The New Neighbor

Chapter 12: Snake Charmer

A knock came at the door, rousing Mellie in the morning. Frank stuck his head in the door and called, "Jax?"

Jax sat up quickly and Mellie grabbed the covers to keep them over her chest. That seemed to remind Jax that she was topless. He tucked the comforter at her side before he got out of the bed on the far side, all his motions quick, almost frantic. He looked at Frank and winced. "Good morning, professor. Sorry about this." Mellie stifled the giggle that wanted out. It was cute that he was still embarrassed.

Frank nodded. "Morning. Your—"

He stopped speaking when a woman pushed into the doorway and peeked inside. "Hello, Jax."

"Mom!" Jax glanced around the floor, dove for something, and came back up pulling his shirt on. It was Mellie's turn to squeak softly and throw the covers over her head. Jax said, "Uh. Hi. Sorry. We fell asleep last night."

Jax's mother said, "Yes, I see. You forgot your phone at home last night. When you weren't there, and I found the phone, I came over here to see if you were here. And here you are. Hello, Mellie."

Jax chuckled softly as Mellie slowly pulled the covers down from her head, holding them high on her neck. Wincing, she said, "Good morning, Mrs. Woods."

Jax's mother waved her hand and said, "Please, call me Sarah. Mrs. Woods sounds far too formal after a situation like this." Mellie blushed. "Oh, that reminds me. I've been wanting to invite you two over for dinner. How does Friday sound?"

Frank smiled and said, "Friday is good for me. Mellie?"

Mellie said, "Yeah, sure."

Sarah said, "Great. Eight o'clock?"

Jax grinned. "Mom, you never get dinner ready before nine."

Frowning at her son, Sarah said, "I normally serve dinner at nine because you and the band practice until after eight. I am fully capable of serving dinner at eight."

Obviously trying not to laugh, Jax said, "Yes, ma'am."

Grinning, Frank said, "Eight would be perfect, Sarah. Thank you." He looked at Mellie and asked, "You getting up, Mellie? You need to get ready for school."

Jax rushed around the bed as Mellie said, "Yes, in just a second, daddy."

Jax smiled at the adults and put his arms out to herd them out the door as he said, "Come on. Let's give Mellie a moment to recover from this rude awakening." Frank chuckled, but he and Sarah left with Jax. The door was closed behind them, courtesy of Jax. Mellie got up and pulled a shirt on before she crossed the hall to the bathroom.

Jake smiled at Mellie in homeroom. She didn't smile, but nor did she frown, before she looked straight ahead again. Everything else seemed the same. When she visited the band that evening, she asked the group, "Are there any quiet restaurants?"

Jax asked, "Why? You almost never go out to eat, Mellie."

"Yeah, because most are crowded and noisy. I was just thinking that I might like to go out to eat if there were any quiet ones."

This sparked a debate among all their friends. Some claimed places were quiet, while others had a completely different experience there. It was discovered the discrepancy was due to timing. Marissa asked Mellie, "What time would you want to go?"

Mellie shrugged. "Maybe eight?"

This set off another round of discussion. The conclusion was she would have better luck going at six. Jax said, "The day of the week would make a huge difference too. When were you thinking of going, Mellie?"