6. Kiera #2
Kiera parked her silver Fusion at the back of the building.
Her parents had bought it for her as a high school graduation present and it had come fully loaded, with leather seats and every feature she could want.
The car was three years old now, but it was still the nicest one in the lot.
The others belonged to a couple other volunteers and Garrett, the only full-timer at the teen center.
He drove a ten-year-old blue Subaru and it was parked next to the door in the same spot it was always in.
Garrett pretty much never went home – if the center’s doors were open, Garrett was here. That was another reason Kiera wanted the grant money – if she could cover her salary, and maybe even a third employee if they were awarded enough, she could take some of the weight off Garrett’s shoulders.
She went inside. The back doors led to a large activity room that was used for pretty much everything.
Its concrete block walls were colorfully painted with murals done by some of the more artistic kids, and the ceiling was hung with festive streamers.
Someone had put them up for a weekend event a few months ago and everyone decided to leave them up after because they made the room feel more inviting.
There were no kids here yet – school didn’t let out for another hour – but a couple of volunteers were setting up folding tables in the center of the room for today’s snack and after-school activity.
She waved to say hello, then headed down a small hallway to the left of the doors. This was where the offices were, as well as a kitchen and a break room for the staff. Kiera went to the first door in the hall. It was slightly ajar, so she knocked on it with her knuckle, then pushed it open.
“Hey,” she said, poking her head into the room.
The office was small, only about six feet square, with the same concrete block walls as the rest of the building. Garrett was sitting at an old metal desk in the center of the room, typing on an old computer. He looked up and said, “Hey, come on in.”
Kiera did, sitting in the only other chair in the room, directly across from his desk.
Garrett blinked a few times, his eyes watering thanks to the ancient CRT monitor he was using.
Then he slipped his fingers beneath the lenses of his glasses to rub his eyes.
That was another thing on Kiera’s hit list as soon as they found out about the grant money – Garrett deserved a computer that didn’t make his eyes water.
“How’s it going, boss?” she asked.
“Good,” he said. “We’re all set for the Friday night movie marathon. I’ve got a friend who’s going to let us borrow his projector so we can show the movie against the wall of the activity room.”
“Oh, that’ll be great,” Kiera said. “What’s the movie?”
“ Cool Runnings. I just hope the kids aren’t too cool to laugh at John Candy,” Garrett said. “It’s too bad you can’t make it, Murphy.”
“I could probably shift some things around,” Kiera offered. Actually, she would be more than happy to do that, but Garrett gave her a stern look.
“On sorority meeting night?” he asked. “ Mandatory sorority meeting night?”
“Come on, man,” she said. “You know I don’t want to set foot in that house right now.”
Garrett was one of the few friends Kiera had outside of the Greek system, and she knew he wouldn’t judge her for falling in love with her best friend even though she knew damn well that it was a bad idea.
Had known for years before she stupidly let her heart take over for her brain.
Kiera told Garrett what happened with Lauren – or an abbreviated version that she could stand to recount – and he’d responded by doing what he always did with the kids.
He’d turned into Camp Counsellor Garrett and told her to get back on the horse.
Every time she saw him.
She was beginning to regret telling him.
“I’d much rather come here on Friday night and watch the inspirational story of a Jamaican bobsled team that tried their best and failed,” Kiera said.
“Go to your freaking sorority meeting,” Garrett scolded. “The longer you stay away, the harder it’ll be to go back.”
“Yeah, I know,” Kiera said grudgingly, getting up. “I’m going to check my email and see if there’s any news from the foundation. Then I’ll see if Maggie and Thomas need help setting up for this afternoon. Let me know if you need anything.”
“I’m serious,” Garrett said as Kiera headed for the door. “Face your demons, Kiera.”
“Thank you, Counsellor Garrett,” Kiera said.
Then she went into the next office in the hall.
This one had an identical set of furniture and an equally ancient computer, and this office was meant to be shared by all of the volunteers.
Kiera hoped it would be her own office next year, modest as it was.
She pulled off her red cap and sat down at the desk and while she was waiting for the computer to boot up, she closed her eyes and sent up a little prayer that her grant proposal would be accepted.
She did that every time she checked her email over the last few months.
The teen center could do so many things with that money.
What Kiera definitely did not want to think about was walking into the Kappa house this Friday night for the weekly chapter meeting. But Garrett was right – she needed to go back sooner rather than later, even if she’d really rather not.
Kiera checked her email. It took about five minutes just to log in on this old dinosaur of a computer, and after all of that, there were only a couple of email chains between Garrett and the other volunteers, going back and forth about the movie night plans.
Nothing from the grant foundation. Kiera logged off and knocked on Garrett’s door on her way back up the hall.
“Nothing yet,” she said, poking in her head.
“That’s okay,” Garrett said. “It’s only been a couple of months.”
“Yep,” Kiera answered optimistically. “We’re going to get the money.”
That had become their weekly ritual – the exact same words exchanged every single time Kiera checked her email. Then she smiled, Garrett went back to his work, and Kiera headed back to the activity room to set up for the kids’ imminent arrival after school.