Guilty

Summer watched the sunrise above the trees just before she cranked her Toyota Camry and went to her grandmother’s. Her grandmother lived right around the corner from the University and always got up just before first light. Summer got out of the car and banged on the porch door. She could see Granny looking through the curtains.

Granny opened the door.

“What you want?"

Summer smiled.

"Some tea would be good.

“Come on in. I think you need more than tea. But maybe my special formula will knock some sense into you.”

Summer sat down at Granny’s oak table while her grandmother opened the refrigerator.

Granny placed a pitcher on the table and grabbed a glass from the cupboard.

Summer took a long sip. There was nothing like Granny’s tea.

Granny sat down at the table across from Summer.

“So I hear you got yourself into some trouble at that University.”

“Yes,” Summer said. Her lip quivered. “It wasn’t my fault.” She was amazed at how fast information got around, but her grandmother was always the first person to get the news.

Granny’s nostrils flared.

“Maybe not. But you gotta own up for your part in it. I told you not to hang out with Mr. Silly Britches.”

Summer nodded.

“We never were serious. He was just fun. And we were joking around.”

“Yes, and how funny was it when they came and hauled you off to the jailhouse?”

Summer looked down.

“You gotta think more about the kind of company you keep. I bet he ain’t owned up to his part in the whole ordeal.”

Summer stared at her glass.

"No," she said. "This crazy English professor, Bernice Steen, thinks it's all my faut. And she believes I'm a threat to the school."

Granny’s eyes lit up.

“Oh shoot. That ole Bernice. Worked with her at the soup kitchen. Maybe I need to have a chat with her. She’ll come around. Her ex is a well-known lawyer in town. You better get you one.”

A tear rolled down Summer’s cheek.

“Now don’t start sniveling. You are a Lancaster woman. Now is no time to give up. What you need to do is find out more about that Dickerson family.”

“How?”

Granny looked up for a moment.

“You go down to the records office. See how many people they've sued. I've already done some asking around," Granny said.

Summer shrugged. Whenever Granny asked her to do something, there usually was a reason for it.

Granny slammed her fist on the table. "And find yourself some better friends.”

Summer bit her lip and blushed. She felt like a stranger in her hometown. It was hard to talk to people, and she wasn’t interested in going to church. Many people in her town went to church to seek social support.  She felt out of place at the artsy events with the super yuppy wannabes, and her childhood friends had moved away. She had been wanting to leave town, but she wasn’t sure how. It reminded her of the Hotel California song about how one can never check out. Right now she wasn’t allowed to go anywhere until her preliminary hearing.

Granny poured her some more tea.

“You listen. I want you to be careful and don’t be wandering around the place by yourself. You know anyone can say you did something. Be careful who you trust.”

Summer put down her glass.

“I feel like I can’t trust anyone.”

"Well, you got me. As I always say, the truth will out, but you gotta do your part.”

Summer felt queasy but the tea helped. How could she not make any mistakes? And how could she trust anyone? Why did she become friends with Hal anyway? Her shyness made her vulnerable and she had a way of attracting toxic people. But Granny had a sixth sense about people and helped her get out of bad situations many times.

“And I want to study hard. Don’t let this interfere with your education. That’s your ticket out of this town. You got a good imagination, and you can be somebody,” Granny said. Summer struggled to smile. Granny always told her she was good at something, but Summer was never sure what and how.

The air felt very cold and Summer shivered. How could a smart person be in a situation like her? it was all so surreal and ridiculous, but she would listen to Granny. Granny was always right about people, and Summer decided she was better off not having any friends than hanging out with losers like Hal. She still couldn't believe that he sent the Uncle Fester doll to Sue and that the doll was construed as a bomb threat. She should've never been drinking with him and it was dumb to allow him to use her Amazon account.

After Summer finished her tea, she felt refreshed.

Granny looked out the window.

"It's gonna be a pretty day. Why don't you go for a walk? It will help get your mind off things. And, maybe we can take a trip to the mountains," Granny said. Summer pushed her glass away and nodded.

"Yes, that would be nice. "

"Things will work out," Granny said. "And we'll go to the mountains. Just the two of us. We'll sneak off, and it won't be no one else's business." Granny giggled.

"I'd love to," Summer said. "But i gotta go to my first class."

"Remember what i told you," Granny said.

Granny led her to the door and stood on the carport while Summer pulled out of the driveway. Granny waved and watched her leave. The trees appeared incandescent in the early morning light. Summer took a deep breath. Even though she felt like she couldn't trust anyone at the university, she would always have Granny, and Granny was so good at obtaining information. Summer still wondered if indeed she was guilty of some incomprehensible crime. Why would the English professor invest so much time and energy trying to convince others that she was a threat to the school because of an Uncle Fester doll? When Summer heard voices going through her head, she constantly questioned her sanity. Did she threaten someone while she was in a trance? Was she having trouble with her memory? Why did she have such poor judgment about people?

But Granny was right--she shouldn't give up or allow them to convince her that she was indeed a threat to humanity. Summer grinned when she thought about going to the records office at the courthouse. Granny must be onto something. Summer decided she'd go for a nice long walk before she began her research. The cool air would help her focus better. Somehow the truth would come out eventually, and maybe one day Bernice would apologize to her face.