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“Honey, I need you to cook dinner again tonight. I have to stay at work late and grade papers.” Her father’s voice crackled, and then he hung up. Sorin sighed and shut off her phone. Third time this week. And it was only Wednesday. Ever since her mom died, her dad just hadn’t been the same and seemed to bury himself in work. He either forgot about Sorin’s difficult transition to a new middle school or he just didn’t care.

 

Taking a deep breath, Sorin headed down the hall to the kitchen and grabbed two packs of ramen noodles, some cold cuts, and leftover Caesar salad from yesterday’s lunch. After eating dinner alone, she sat down to attempt her essay for 7th grade English. The house was almost too quiet for her to think. Sorin had transferred from East Union Middle School to Lake Norman Charter, a whole new world, leaving behind her friends, the house in which she was born, and the swim team. 

The door opened. Sorin looked at the clock. 9:00. That’s got to be a new record for overtime.  “Hi, honey. What’s for dinner?” her dad asked, his face wrinkled. He took off his leather shoes, set down his briefcase, and walked into the kitchen.

“Oh, you know, Cup-O-Noodles, roast beef, Caesar salad,” Sorin replied, not looking up from the essay. 

“Thanks,” her father mumbled, and yawned. “Mmm, smells delicious.”

“Ok, I’m going to go to bed now. Love you.” She heard him give a muffled reply in response, as he was hungrily scarfing the food down. 

Sorin climbed into bed and said her prayers. She dreamed of her grandparents, baking cookies in the farmhouse kitchen. Of long walks in the Marshville woods with her best friend. She dreamt the same dream every night. 

The harsh sound of her alarm clock woke her up, and snapped her out of her reverie. “Another day of supporting myself,” she grumbled as she boarded the bus towards her new life, cold and empty like her spirits. She plodded into school and opened her locker. Grabbing a few textbooks, she swung the door shut and walked into math class. She put her head down and listened to the announcements. 

“Hello class. Two things. One, pop quiz today!” Everyone groaned. “Secondly, we have a new student. Lina, stand up!” The short girl with brown curls sitting next to Sorin stood up. Sorin hadn’t noticed her because she was too busy daydreaming. 
“Now,” the teacher said. “Let’s begin the quiz. Lina, please go out in the hall to review the study guide and your makeup work. Sorin, would you care to help her?” Sorin nodded and walked out with Lina. They greeted each other with shy smiles.

“So, what school did you move from? I came from East Union Middle School, all the way over in Marshville.”

“I moved from Kennedy Middle School. After my mom transferred to Davidson University, we moved to Cornelius. It’s just north of Huntersville.”

“Really? My dad works at Davidson University too? What does your mom teach?” Sorin asked, excited to have someone to connect with.

“My mom teaches Calculus 1 and 2. She’s pretty busy. Sometimes I feel so alone, you know? I have to cook dinner almost every night and we rarely have time to even talk to one another.” Lina sighed.

“Really? My dad also teaches Calculus, and I also have to cook dinner every night!” Sorin laughed, for maybe the first time since she moved here. They chatted about the friends they missed and how lonely they were at Lake Norman Charter. Lina’s makeup work became a distant memory. 

“Lina? Sorin?” The teacher peered at them from behind the door. “Come back in. Class is over.”

“I know we just met, but wanna come over for dinner sometime?” Lina asked as they headed towards their lockers.

“I would love to,” Sorin replied, happy to have finally found someone she could lean on.