Absolutely Crazy

Chapter 23

I sucked my cheeks in. "Okay, whatever. Let's get to work." I sat in front of the computer and launched Notepad. "So, what do you think our class should do?"

"A café?" Ron suggested. "We can have a theme for it. We can dress up as wizards or vampires or whatever the others like."

"Alright, that's good," I said. "I think a mini bazaar will do, too. We can sell the things we don't need and the profit will go to our class fund. What about you, Ryan? Do you have anything in mind?"

Ryan just stared at me blankly. "No."

I sighed. "Where is your mind wandering off to? Come on, give me a suggestion for the booth. We have to come up with three proposals."

He shrugged. "I have no idea."

Ugh. Very helpful.

Oh wait, wasn't this perfect? If he had no idea what to suggest, then Ron - who was full of ideas - could help him. More talk time for them.

I stood up. "I just remembered that I have to help mom for a bit. Can you two come up with concepts? I need ten."

Ron stared at me in disbelief. "Ten? Why do you need so many?"

I grinned. "Well, the more, the merrier, right?"

Ryan grimaced. "You're just passing the work to us."

How dare he accuse me!

"No, I'm not," I snapped. "Just give me ten, okay? It will be easier to pick out the ones we want to do once we have a lot of ideas to choose from."

And with that, I closed the door behind me and sauntered downstairs. I was thinking of helping mom prepare some food, but I didn't find her anywhere in the kitchen. She probably went out to buy something since I remembered her saying we were low on stocks. Dad and Dennis weren't home either, so I had no one else to talk to or bother.

Oh, maybe I should just watch TV. It had been a while since I last enjoyed a good show. As I flicked through the channels, I wondered what those two were doing; if they were talking or improving their 'relationship' at all. Hmm, maybe I should eavesdrop?

No. I should give them privacy. I checked my watch and decided to allow thirty minutes for them to chitchat or whatever.

Somehow, giving up on Ron made me feel better. It stung but I could manage. If I could see him happy, like really happy, this would be all worth it, wouldn't it?

I pushed the button on the remote one more time and found a dull video of sea otters floating around. They looked so peaceful. I liked sea otters. They were fluffy and lazy and they held hands with their partners to ensure they wouldn't drift away from each other. Wasn't that sweet? I wish I could hold the hand of the person I loved.

And I wish he would hold me tighter because he wouldn't want me to go away.

Such nice thoughts...

"Jean."

I heard someone calling me.

"Honey, it's time for dinner."

I jerked awake and saw Mom's face. That was when I realized I was lying flat on my back and I was in my bed. Wait, wasn't I on the couch? And it was already dark out. Ron and Ryan should be with me but they weren't anywhere in the room. Just what...?

Mom saw the confusion on my face.

"You fell asleep on the couch," she said. "That was rude of you, by the way. How could you leave our guests on their own?"

"Oh, I was looking for you and sat down on the couch for a little bit. Where are they?"

"They already left. They said they didn't want to disturb you."

Okay, that was thoughtful but I felt embarrassed at the same time.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to fall asleep while we had guests in the house."

"Well, Ron was here so I didn't think anything could go wrong, and that handsome fellow Ryan seemed decent."

"Yeah, he is pretty nice." I smiled. "He just looks a bit cranky sometimes."

"Really? I think he has really gentle eyes," she said. "Come on, it's dinner time." She walked towards the door. "We have mac and cheese."

"Awesome!" I exclaimed. I loved mac and cheese. I couldn't wait to fill myself with it. "By the way, did dad carry me here?"

She shook her head. "Dad's not home yet. He's working late."

"Oh, then who?"

"Probably Ron. I don't know for sure because when I got back, they were preparing to leave and you were already back in your room. Anyway, go wash your face and head downstairs."

She closed the door.

I looked at the ceiling and thought about Ron carrying me on his back. That would have felt nice... if only I were awake. I wanted to feel him - as close as possible.

Wait, no. I gave him up. There should be no more thoughts about him like this.

Sighing, I took off the covers and went to the bathroom. As I was staring at my horrid reflection on the mirror, my nose caught a familiar scent lingering around me.

To my surprise, it came from the front of my shirt. I held it to my nose and sniffed. There was no mistake.

This was Ryan's perfume.

It stuck to my shirt so stubbornly which meant it wasn't Ron who carried me up here.

The thought made my heart skip a beat, and I didn't know if it was just me or I was still half-asleep, but I thought the sound my heart made was slightly different than it used to.