Bambi Johnson’s last day of high school was the first day of the rest of her life. After she passed her final exam without trouble, she realized that everything was really going to be different. She walked out the doors of Kempsville High School with her head raised high enough so that her long dark brown hair didn’t hang down in her face as usual.
The walk home was only three streets away, but one minute into her journey, a pair of girls pulled up alongside of her in their white VW Golf. Kim Elliot nearly brought her car to a halt when she saw her favorite target. She and her best friend, Kim Ramirez laughed about some private joke that Bambi could only guess was about her.
“Goodbye, Bambi! We’ll miss you so much, BAM-BI!” They chanted in their little mocking voices. To their annoyance, Bambi ignored them. They started up again.
“Did you hear us? We’re gonna miss you and your way cool Batman t-shirts!” Kim Elliot could barely get out the words without laughing.
“And your killer backpack!” Kim Ramirez joined in.
“And your fat ass!” Kim Elliot cried out. The two howled laughing even though they were both at least five to ten pounds heavier than their would-be prey. Bambi turned in their direction and pushed up her large round glasses with her middle finger.
“You know something? You cunts are boring.” She said very plainly like it was some basic fact. The “C” word was more than Kim Elliot could tolerate. She hit the brakes and jumped out of the little car. Kim Elliot waved her fists in the air and screamed for Bambi to come back and say that again. Bambi didn’t bother. She just kept on walking, but she did turn around after a few yards to see Kim still in the same spot and screaming her head off. Bambi’s laughter only made her more upset.
Her parents weren’t home when she arrived home. She had at least an hour before the yelling would begin. She loved them, but she couldn’t stand the pressure they put on her to follow their paths into the Navy. She didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life, but it wasn’t going to be on the seven seas. Bambi strolled into her bedroom, there wasn’t a door since her father kicked it in a week earlier. She dropped her faded blue back pack by her tv and she flopped onto her bed. As she kicked off her Chuck Taylor All Stars, she noticed her answering machine light blinking.
“Hi, Bambi! It’s me, Mrs. McFarlane! I hope this isn’t too short notice, but I have a date tonight and I was wondering if you could watch Nancy? Give me a call as soon as you can to let me know. Bye!”
Bambi’s heart skipped a beat with excitement due to the massive amount of money Nancy McFarlane pays her to watch over her daughter, Brooke. She had been thought of by most people of being a little over protective of the seven year old. Bambi was one of the few people that she trusted her child with. As she was about to pick up the phone to call Mrs. MacFarlane back to say that she was up for the job, her father strolled past her room. She returned the receiver down to the cradle since she could feel the tension surrounding his stance. He was upset.
“Bambi? Did your mother pay the cable bill?” He asked as if he were some sort of interrogator.
“I don’t know, Dad. Why don’t you ask her?”
“Because she’ll tell me she did. I want to hear from you! She tells you everything! “ His voice was growing intense.
“That doesn’t mean I listen.“ Bambi answered.
“That’s cute. I know why you side with her. It’s because you know you’re not really mine! Why don’t you tell me! She must have told you by now who it is! Who is it?“ He shouted. Bambi didn’t react since she was used to this form of questioning from her father. He never had any reason to believe that she wasn’t his daughter, but he did think that it was a good way to answers out of her without using physical force.
Bambi didn’t bother to talk to him any longer. She held her head down as she picked her backpack and left almost instantly as he continued to scream at her. She decided to call Mrs. MacFarlane from the shopping center and hang out there a couple of hours and avoid her folks. She spent the last of her loose cash grabbing an early dinner, playing video games, and renting a few movies for the evening to come.
Bambi was always a little uncomfortable babysitting at Mrs. MacFarlane’s house. It was one of those homes built in the 70’s with that fake lodge look. The smell of the garlic wreaths would assault her senses during the first few minutes of every visit. Her husband died years ago when her daughter, Brooke was still a baby, but there weren’t any pictures of him anywhere in the house. It was just photos of Nancy and Brooke everywhere. If there was a empty space, it would soon be filled by a cross or a snapshot of the two of them.
“Hello, Bambi! Sorry about the short notice again, but I just had to get out tonight. You don’t mind do you?” Nancy was always so cheerful, even when she would apologize.
“Hey! I wouldn’t be here, if I did!”
“Oh, thank you! You’re such a sweet girl. Now you know the rules. Keep all the windows and doors locked. Do not invite anyone in no matter what and do not ask Brooke about her father.”
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Manos Publishing to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.