She bit her bottom lip and eyed Devon up and down, no doubt noticing the grass stain on Devon’s jeans. Devon crossed her legs again in a feeble attempt to hide it. Maybe she would try to wear a better choice of clothes for Cleo’s next session. Anything that Cleo couldn’t mentally rip to shreds.
“This isn’t about making anything easier on me. This is about you and whatever happened in Monte Vista.” Devon quickly added, “But, we could talk about Hutch if you want, if you have something you want to talk about, about Hutch.…”
“I saw him in Monte Vista. On his last day, you know, alive.” Cleo let her sentence hang in the air. She clearly enjoyed the suspense it created.
“Okay. What happened?”
“It’s not like I couldn’t pay for the nail polish, you know. It was just so easy to take it. So I did. Tucked it up my sleeve. But the trick is not to leave right away; that’s too obvious. You gotta walk around, like you’re still shopping. Look like you haven’t found what you’re looking for. D’accord? So I go into the tampon products. Always a safe place; no one wants to talk to a girl surrounded by pads and plugs. And there he is, the man of the hour. Jason Hutchins. In the tampon aisle. He doesn’t see me see him, but he grabbed a pregnancy test. One of those Early Response things. Shoved it in a pocket in his cargos. You know the ones he always wore. The Hutch uniform of sorts. You okay?”
“Huh? Oh.…” Devon realized her mouth was hanging open. “Of course.” She exhaled and sat up straighter in her chair. “So, you were saying Hutch bought a pregnancy test?”
“Stole. Hutch stole a pregnancy test. Aren’t you listening? Anyways, he puts the box in his pants just as he turns and sees me. He knows I know. And classic Hutch, he winks at me and walks right out of the store.” Cleo tucked her hair behind her ears again. She leaned back in her chair and looked at Devon like she was waiting for a prize.
“He walked right out? He didn’t get busted?”
Cleo laughed. “Oh no, the alarm went off. The store manager grabbed him the second he tried to walk out. And then the manager, connard, grabbed my arm too. Walked me and Hutch to his little back office. You know, it’s sad. A man his age with an office that size. Kinda pathetic he has to get off busting teenagers. But c’est la vie, right?”
Devon stared back down at her notebook. Cleo’s French-isms were crossing the wires in her head. Did Cleo always talk like this? Maybe they’d never had that long of a conversation before. How could she without pulling her hair out or craving a croissant? “Wait, sorry, I’m confused. Hutch also got caught shoplifting? Why didn’t the school know about it?”
Cleo leaned forward and her voice dropped to just above a whisper. “Dig this. So Hutch and I are sitting there in this guy’s office. I’m sweating it a little. I mean, if the store complains to Keaton I could get expelled, and that involves dealing with my parents, non merci, if you know what I mean. But, Hutch, he’s whistling. Literally whistling in his chair. Not a care in the world. It’s almost infectious, you know Hutch. So I try to joke with him about that pregnancy test because, come on, I want to know who it’s for considering he and Isla broke up over the summer.”
“You knew about that?” Devon realized how petty that sounded. She put the lid back on her pen. Taking notes at this point would just slow the story down.
“Of course. I make a point to know these things.”
“So, who is it for? Was it for, I mean? Did you find out?”
Cleo’s ruby lips curled in a smirk. “Wait, it gets better. God I love that kid. Loved, past tense, sorry. So Hutch leans over to me and whispers, ‘Don’t tell anyone. But I’m late.’ And winks at me again. And then, here’s where it gets interesting. That kid that works in the pharmacy, Bodhi, comes in.”
Devon blinked. She wanted to grab Cleo by that stupid black sweater and yell in her face, Who did he steal the damn pregnancy test for? TELL ME!
“You know, Bodhi Elliot?” Cleo said, reveling in milking the suspense. “He graduated Keaton a few years ago. His little sister