Dada: Chapter 11a

   After a few minutes of silence, Sam quips, "So, is this your first trip to New York?  With your condition and all."
    "Yep.  Actually, I was supposed to go to New York on a school trip my junior year of high school, but things just turned out all wrong.  Messed up beyond anything."  And that was an understatement.
    "How bad could it have been?" Sam asked.
    "It all started with the candy bars.  Everyone had to sell a bunch of boxes to help pay for the trip.  Everyone got twelve boxes with thirty bars each, and two months to sell them.  Most sold theirs within a month.  Rick went down to the sheriff's department where his dad worked and sold all of his the first week.  Meanwhile, I had barely sold two boxes after a month.  I just couldn't sell anything.  Finally, my mom agreed to take a few boxes to sell at work.  The next day, six were missing.
    "About a two weeks later, I had finally sold my last box.  I was just about the only one who was still selling, and people still wanted to help out.  My mom was already home when I got back from school.  She had some bad news.  Someone robbed her at work.  She had taken he weekly pay from the bank, and someone had apparently got to it when she wasn't looking.  She had hidden it where she thought no one could take it, but it went missing.  She blamed a temp who had just left or maybe one of the clients, but she didn't have any proof.  She had taken the rest of the day off to recover, somewhat.  What was worse was that all of my candy money was taken as well.  So, we not only would not have as much money to last until her next paycheck, but I wouldn't have enough money to go on the trip."
     "That doesn't sound too bad.  Yeah, you missed out, but I don't see it as being as horrible as you said," Sam squeaked.   Seriously, his voice cracks so randomly, I can barely take it.
      "On the day after the rest of the group left to New York, including my best friends, me being the only one in the entire academic squad not going, I saw my grandma eating one of the school candy bars.  She had taken one of my boxes that I thought my mom had.  She had been eating them for weeks without paying for them!  When I confronted her, she just shrugged it off.  It was her last bar, and besides, it was now too late to do anything about it.  She actually said that to my face.  She stole from me, and the school, and she wasn't going to pay for the bars she took.  Sure, it was too late for me to go, but it was the principle of the thing, you know."
      "Still, that's not really that bad," Sam tries to come back, but I still have more to say.
      "The following summer, I got a temporary job working at my mom's office.  There I found out from one of her co-workers that she never reported a robbery.  There wasn't even any temps working at the time.  In fact, the worker told me that my mom actually bought a new computer system part to enhance the office's about the same time.  My own mother had taken the money I needed for my trip and used for herself!  I never confronted her about it, but I made sure it wouldn't happen again.  I saved up every cent I made that summer got make sure I would have more than enough money for next year's trip to DC, without having to worry about selling candy or relying on my mom, again.
        "On the first day of senior year, the principal made a huge announcement.  The school board was facing a major budget crunch, and certain cuts had to be made.  One was insurance for school functions.  Only sporting and academic events would be paid for, everything else would be on notice. That meant the cost for my non-school sanctioned group would have to pay twice as much to go on any trips.  There wasn't enough time to make up that much money before we were supposed to go, so the trip to DC was cancelled, until the next school year.  We still sold candy and stuff, but it wasn't going to benefit me in the slightest.  And it gets worse."
        "How could it get worse?"  Sam had to ask.
        "That February, I was asked to the principle's office.  It turned out that I had some outstanding fees and would not be allowed to graduate until they were paid off.  I still owed money for the boxes of candy bars I didn't sell.  I had just enough money in my own account to pay it off, without having to tell my mom.  So, because of her, I not only missed out on taking a major trip to a place I might never had got to see otherwise, but I almost didn't graduate, all because of my mom and grandmother's cheap ways.  To this day, I haven't told anyone, not even my friends, about what happened.  I not sure why I even told you."
         Sam just sat there, before quietly saying, "Moms can be mean," before turning back to the window.  Staring at the passing road.
        "By the way, I think you missed your exit a few miles back," Sam cracked up a few seconds later.