Sapphire Eyes ~ 10 Chapter Challenge

Two Days After the Letter ~ Nora and Miri

I seriously miss her, but what can I do? If I try to make up with Miri, I'll lose all my friends with Steph and her crew. I'd probably lose Laurel too, because she's turning into a mini Steph, all determined to impress the populars and keep her status.

Ugh, I hate high school popularity sometimes! It's like kill or be killed, and I can't help but want to run scared sometimes. Ugh, like over the summer we had to go to all these parties, and we had to act cool all night and drink and smoke. It sucked.

Sometimes I wish I could just go back to before Miri met Drew, when Laurel and Miri and I were just regular friends from our art class who loved to hang out, and there was no pressure. We could have celebrated Miri's sweet sixteen together which we missed because it was last weekend.

Ugh! High school sucks, man!

Getting a Lift Home ~ Mirna

I hurry down the school's front steps and start the short walk for home. My earbuds are already in and my music is blasting. This is actually my favorite time of the day, when schoolwork is behind me, and I can just listen to my music and get out my frustrations with some good physical exercise.

After only a block, a really loud black car coasts up to the curb. The engine rumbles. Then the music suddenly cuts out, and I hear a voice shout, "Hey, wanna ride?"

I pull my earbuds out and really look into the car, and I instantly recognize Kaden and his brother. I stop dead in my tracks.

Kaden jumps out of the car and puts his seat forward so I can get in the back. Then he just stands there waiting for me to get in. I suppose this means I've got myself a ride. I smile and climb into the backseat.

"Where ya heading?" Kaden's brother asks from the driver's seat as Kaden puts the seat back and drops into the car. Instantly I realize with a smile that if Kaden's brother is driving that means he doesn't have epilepsy.

Now I have a choice: do I want the one who's broken like me, or do I want the one who can take care of me?

I shake my head at that stupid thought. I cannot assume I'm going to get into a relationship with either of these smoking hot guys. That's just a recipe for disaster.

"Spaulding Avenue," I say. "Three more blocks on the left. Thanks for the ride."

"No prob," he says, and he drives off way too fast. I scramble to put my seatbelt on and then brace myself in the backseat.

"Why do you walk anyway?" Kaden's brother asks, and he actually looks over his shoulder for a split second to see me. I can't help but smile at the look he gives me, like he cannot believe someone as beautiful as me would ever walk anywhere. Like I'm a princess and should have a chauffeur.

More likely, he just looks down on people who don't have nice cars like he does. Or even more likely, he just happened to be looking over his shoulder before he got in the turning lane to drive the car onto my street.

"Walking is good exercise, you know," I say, keeping the real reason to myself. My house comes into view. He drove too fast and now the ride is almost over. "It's the white one there," I say before he can drive by.

He turns the car into my driveway, nice and smooth. Maybe he's thinking if anyone is home, he needs to look like a good driver now, instead of the maniac driver who just drove three blocks in ten seconds. Kaden gets out of the car and flips his seat forward.

"Thanks," I say and climb out of the car. I breathe a sigh of relief to be done with that ride.

Kaden doesn't immediately get back into the car. He actually walks me up to my front door, and I realize he wants to tell me something.

"Thanks for the ride," I say to him.

He smirks at me. "I didn't give you a ride, my brother did, and you already said thank you."

"You're right. I guess I should say, thanks for nothing, then."

He chuckles softly. "Actually, if I hadn't told my brother to stop, we would have driven right by and you'd still be walking."

"Well then, I do owe you a thank you." I grin stupidly at him.

He grins back at me. I find myself standing breathlessly with my heart thudding as I stare at this drop-dead gorgeous guy, who actually wants to have a conversation with me. Maybe he's having similar thoughts about me, because he keeps standing there with his red ears peeking out from behind his curly black hair.

"You know where I live now," I say, painfully stating the obvious.

He gives me a wide smile. "Yeah, you better watch out. I might steal your stuff."

I cannot help but snort. "That's a good one. I see what you did there, using my own words against me. Very clever."

He laughs, maybe at me, but more likely at himself and his ability to say something witty to a girl he likes. Then I almost roll my eyes at myself. I cannot assume he likes me just because I like him. But wouldn't it be nice if he did?

"Oh shit, I need to go," he says suddenly, and this panicked look washes over his face. He turns and jogs back to his car, scrambles into the passenger seat, and just like that, they zoom off.

I sigh rather melodramatically. Then I let myself inside my house, practically float up the stairs and into my room, where I fall back on my bed, sigh again, and allow myself to daydream of a day, or maybe an alternate reality, where Kaden is my boyfriend.

~*~

1635 Words