The Musical Love Story of Noah and Lisa

Chapter 3: Lisa

NOAH MATTHEWS LIVES NEXT DOOR?! WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE EACH OTHER'S ROOM?! I cannot believe it! This is bad. Too bad. I already had to bear with that jerk during school and now I have to bear with him after school too? How could this happen to me? Why did this happen to me? Of all the houses in this massive city, why did he have to live in Amara?

And what was that 'You Belong With Me' outburst about? Is it possible that Noah Matthews actually likes Taylor Swift? Well, he does have good music taste- he got my 'Rude' reference. But why was he so disgruntled about it? I mean a guy can like Taylor Swift, right? But what if that guy is a jock....?

Mum's voice pulled me out of my reverie. "Lisa, dinner's ready! Come quickly, we cannot wait to hear about your first day!" "Coming!"

"What's for dinner?" I asked my mum as soon as I reached the table. The aroma of the food was unlike I had ever smelled, but was pleasant all the same. "Oh, I tried an Indian recipe. Rotis with Malai Paneer. It required quite a few spices, but I think I pulled it off." "It smells lovely, Mom." "Thanks honey," Mum said with a smile on her face.

Dad and Aaron arrived soon after. Dad seemed pretty happy, and I presumed that he had a good day at work. Aaron was his goofy self, so it was impossible to tell how his first day was.

Once everything was served, all of us started eating the food which was so good, that I was pretty sure I was going to overeat.
"Reagan, this is lovely! This was exactly the kind of meal I needed after a hectic day at office." Dad said to Mum.
"Oh, yes, I have been meaning to ask you, how was your first day at office Dad?"
"Oh, it was lovely. My new boss is so understanding and fun to be around. And I really enjoyed doing all the work. How were your first days, Lisa and Aaron?"
Aaron jumped enthusiastically in his chair and said "Oh, oh I will go first! So, there is this guy in my class who literally laughs at anything. And, everytime someone says something funny, he's drinking water and he always spits it out because he finds things so funny! It was so hilarious!" "So, all in all, you are well adjusted with your class, right?" Mum asked, looking relieved. "Oh yes, they are all very awesome!"
"What about you, Lisa? How are your classmates?" "Oh, they are all very friendly. Well everyone, except this one guy-Noah who is so annoying. And the worst thing is that he is the one who has to show me around! I am so... so exasperated by him already! And he lives next door!" and so I rambled on, until I saw Mum and Dad exchange meaningful smirks. "Oh, I know what you are thinking. It's never gonna happen. I can barely tolerate being in the same room as him." I said, horror-struck, because I cannot believe my parents actually thought that.
"Oh, yeah? Then why have we heard nothing about school except Noah?" "Because.... because I have such a long list of complaints against him!! Anyways, so I did make a friend- Edith. She is really sweet." "Oh, you should call her over sometime." "Yeah, I will." All of us were done with our dinner by then, so I helped mum clear up and then returned to my room to finish my homework.

I saw that I had a text from my best friend, Naemi, who was with me in my old American school. She had asked me how my first day was. I texted her back immediately, pretty much telling her whatever I had told mom and dad. I glanced at the clock in my room and realised that she would be in school right now. I had really been looking forward to talking to her, but I guessed it would have to be postponed.

I was still not in the mood to do my Physics homework, but I knew that if I would procrastinate any more, I would end up not finishing it. So I dragged myself to my study table and sat down to do my homework. I played a bit of music to sooth my nerves (which usually flared up while solving Physics).
Today's Physics homework, thankfully, was mostly calculus, meaning that I had to solve Math. It didn't take a lot of time and I soon got into bed with a book in my hand. I was reading a particularly interesting mystery by one of my favourite authors Kate McMane and I could not wait to finish it.

I soon got absorbed in the book and, boy, the book was wonderful! I had shrewd ideas about who the culprit was, but I wasn't very sure! I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until I know what happened in the end, so I decided to give up my sleep to a noble cause- finishing the book.

I finished the book at 3 A.M. in the morning and when I got up to remove my glasses and place the book on my desk (The grandmother was an imposter! I could never have guessed that!), I could see light peeking through Noah's curtains. He didn't strike me as a reader, so I wondered what he was doing, up at this late hour.
I admit, I was curious. And that's why I did what I did.
I plugged my phone into the speakers, turned the volume up and played 'You belong with Me'. As I guessed, Noah peeked through his curtains and raised his eyebrows, annoyed. I grinned at him teasingly. "What now?" he growled.

"What are you doing up so late? You don't strike me as a reader."
"Elizabeth, it isn't just readers who stay up till late. Also, don't you ever play that song again, I hate it."
"Ah, I see. So can you kindly tell me what other category of people stay up late at night?"
"Insomniacs? People who have stuff on their mind? People who value their privacy? Oh, wait, with you next door, I don't think I will ever have any privacy again." Noah said in a very rude tone.
"Message received Noah. Although, you don't need to be such a jerk about it."
"I don't have time for this Elizabeth. I need to go sleep." With this, he drew his curtains, and I saw the light behind the curtains disappear.

"Well, you definitely weren't sleepy two minutes ago." I muttered under my breath. I walked to my bookshelf, chose a book to take to school the next day, switched off the lights and plopped onto the bed. There were certain things on mind, but I was too sleepy to ponder upon them and fell asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.