The Slightest Romance

The Beginning

I rubbed my eyes and sat up in my cotton-sheeted bed. Why didn't my alarm go off? Though I did not miss the continuous drawl of my alarm clock, I couldn't help but wonder about its absence, especially on a school morning. Then I started panicking. What if I'm late for school? Mrs. Peters would kill me! I glanced over at my bedside table to see if someone "accidentally" turned off my alarm. Then, I noticed a poorly scribbled note stuck to my dresser. It read:

No school today. Bring Your Daughter to Work Day.

Love, Dad.

I scowled. My father, Eric Evertrue, owns a landscaping company called Evertrue Greens. I hate the company. My other friend's dads are cool things, like doctors or teachers, yet my dad has to own a lawn company. Nothing could be more boring than watching my dad lecture his workers about the importance of shrubs.

In the kitchen, the usual morning madness was, for some reason, absent. Only my mom was there, frying greasy bacon in a small pan. Her beautiful ginger hair was wrapped in a loose bun, and she wore a fluffy pink bathrobe. Though her face looked tired, but her bright brown eyes were youthful. It surprised me that she was awake, because she is a substitute teacher at a local middle school and she had a long day yesterday.

"Where are Jennifer and Lucile, mom?" I asked. Jennifer and Lucile are my two younger sisters.

"They're at school, honey. Did you get your father's note?"

"Yeah, but I thought they would be coming. Their daughters, too."

"Well, since you're older, we decided that only you would go." I frowned. Frankly, I would rather have to endure two annoying sisters and a boring day rather than just a boring day. Jennie and Lucy would at least make the trip more interesting.

"You better get dressed," said my mom. You have to leave with dad soon." She kissed me on the forehead and I went back to my room to get dressed. I tied my dark hair into a long ponytail and threw on a caramel sweater and a pink skirt. Then I ran to the front door of our neat and white house and hopped in the car where my dad was waiting. "Morning Jen!" H,e ruffled my neat hair. He was obviously more excited to do this than me.

"Hi dad. I'm ready to go!" I used fake enthusiasm in my voice. He smiled and we sped off in his red jeep to Evertrue Greens: Headquarters.

As we trudged up the muddy stairway to reach my father's conference room in the HQ, I was highly unimpressed. The walls of the building were a dry grey, and the flooring was squishy green carpet. This is going to be a long day, I thought. Finally, we reached the door to the conference room.

"Make sure you look all right," Dad said. I stared down at my muddy heels. They were far from "all right". He opened the door, and inside was the same grey walls and squishy carpet. But there were twelve men dressed in shiny suits inside, studying paperwork. They looked up.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Evergreen." A guy my age stood up and shook my dad's hand. He had dark hair and gentle but penetrating blue eyes.

"Hello Michael," Dad replied, and then whispered in my ear: "Michael is our new intern. The rest of us are going to take inventory of our lawnmowers, and you two can get to know each other." He winked at me. I scowled, but I did find him really handsome. All I could do to keep away from embarrassment is deny it.

When all the men were gone, we walked over to each other.

"Hi," I said cheerfully. Can I call you mike?"

"No, it's Michael." He glared at me and walked away to the coffee room. So cute but so mean, I thought to myself.

All day he was cold, hard and serious. I really liked him, but he didn't seem to understand. The least he could do was be kind to me, but not even that. But finally, when I was leaving the HQ with my dad, Michael waved goodbye. It was the smallest wave with the slightest smile, but I knew exactly what it meant.

The next morning I awoke for school. Like normal, my alarm clock went off and my screaming sisters ran through the house. I slowly got out of bed, ate my breakfast at the table, and walked out the door to wait for the bus. I glanced back at the house, hoping that I didn't forget anything, and something caught my eye. A bright red rose was sitting on my porch.

I ran to it, smiling. I knew who it was from. Though I didn't need to read the note that encircled the flower, I did. It said, in neat school handwriting:

Call me Mike.

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Authors Note:

Hey my Slightly Romantics! The next chapter of this awesome tale will be coming out soon! Love ya!