Preppy: The Life & Death of Samuel Clearwater, Part One
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PREPPY

“Samuel, would you like to join us?” Mirna asked, without opening her eyes. Dre shot me a narrow glare.
“Sorry for the interruption,” I said, sitting down on the grass, “Mirna, but your granddaughter looks like a younger, less attractive version of yourself, so I couldn’t help but stare.”
“Samuel!” Mirna scolded, but I could hear the hint of laughter in her words.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, feeling Dre’s stare on me.
Her body heat.
A hand touched my shoulder and my eyes shot open. I looked up to find Mirna hovering above me. “Samuel?”
“Yeah?” I turned to get another look of Dre’s tits, but she wasn’t there. The sun wasn’t either. It had been early afternoon when I’d gotten there.
Hadn’t it?
“Did I fall asleep?”
Mirna laughed. “You’ve been in the same position for three hours. I don’t think you were asleep.”
Mirna helped me up off the grass by my elbow, and I tucked her arm under mine as we walked back to the house. “I believe they call it transcendence,” she said, extending her hand toward the sky and making the shape of a rainbow, like she was talking about something out of this world.
“Transcendence?” I asked, scratching my beard. “Oh yeah, I know what that is.”
“You do?” Mirna asked.
“Yeah, I had it once after a bad batch of shrooms, had to get my stomach pumped.”
“You’re a smart ass just like my Andrea,” she said, pinching my arm. I took a seat at the table while she opened the oven and used her finger to check on one of the cookies on the tray. The kitchen filled with the sweet smell of chocolate that made my mouth water. “Don’t let the state you found her in fool you, my granddaughter is a lot more than just a screwed up kid.” She pulled a photo album from the shelf above the table and tossed it onto the counter in front of me. “Look for yourself.”
I opened it up and discovered that it was full of report cards. All with the name Andrea Capulet.
“Wait, Capulet? Like Romeo and Juliet shit?”
Mirna smiled and nodded. “Yup, exactly like that. When Becky married Andrea’s dad, Rick and I thought it was quite endearing, not realizing it would end almost as tragically.”
Although the colors of the report cards, as well as the teachers names and the subjects changed, the letters of the grades remained the same on every page of every card.
All A’s. Not a single B. Not even an A-.
“Wow. My report card was a lot more diverse than this one,” I said, flipping pages.
“Diverse?”
“There was a lot more of the alphabet used.” I closed the album and slid it back across the desk.
“Yet, you are the smartest young man I know.” She opened the cabinet and took out her favorite teacups.
“Awe shucks, Mirna,” I said, dramatically batting my eyelashes. She swatted me with an oven mitt.
“But if those grades don’t show you how smart she is, this should,” she said, lowering her voice to a whisper. She opened a drawer and pulled out a large envelope. She slid a thick stack of paper over to me.
“Why are we whispering?” I asked.
“She doesn’t know that I know this. Look.” It was pages upon pages of cancelled checks, stapled to reports. All the checks were made out to cash. A stamp over them read FRAUD in bold red.
“I assume that these are the ones she forged?” I asked.
“You would assume correctly.”
“Forging signatures doesn’t prove she’s smart. It proves the opposite, actually,” I pointed out.
“Samuel,” she said, sliding the papers back to me. “She didn’t just sign the checks. She MADE the checks. Security seals and all.” And, although Mirna should be pissed that Dre ripped her off, there was no mistaking the pride in her voice.
I looked closer, ripping one out of its stapled hold and sure enough, security seal and all, watermarks, account code, it was a masterpiece. “Wow,” I said, impressed.
“If you’re not pissed, why don’t you tell her that you know?” I asked.
“The same reason I haven’t told her that I know she had a part in robbing your plants.” She breathed deeply. “Because I’m losing my mind, Samuel, and I refuse to lose my granddaughter again before it’s gone completely. There isn’t enough time for anger or alienation. Not anymore.”
“You know, if Grace hadn’t already sort of adopted me as her own, I’d totally cheat on her with you,” I said.
“Oh, no. Grace is one tough bird. She’s been dealing with you boys for a long time, and I’m not sure I could have done half as good of a job as she has.” Mirna checked on the cookies again, this time removing the tray and replacing it immediately with another uncooked batch. “Besides, I’m pretty sure she could kick my ass.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to fuck with Grace either,” I said, reminding myself to call the cancer center when I left to check up on her.
“Why are you telling me this? Why is it important that I know that she’s smart?” I asked.
Mirna grabbed my hand in hers. “Because I want you to know that I’m losing my mind. I’m not stupid. I know the way business works. I know the way your business works. She’s around because you showed mercy.”
“I wouldn’t call it mercy, exactly,” I said, although, I didn’t know what I actually would call it. “She gets a pass because she’s your granddaughter and that fucks with business on a different level. It’s not a big deal.”
“What did you do to the person who did that to her?” Mirna asked, her forwardness taking me off guard.
I sat back in the chair. “What do you think I did?”
“You forget that I’m a perceptive old bird. Been around the block or two myself,” she paused and sighed. “From what she’s told me, I think you saved my granddaughter and did what you had to do to protect your business and her…and I thank you for it. You didn’t know she was my granddaughter when you did that and it is a big deal to me, even if it’s not to you. The reason I need you to know how smart she is, is because I need you to know who you’ve given a second chance to.” She nodded to the stack. “Look in the back.”