Things We Never Got Over

Naomi arrives at Honky Tonk for her shift. With her poker winnings, she wants to buy a car. The other servers can tell she and Knox had sex and demand to know details. She is just starting to feel good about her life when she gets a text from Sloane alerting her that Waylay is being singled out by her teacher. Without hesitating, Naomi heads to the school to confront Mrs. Felch. Naomi is astounded when Mrs. Felch readily acknowledges her actions and states, “Way is being treated the way she deserves to be treated” (278). Before she can respond, however, Naomi becomes aware that someone else is in the classroom.

When Knox arrives at Honky Tonk, the staff tells him about the message from the school. Unlike Naomi, Knox understands the implications of the teacher’s cruelty toward Waylay: Tina slept with her husband just a few months earlier. Certain that Naomi is walking into a trap, Knox hurries to the school.

In the bar parking lot, he finds his grandmother with Naomi’s parents. They are worried because Waylay never came home from school. Together, they all caravan to the school. They arrive at Mrs. Felch’s room just as Mrs.