Finding Kimber

“Kimmy. You ready?” Jacob called, sitting on the top stairs. “We need to leave.” He spun his new car keys around his finger.

“Yeah, I’m ready. Where’d you get the keys?” Kimber slipped her bag over her shoulder as she reached Jacob.

“Mom and Dad were going to surprise us with it last night. Then you pulled your stunt, and they gave me the keys this morning. It’s supposedly just my car. But it’s not like I’m gonna hog it. Let’s go.” He ran up the stairs and out the garage door.

A dark blue Chevy Cobalt sat at the end of driveway. Jacob was already at the driver’s side door by the time Kimber got out of the garage.

“How did I miss this when I came home last night?” She questioned as she ran her hand along the hood.

“It was in the neighbour’s driveway. They made sure to hide it. Now come on, get in.” Jacob got in, quickly starting the car.



They walked into a large stone building, almost penitentiary looking. They had already received schedules, and knew they had homeroom together, but after that, they were on their own, much to Kimber’s dismay.

She was never this nervous when she started a new school. When they started school, they were in the same class, all through elementary. So, when they started middle school, she had made plenty of friends to help her adjust, and so she wasn’t lonely. Now, all she has is Jacob, and they only spend twenty minutes together.

The hallway was full of teenagers, some walking in couples, some huddling in groups by lockers. Kimber felt even more out of place.

When they reached their class, they found a table together in the back of the room. A beautiful girl approached Kimber and Jacob, smiling.

“Hi, I just wanted to say, your hair looks really nice. My mom would never let me do that. Oh, oops. I’m Annabeth Joseph, but most people call me Beth.” She introduced herself and sat at the table in front of them.

Jacob leaned over and whispered, “She’s really hot.”

“I guess.” Kimber whispered back as the teacher walked in. She really wanted to tell her brother that she agreed. This was the only secret she had ever kept from Jacob, she liked girls.



“Hey, Allison, right?” Beth said, sitting in a desk beside her in 4th period English.

“Kimber, please. I don’t like the name Allison.” Kimber smiled at the girl.

“Oh, I apologize. If you don’t mind me asking, if you prefer the name Kimber, why don’t you correct teachers?”

“My mother would find out. She yelled at me last night for changing it on the enrollment papers. That’s what led to this.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “She kept saying if I was going to go by Kimber, she’d treat me like a ‘harlot’. So, I gave her a reason to think like that. Jake was the only one who approved of it. And that’s good enough for me.” She laughed and went back to drawing in her sketchbook.

“You two are really close, aren’t you?” Beth said.

“Super. We even shared a room for a couple years. Then Matthew got moved back into our parents’ room, so they put him back with the boys. However, being my parents, they made us keep a curtain pulled across the room the whole time he was there.” Kimber laughed softly as the teacher started to quiet them down.



When the bell was about to ring, Beth handed Kimber a small piece of paper.