her legs seductively just as Mr. Danielson turned around from the board. Cash shook her head and opened her science book to the day’s assigned page.
She had just started re-reading the assignment when she heard a soft cough from Sharon. She looked toward the front of the room where Mr. Danielson had gone back to writing on the board. Cash could tell from the way Sharon was leaning back grinning at her that she was sitting with her legs sprawled wide open. When Sharon caught Cash’s eye, she laughed and sat up straight. Mr. Danielson turned around at the laugh, looking at Sharon, who turned back to look at Cash again. When she did, Mr. Danielson followed her eyes to the back of the room. Damn, thought Cash, dipping her head downward, pretending to read from the book.
The classroom filled. For the next forty minutes, Mr. Danielson expounded on the virtues of photosynthesis, all the while talking about the hibiscus plant and trees in the rain forest. It wasn’t until he briefly mentioned that algae also use photosynthesis that Cash wrote in her notebook—horse tanks.
Cash was more intrigued by the interplay of personalities happening at the front of the room anyways. Sharon would raise her hand and ask a random, useless question. When Mr. Danielson looked at her to respond, Sharon would posture in ways that sent a signal to everyone in the room that she was flirting with him. Her antics weren’t lost on Mr. Danielson. He stood a little straighter when answering her. By the end of the class, he was sitting on the large wooden desk facing the class, his long legs, in blue jeans, stretched out in front of him, feet crossed at the ankles, while he and Sharon talked about whether or not plants needed photosynthesis to reproduce. No one in the class was taking notes. They were all watching the not-at-all-subtle dance happening between teacher and student. When one of the male students slammed his textbook shut, some kids in the class jumped. They all looked at the clock and started shifting out of their chairs, getting their books and other belongings together as Mr. Danielson stood up quickly and said, “Read Chapter 7, pages 212-245. There will be a test tomorrow. See you all then.”
Cash was walking out the door when Sharon called her back. Cash turned. Sharon was standing by the desk with Mr. Danielson standing right next to her. “Cash, do you have a piece of paper I can borrow, to write down tomorrow’s assignment on?” Sharon asked with wide-eyed innocence.
Cash almost kept on walking, but Mr. Danielson said, “Cash. I haven’t seen that name on the class roster. Is that a nickname?”
Cash took a step back into the room and looked up at him. He was looking at her the way she had seen farmers look at livestock—curious, interested, assessing the livestock’s temperament, determining how easy they could be led into the chute that got them on the truck to take to the slaughter market. Cash shivered, pulling her books close across her chest.
Sharon answered for her. “She just goes by Cash. Her real name is Renee. Do you have a piece of paper?” she asked again.
Without moving farther into the room, Cash set her books down on the closest desk and ripped a piece of paper out of her notebook. She held it out at arm’s length so Sharon had to walk toward her to get it. “Come on, let’s go.” Cash looked hard in Sharon’s eyes as Sharon took the paper. “Come on.”
“I have to get the assignment,” said Sharon, smiling stupidly.
“Looks like you have gotten all A’s on your quizzes so far, Renee. Renee Blackbear?” said Mr. Danielson looking through his grade book.
Cash stayed where she was, close to the door. The thought flashed through her mind that maybe it would be a really good idea to test out of this class for more reasons than just not having to sit in class. Cash stood silent as Sharon walked back toward Mr. Danielson, her hips swinging under her miniskirt. When she bent over the desk to write, the skirt rode up indecently. The move was not lost on Mr. Danielson. “Sharon, let’s go,” said Cash.
“Do you offer a way to get extra credit for those of us who don’t quite understand the sciences?” asked Sharon, finally standing up and tucking her pencil behind her ear. A couple students entered the classroom, jostling past Cash who was still standing by the doorway.
“You could stop by my office at the end of the day,” he answered Sharon with a smile that made Cash want to gag. “I have a class in here in three minutes.” He gestured toward the students filing into the classroom.
Sharon turned toward Cash, hips still swinging. At the same time, a slender blonde approached the teacher. He turned his full attention, the attention he had just poured out on Sharon, on the blonde, who laughed and smiled hello to him.
In the hallway, Cash said, “Are you out of your mind? That guy’s a total creep.”
“No, he’s not. He’s hot.”
“Drop it, Sharon.”
“I’m going to see what kind of ‘extra credit’ he offers.”
“Don’t.”
“Come on, don’t be such a fuddy duddy.” Sharon was almost skipping down the flight of stairs that would take them out of the building. “I’m in looooove!”
“You already have a boyfriend. Don’t be stupid. He’s old enough to be your dad.”
“He is not!”
Cash pushed open the door to outside. “He’s a creep.”
“Renee! Renee!” A male voice called out behind them as they reached the bottom step outside the science building. Sharon turned around, almost tripping. She whispered, “He’s calling you!”
“Huh?”
“Renee.”
Mr. Danielson was standing right behind them. He held her notebook in his hand. “You left this on the desk. You might need your notes for the quiz tomorrow. If you wanted to stop by the office sometime…even A students can use extra credit. Gotta get back to the classroom.” He sprinted back up the stairs. “See you later this afternoon, Sharon,” he called back.
Cash looked at Sharon and said firmly, “He is a creep. Stay away from him and his stupid extra credit.” Sharon pouted until they parted company midway across campus.
Cash went to judo. Self-defense was a priority after she had been grabbed twice earlier in the fall. The first time was by the Day Dodge kids up on the Red Lake Reservation where she had gone to help after their dad was murdered and their mom died. The second was when the guys who had killed their dad had nabbed her off the main street of Halstad and threatened to kill her. Though Cash traveled with a .22 rifle, she felt she needed some maneuvering skills. Both times she’d been nabbed, her rifle was tucked behind the seat of her Ranchero.
After judo class, she grabbed a tuna sandwich at the Silver Cup and then headed north out of town to spend anther night driving beet truck.
The evening was dull until Jim Jenson climbed into the cab of her truck while she was waiting to dump a load of beets. Jim was wearing a plaid wool shirt, his thermal undershirt visible at the neck, and the standard farmer blue jeans. Grinning, he slid across the cracked leather seat of the International Harvester truck and nuzzled her neck. “Where you been, Cash? I need me some Cash.” The hair on the nape of her neck tickled.
“Ahh, get away,” she said, pushing against his skinny chest. “Stop—that gives me the shivers.”
“Where you been? You’re never at the Casbah anymore.
