{"id":21,"date":"2014-01-31T04:56:00","date_gmt":"2014-01-31T11:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/catrites\/?p=21"},"modified":"2014-01-31T04:56:00","modified_gmt":"2014-01-31T11:56:00","slug":"21-hard-packed-dirt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/catrites\/2014\/01\/31\/21-hard-packed-dirt\/","title":{"rendered":"2:1 Hard Packed Dirt"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kate stands outside the high school, staring at the building that had once been her hell five days of the week and waits for the final bell to ring. It\u2019s hot out, and humid<\/a>, making her shirt stick to her uncomfortably \u2013 so different from the northern weather she was growing used to. She leans back against her brother\u2019s Jeep and tries her best not to look like a creep standing outside the school, when the bell finally rings.<\/p>\n

She doesn’t recognize the majority of the kids rushing from the school, which sends sharp little pangs through her, and makes her feel old. Her graduation was almost five years ago now, and there had been a time when she would have known the vast majority of the teenagers fleeing the school for summer break.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a few minutes before Kate catches a glimpse of Luke. He\u2019s casually strolling out of the school, clapping his hands on Jadon\u2019s shoulders with a smug grin on his face. They\u2019re joined by three or so people Kate doesn\u2019t recognize, and they group begin their walk across the parking lot before they see her. Luke stops short, the grin falling from his face, and for a moment, Kate\u2019s nervous.<\/p>\n

He lets out a yell, though, and is racing towards her before she has time to wonder if this was a bad idea. Jadon looks up from the girl he\u2019s holding hands with as Luke takes off, and when he sees her, he\u2019s running, too. Both boys with wild grins across their faces. Kate has a moment to brace herself before both of them are on top of her, limbs flailing and all three laughing as they crash backwards into the side of the Jeep.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a moment of confusion where both boys are speaking at once, \u201cWhen\u2019d you get back\u201d, \u201cHow long are you staying\u201d, \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me you were coming\u201d flying at her in a jumbled mess of words before the rest of Luke\u2019s friends catch up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWanted it to be a surprise,\u201d Kate said, responding to the last question she\u2019d heard, before raising an eyebrow at Luke an indicating the rest of his friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, you\u2019d know who they are if you were around more,\u201d he snarked, and Kate knew that there was still some underlying anger there, but Luke begrudgingly introduced her to Alyssa, who was Jadon\u2019s girlfriend, Isaac, Ben, and Jenna.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuys, this is my sister, Kate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jadon tagged along when Kate and Luke turned to leave, hopping into the Jeep with them. He was practically part of the family anyways, since he\u2019d been friends with Luke since they were both in diapers.<\/p>\n

When they were seated in the booth at Chili<\/a>\u2019s, Kate was grateful for Jadon\u2019s presence. He sat, chattering about Alyssa, as things grew more and more awkward between Luke and herself, telling Kate all she had missed about himself in the last few years. Until Luke abruptly interrupted, cutting off Jadon\u2019s story about how he had met Alyssa (it had something to do with a pencil and a football player, but Kate wasn\u2019t really sure how either fit into the story).<\/p>\n

\u201cHow long are you here for?\u201d Luke asked, staring down at his hands, as if not looking at her would make the answer easier to accept. Jadon\u2019s mouth snapped shut in the middle of his sentence and he looked between Luke and Kate nervously.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know yet,\u201d Kate replied honestly, \u201cbut I haven\u2019t booked a flight back yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d Luke said, a little too quickly, \u201cgood, that\u2019s\u2026that\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was silent for a few more minutes before he finally snapped.<\/p>\n

\u201cFive years, Kate?\u201d Kate winced. She had known this was coming \u2013 it was why she went to the school first, why she had chosen to see Luke before Dad. \u201cFive years! Texting and calling only cut it so far, they do not count as communication. You left us, for five years!\u201d<\/p>\n

Jadon had lowered his head now, staring at his plate, twirling his fork between his hands while Luke ranted at his sister, but he didn\u2019t say anything to stop the stream of anger.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right,\u201d Kate said, and she could tell it was about the last thing Luke expected her to say by the way he just stopped, his mouth hanging open as he gulped in air and stared at her. \u201cI was running away. Leaving home, getting away \u2013 from this town and all the memories in it \u2013 seemed like exactly what I needed. So when the acceptance letter came in the mail I didn\u2019t even stop to think. I knew that was what I wanted. So I left.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luke swallowed, finally closing his mouth. \u201cYou could have come back. For Christmas, at least.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jadon\u2019s head was up now, too, looking at her with something a little like understanding and a little like pity in his eyes, and Kate had to look away.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was scared to,\u201d Kate replied. \u201cScared that it wouldn\u2019t be the same. That I\u2019d still just see Mom wherever I went. That it would hurt, maybe even more than it did before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you left me and Dad,\u201d Luke said bluntly, and Kate cringed, afraid to look at his face, to see the look in his eyes.<\/p>\n

Luke falls silent for a while, and Kate plays with the fries on her plate, pushing them around, avoiding looking at her brother and Jadon. Until Luke starts talking again, quieter this time, more hesitant.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid it help?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeaving?\u201d Kate asked, \u201cNot really.\u201d<\/p>\n

She sighed. \u201cI was hurt and scared and lost, and I ran. And then once I was gone it was just easier to stay gone than face her ghost, or face you and Dad\u2019s hurt for having left in the first place.\u201d Kate paused. \u201cI think I was scared to come home and have to face that she was really gone. If I was gone, I could pretend she was still here, making sure you were up for school, looking after Dad, teaching at the school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luke was silent for a while, processing and thinking over her answers.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d he said finally. \u201cI get it. I don\u2019t like it, but I get it. Just, stay this time, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kate felt the tension in her chest ease, bands of iron she hadn\u2019t realized were there dropping off, and she smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

References<\/em><\/p>\n

Chili’s Texas Grill.<\/em> Chili’s Texas Grill. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.<\/p>\n

Cow in a Creek Bed. Photograph. 26 August 2011. “As East Coast is under threat of flooding from Irene, parched Texas continues to suffer record drought.”\u00a0Mail Online<\/em>. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.<\/p>\n

“Texas Relative Humidity Map.” Air Sports Net.\u00a0<\/i>Air Sports Net. 2012. Web. 30 Jan 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kate stands outside the high school, staring at the building that had once been her hell five days of the week and waits for the final bell to ring. It\u2019s hot out, and humid, making her shirt stick to her … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22431,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/catrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/catrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/catrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/catrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22431"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/catrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/catrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/catrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions\/22"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/catrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/catrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/catrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}