The Next Thing

First Date

I woke up the next day to another knock on my door. Thinking it was Jake I sprang out of bed to open it. I liked Jake. He was different, and he might have reminded me somewhat of Sam.

“Hey Ali!” Talen’s voice said.

I grunted, and began to close the door.

“Wait!” He said, holding out his hand so I was unable to close the door further, “I was wondering if you wanted to get breakfast with me?”

“No. Rather die.” I said simply. I grabbed his hand and chucked it into his chest, and then closed my door.

I got to thinking, maybe that was too harsh. Maybe I should actually try to get as many friends as possible as long as I’m here for. I opened the door again, and what do you know…. Talen had not moved.

“Let me change.” I said.

 

 

I didn’t see Jake or Liam in line. There was only Talen and all the other kids. That Taylor chick was back, and she was laughing just like yesterday with a bunch of boys. I wondered if she would ever approach me.

“What do you guys do all day?” I asked Talen.

“On the weekends, usually nothing. During the weekdays we have five or six hours of school, and then we do nothing. We all lead pretty boring lives. You can go in the pool, play basketball, soccer, or video games whenever you have free time. They get boring fast, though.”

“This place is literally a resort.” I said, looking up at the ceiling.

“Yea I know. It’s a lot nicer than the one in California.” He looked depressed for a split second, and then smiled at me.

I wondered if he had left some one behind in Sacramento.

“I don’t like it much.” I told him honestly.

“Seriously I gathered that much.” He said with a half laugh. He put his hand on my back, and I let him keep it there. I didn’t want to make him more annoyed today, even though I was pretty frustrated with him touching me.

 

We ate breakfast together, and talked about what we wanted to do with our lives. Talen gave me a pretty interesting answer. He said he wanted to get married, have a good job, raise a family and love his kids more than anything. I just said I wanted to get to college.

He walked me back to my room, but didn’t leave after I was in. He walked in behind me.

“Yes. Come in.” I said sarcastically.

He just nodded and sat on my bed. “Nice place.” He commented. “They do random searches, so don’t have anything dangerous.” He told me.

I thought about the stuff in my bag. Hand warmers, a flashlight, a blanket, soap, tampons, band-aids, a hairbrush, socks, a sweater, and ten quarters. I didn’t think I led the risk of getting in trouble for having those basic necessities.

“Thanks.” I said, half puzzled.

“Do you want to do something today?” He suddenly asked me.

“Don’t you have friends?” I questioned back.

“I want to get to know you.” He said with a wink. This boy winked too much. I wonder if he winked at Taylor.

“I wish the feeling was mutual.” I said, trying to shove him out of my room. The room was already a mess. My clothes from the night before were on the floor, the toothpaste was already covering the bathroom sink, and my bed sheets were on the floor.