headband. “She’ll probably tell her before I even get to the student council office.”