Hello Again, Sir {s/t - complete}

What About Now?: 20.

Kodie slammed the door shut behind her and clicked her seatbelt in, letting my swiftly drive off to my parents’ house. “Did you lock the door?” I asked. “Because if I come home to find it trashed, I won’t be best pleased.” 

                “Do I look like I’m capable of locking a door?” Kodie joked, jingling the keys in front of her so I could hear them even though, because I was driving, I couldn’t see them.

                “Yes.”

                “Well then. You have nothing to worry about.” She replied happily. “I locked the door.”

                I smiled and quickly glanced over to her. “Good.”

                “Remind me again why I have to go to your parents with you? Aren’t I intruding?”

                I slowed down, realising we’d hit minor traffic on our way from my end of town to my parents. “My mother wants to see you because she’s become very fond of you. Plus, I’m not going to eat and just leave you at home to starve.”

                “You know, you’re in a better mood.” 

                “I am.” Jenny wasn’t going to put me down and she wasn’t going to ring again. If she did, I’d just have to keep my phone off the hook. She’d rung yesterday, and today at college I’d had enough time to think rationally about things and calm down. I still made a mental note to not answer the phone to Jenny’s number again. I didn’t want to encourage her.

                “Good.”

                The conversation died down then and I changed gears as the traffic began moving swiftly. A song I didn’t know the name of, but recognised the tune, came on and I tapped my finger against the steering wheel to the beat. I glanced at Kodie again, realising she’d gone very quiet but she smiled back at me happily and I turned to the road again.

                Then a thought entered my mind and I quickly frowned, turning left. “Hey, Kodie?”

                “Yes M—Alex? You know, it’s still annoying having to change from Mr. Clarke, to Alex, and back to Mr. Clarke again.”

                “I know. Sorry.”

                “No don’t apologise. What did you want to talk about?”

                “I was just wondering, I know you have some of your things when we went back to get them. But I’ve just realised I don’t know when you’re going to be able to go back and get your things. That day was a one off, wasn’t it? I mean, aren’t they usually always in? How’re you going to get more stuff?”

                She shrugged and I saw from the corner of my eye that she was playing with her hair. “I don’t know. I only need a few more things. But it’s fine, I’ll get my things.”

                “Okay.” I replied quietly.

                Silence took over the car again for a moment with only the radio speaking, the song had since finished and a presenter on radio one was talking about something that neither of us was paying attention too. Then Kodie spoke.

                “I need to find a job first, anyway.”

                By reaction my foot hit the brake a little harder than I intended and my seatbelt dug into my collar bone. “What for? I earn enough money to keep the both of us and it’s not like you’re demanding.”

                “I want to get a job,” she explained, chuckling at me. “There’s a trip that I want to go on and I have to save up for it and pay you back and get a flat and figure this all out. Maybe I’ll apply for student accommodation by the college. I’d never thought of that before.”

                “But you live with me.” it felt weird, hearing Kodie talk about getting a flat. Did she want to move out? She’d been with me for a short period of time, she wanted to leave already?

                “And I’m intruding.”

                “No you’re not!” I said quickly. “Not at all. I like the company. Besides, it’s not like I have a wife or anything to come home to every night. The house isn’t crowded.”

                “Aren’t you worried that Mr. Montgomery will find out?” she said quickly. “That other dude was fired just a couple of weeks ago! You think he won’t fire you, too?”

                “I’d tell him the truth.”

                “He’d think you were lying, Alex.”

                I sighed as we pulled upto my parents’ house. Kodie was right. But Chester was an understandable man, surely he’d listen for the facts. But then, wasn’t I supposed to have gone to the authorities about this in the beginning? Because I didn’t, would Chester think I was lying?

                I wasn’t doing anything, just simply helping out a student and if worst came to the worse, I’d have Kodie go over to toby’s house for the night whilst things blew over – if it ever were to come to that. Not that I would really put Kodie with Toby anyway. I didn’t want them to meet. Poor girl would run for the hills.

                Still, things with Toby and Jolene seemed to be going well.

                “Everything’s perfect at the moment, let’s keep it that way. We’ll figure out this job thing, if you really want to go on that holiday. Where’s it too, anyway?”

                “Australia. Only for a month.”

                “A-Australia? Isn’t that a bit far?” I asked, wondering what kind of trip they would send a college student on if it was on the other side of the globe. I cut the engine and was about to open the door when the rest of her reply registered in my mind. “Wait a minute, did you say for a month?”

                “Uh-huh.”

                I turned my body around in my chair and faced Kodie who was innocently blinking back at me. “A whole month on the other side of the globe. What will you be doing?”

                She clicked her tongue and looked at me. “It’s like, being there as a full time nanny as part of experience. Like work experience, in child care.”

                “But you’re an English student.”

                “I’ve been talking to Mr. Montgomery and everything’s fine with him if its fine with you – not that he knows it needs to be fine with you. It’s an experience I want to do because I’m looking at my life now. So I need to start getting on top of things. Start saving, you know.”

                I sighed and nodded my head. A whole month in Australia was going to be expensive, so if that was her top priority, then she’d continue to live with me for longer and wouldn’t have to go back to that… place. The thought made me happy and I smiled.

                “Fine. I’ll help you look for a job and mom can help you with the saving.”

                “How?”

                I tugged the door open. “When I was little… I used to want everything. So I had to save for some of the things I wanted or wait for them to come to me. And I saved up for a lot of things. My mom, I don’t know how, but she devised this list of how much money I got a week – this was when I was really little – and how much I needed to save to get what I wanted. It always worked. You should try it.”

                Wind was coming in through the door but I ignored the shiver it sent down my spine.

                “Sure, I’ll ask Florence.”

                “You should ask her in a minute.”

                She nodded and I quickly climbed out of the car, shutting the door. Kodie followed suit and I locked the car, putting my keys in my jeans pocket. It had been a while since I’d worn jeans. “You okay?”

                “Why wouldn’t I be? Your mother’s very fond of me.” she joked, repeating what I’d told her earlier. It was the truth; my mom had said how much she liked Kodie – how down to earth she was. I guess she wasn’t attention seeking, and my mother loved that about a person. She always remembered them more when they talked less about themselves.

                We made our way up the path and I knocked on the door. Kodie raised her eyebrow and I turned to her with a bewildered expression. What was she looking at me like that for?

                “What?”

                “You knock? To your own front door?”

                I shrugged. “It’s not my house anymore.”

                “But you didn’t knock the other day.”

                “That’s because I forgot.” I replied, remembering how I’d just sauntered in, without permission. It wasn’t like I wasn’t welcome, but I just liked to show my parents that I still respected them. 

                “Sure.” She smirked as the door swung open.

                My mother stood there with a warm smile on her face, an apron wrapped around her. She wiped her hands on the tea-towel that was conveniently in her hands and I realised she must have been either washing her hands or doing the dishes. 

                “Hello Florence.”

                “Hi, Kodie, love. How’re you today?”

                “Very well thank you,” Kodie stepping into the house and I quickly followed so the warmth wasn’t set free. It was a little chilly today, nothing too extravagant but still, enough to send someone for a jumper. “I hope you’re both well.”

                “Oh, very.” My mother turned to me. “Hello sweetie. Have you been making sure that you’re both eating well?”

                I sighed. Why was my mother always worried? “Yeah, mom. We’ve been fine.”

                “Good.” She clapped her hands together and grinned at us. “Dinners almost up, though. In you go.”

                Kodie mimicked my mom’s expression and walked into the other room happily as I swayed on my feet in the hallway. I wanted to ask my mother about something that I’d thought of last night whilst trying to get to sleep, but I wanted to finalise it with her before I let Kodie listen in.

                “Mom, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

                She flicked the tea-towel over her shoulder. “Yes love?”

                “Flo?” My father shouted from the other room and my mother quickly turned towards the dining room door.

                “I’ll be one moment,” she instructed, closing the door gently. Then she grabbed me by the arm with her fragile hands and guided me as far away from the door as possible. “Yes, pet?”

                “I need to talk to you about Kodie.

                “She’s getting better. Dear soul isn’t she?”

                “Sure.” I responded, not really sure if she was just saying that aloud or she was actually asking it to me as a question. “But she keeps thinking she’s intruding.”

                “A lot like you then,” my mom commented absentmindedly. “You always thought that—”

                “Mom!”

                “Right, sorry. Actually, your father and I were thinking about a solution to that problem because there is a slight situation here. I mean, even we know you’re not supposed to be living with a student.”

                “I want to help.” I defended quickly. “I can’t let Kodie go—”

                “She won’t go back, Alex. We were wondering if she wanted to come and live here? We were going to do up your old room and give it to her, get her some of the things she needs. Redecorate the place for her, I know we’re not as young now as we were, but she doesn’t have to take orders from us. She just needs to know we have a bed for her to sleep in. And you can come and see her here. It’ll be like living in a B&B without paying.”

                I could feel myself smiling at my mother’s excitement. Her hands were flying around her as she explained that she wanted to decorate my room for Kodie and help us by giving her somewhere to stay, legally.

                “Oh, she wants you to do a savings chart with her, though. She wants to go on a trip.”

                “Sure. We’re proud of you, Alex.”

                “Thanks, mom.”

                I looked down as her arm patted my shoulder and I nodded as she let go, walking off back into the other room. I went to take my step, after my mom, but was stopped short by a buzzing sensation against my leg. At first I was confused, I didn’t realise what it was, but then I remembered I had put my phone on vibrate for college today and quickly took it out as my mom opened the living room door.

                I opened the text just as she turned around.

                “Are you coming?”

                “Yeah one sec,” I mumbled, looking up at my mother and smiling for a brief moment. “I’m coming.”

                My mouth went dry and my hands felt damp with sweat around my phone now as I read the text message displayed on the screen of an unknown number. I had no idea who it was, but having Kodie live me with seemed effortless in making me scared of my job compared to this.

                I cleared my throat and put my phone away, standing still for a moment to wipe my hands on my jeans and close my eyes. But no matter how short the period was that I kept my eyes closed, all I could see was the text message displayed behind my eyelids. Encrypted in my memory was:

                I know about you and Hanna Franz, Alexander Clarke.