Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,380

way to get out of working in the Gardens.” Maverick rolled his eyes. His words stung. I'd be lying if the thought hadn't crossed my mind, but honestly, I wanted to see the new school house. It had always been a dream of mine to follow in Mom’s footsteps. Getting out of the heat of the Gardens was a bonus.

“I love how you state the obvious with such a sense of discovery, Mav,” I teased. “Of course I want out of those damn Gardens.”

Maverick tapped his fingers anxiously on his desk. I sensed that he itched to dive right back into work, but I wouldn’t let him go that easily. His red-brown hair had started to sloppily fall out of his bun.

“But…” I began cautiously. “I’ve always wanted to teach. Some of my happiest memories were sitting under Mom’s desk. Maybe…if...if you ever need help or something. Maybe you could let me know?” I hated how timid I sounded and cursed how much I craved my brother’s approval. I thought I was past caring what he thought. Maverick looked at me with sad eyes. I knew bringing up Mom was a low-blow, but I was desperate for him to understand that I was somewhat sincere.

“Kemper mentioned that you started tutoring the Scavengers. We can discuss options later. Until then, we need someone to bring the Walker children up to the school house for a project in a couple weeks. Is that something you’d like to do?” Maverick offered, surprising me. I tried to bite down the happiness I felt.

“Th—that would be fine, I guess,” I replied, attempting to sound casual. Maverick rolled his eyes before returning to his work on the computer. In seconds, he was already back to ignoring the world.

“See you later, Mav,” I whispered sadly and, like usual, he didn’t respond.

Chapter Seven

“I never thought I’d ever say this, but you’re doing a decent job, Jules. You’ve almost caught up with everyone else, and your section looks good,” Kemper said from behind me.

I wiped the sweat from my brow and slowly straightened, my tight muscles straining from spending the day bent over. I scraped my scythe across the ground as I turned to look at him.

“Now we just need to get you to stop wearing those ridiculous dresses to the gardens. Aren’t you miserable?” he asked. He scrunched his nose at my outfit before turning to inspect the wheat grains carefully.

I looked down at my sequined dress and my mother’s ruby necklace. I hadn’t taken it off since Pioneer Day. I wore it like a medal of honor, even though it put me on the receiving end of a lot of angry stares. My outburst that day didn't gain me any friends. Not that I needed any. Born alone, die alone and all that.

“A wise woman once told me to dress for the job I wanted,” I countered with a grin. Mom overdressed for every event. Anytime someone commented on it, she would say that a woman could never be overdressed or overeducated.

Over the past few weeks, I had settled into a monotonous routine. Despite Kemper's enthusiastic compliments, I wasn't the little worker bee they wanted. I learned to finish my work efficiently, but I was still a good two days behind everyone else. Keeping my productivity low also ensured that Kemper's expectations would be low too.

Becca dusted off her hands, then began walking towards us. Kemper tensed up under her perusal, and I had to bite my lip to hold back the laugh that threatened to spill over. The embarrassment and discomfort written across his face was too much. A laugh escaped, which earned me a stern glare.

“I can’t stay long, uh— I have stuff to do,” Kemper said distractedly while walking backwards away from Becca. Her strides became larger as she approached.

His neck turned red as he increased his pace. “Ju—just wanted..to..let you know that Tallis can’t walk you to camp today. You know how to get there without him?” He yelled the last bit of his question, as he was now a good twenty feet away.

I couldn’t hold back my laughter. “Yes,” I choked out through chuckles. Becca was out of breath when she finally made it to me. I heard her whisper “Damn,” while watching Kemper flee.

“Where was he off to?” she asked while braiding her blond hair. Her top button came undone, leaving her shirt almost fully open.

“I think he had to brush his hair,” I replied dryly, putting my tools away and