didn’t take very long before my mother made her way through the front door. Just like I expected she came into the kitchen noisily; click-clack, click-clack.
“Hey,” Mom said before picking up the stack of mail from the counter.
“Hi. There’s still some mac and cheese left in the pot on the stove if you want some.”
She shook her head. “No, I already ate. Why are you eating so late?”
“I don’t know, just am.”
“What were you doing?”
“Just hung out with someone I met at the last dance.” I peeked out from beneath my eyelashes, confirming her raised eyebrow at my mention of meeting someone new.
“So, was this someone a boy?” I shrugged and took another bite of food as Mom tapped her fingers on the counter impatiently. I knew she wanted more, but I figured I’d give her just enough to satisfy her curiosity. Taking the last bite, I got up to rinse my dish out in the sink. My back was turned to her so that I didn’t have to face her while telling her about Jensen.
“The guy I met is named Jensen and he’s a junior. Aria introduced us.”
“He’s two years older than you,” Mom pointed out.
“Actually, just one; he skipped first grade.” It wasn’t a lie, really. He hadn’t turned seventeen yet, although his birthday was coming up. I could hear my mother breathe a small sigh of relief.
“He’s really nice, Mom; you’d like him. He also treats me very well. You should meet him.” I was surprised at my comment. I hadn’t had any intention of her meeting him this soon, but now I felt trapped. I turned to look at her and wasn’t surprised to see her leaning against the counter with her arms crossed.
“Meet him?” She seemed surprised at the thought. “When?”
My mom stood straight and unfolded her arms, grabbing the counter with both hands as if she was about to pull herself up on top of the counter. She didn’t.
“Um, well,” I said, searching for words. “I’m supposed to go to his house for dinner next Saturday. How about then?” I felt like I couldn’t stop talking for some reason. This was the most time we’d spent discussing anything, and before I knew it I’d committed him to meeting her. It was something I wasn’t exactly thrilled about.
“Okay, next Saturday. I’ll make sure I’m here when he comes to pick you up. When is he coming?”
I told her that since Jensen and I were planning on spending the whole day together, it was likely that he’d be picking me up Saturday morning. Mom said that she had a house showing and needed to out by ten, so Jensen coming over early would work out just fine. Her suggestion that ‘I confirm it with him,’ like she would a secretary, irritated me some but I bit my lip. At least she was interested in who I was spending time with.
“Alright, I’ll confirm with him,” I acquiesced. “Goodnight.” I got up from the table and put my bowl and spoon in the dishwasher. As I walked upstairs, I could hear her scraping the rest of the mac and cheese out of the pot and the clanking sound her heels made as she walked over to the couch to sit in front of the television.
I climbed into bed and had trouble getting to sleep. I kept thinking of my day with Jensen, the way he touched me, the things he said, and how his lips felt on mine. I must have thought about it to the point of exhaustion as I eventually fell asleep, dreaming of our day together.
“Mia, are you up yet?” I sat up and blinked a few times. My mom was at my open door, holding out the phone; apparently Aria was on the other end saying she’d be over in an hour. I had trouble registering what my mom was saying, so I only nodded and waved her away to show I was still waking up. Somehow I managed to comprehend what she said. She talked into the phone again and sweetly said that I was still waking up and that she’d see Aria soon. She even called Aria “honey.” It bothered me how nice my mother was to my friends, almost like she was putting up a front.
I sighed and swung my feet over the edge of the bed, stretching my arms above my head. After picking out a pair of jeans and one of my favorite No Fear t-shirts, I took a quick shower, got dressed, and slowly walked down the stairs, dreading what my conversation with my mother would be like. However; when I got down to the kitchen, she was nowhere in sight. I peeked out the window over the kitchen sink and saw that her car was gone. Letting out a sigh of relief, I hoped she would stay out the whole day. The previous night had been awkward, if not downright uncomfortable.
After grabbing some oatmeal for breakfast, I unlocked the front door and went back upstairs to brush my teeth. Aria arrived about that time and let herself in the front door just as I was coming back down. I went to dig around in my book bag and was pulling out my geometry book when Aria strolled in.
“Hey, you’re alive,” she announced, dropping her book bag to the floor. “I need loads of help with that stupid essay for English. Is Krissa coming over? She’s good at writing. Wish I could pay her to write it for me.” Aria spoke a mile a minute.
“No, you don’t,” I said simply, sitting down at the table.
“Yeah, I do.”
I regarded her and said, “Remember when Kylie once had Krissa write one of her assignments and she almost got expelled?”
“See, she got caught. I wouldn’t because I’m crafty.”
“Uh, huh.”
I opened my book, looking for the chapter on proofs. I despised geometry and knew Krissa was great with math. The thought of waiting for her to arrive crossed my mind because I knew my assignment would frustrate me to the point of throwing the book out the window. Why not? I closed the book and focused on Aria.
“Let me see what you have so far with your essay.” I held out my hand. She was bent over her notebook with a pen in hand scratching something out, but she reluctantly handed it over.
“I suppose you’re done,” she said with a smirk.
“Of course; I did it when it was assigned two weeks ago. It’s even typed.”
“Nerd.” She rolled her eyes at me. Aria started to say something else in retaliation, but I held up my index finger to let her know I was reading and to please not disturb me. She sighed and sat back in her chair with annoyance seeping off her. I finished reading five minutes later and tossed the essay back to her.
“You’re hopeless, Aria; better wait for Krissa.”
“Gee, thanks, you’re a load of help.” I smirked at her obvious annoyance with me.
Aria usually did the bare minimum when it came to school work, so I suggested that she put more of herself into her essay by sharing certain things with the reader. I also told her that giving her point of view just might help her and the reader connect. She listened to my advice with her mouth opened like she’d never heard me talk about writing before.
“You’re serious?” It was more of a statement. I shook my head and laughed, which only annoyed her further.
Ten minutes later, I heard a car in
