Cheshire Girl

Ch. 20

                Whoa….  I didn't mean to yell that at him, and he certainly didn't see that coming either.

                I turned around, embarrassed all over again.  "Sorry.  There's a reason I don't talk about it any further than a summary.  I explode all over innocent bystanders."

                "As long as you didn't get anything in my hair, it's fine."  Stupid Ethan made me smile.  "But I shouldn't have pried.  I guess it's just weird that you're not as… delicate.  You're not the typical Cheshire girl I'm used to.  Today is a perfect example."

                I deemed it safe to turn around.  "Trust me—I'm usually quite boring."

                "I'm actually hoping so."  He suddenly frowned.  "Wait—I wanna ask something else."

                "Then I get two questions."

                "Fine.  You said you told your mom you were with me at school."

                "Not a question."

                "Then you said that would already worry her.  What does that mean?"

                I stared at him.  "Are you serious?"

                "Uh, yes."

                "Okay—I'll be blunt.  My mom and I have noticed how Cheshire treats you, and she worries what that'll do to me, like… will the town hate me too, you know?"

                "Oh…."  Ethan stepped back.  "Right."

                "My question—what's that about exactly?"

                Now he looked guarded.  The dryer buzzed.  "Your clothes're done."  He looked away.

                I went and got them out.  "You don't have to answer that today.   A lot has happened in the past hour.  I say we pause this until tomorrow.  How's that?"

                Ethan sighed, relieved.  "I could use a nap right now."

                "Well, step outside so I can change."  I didn't close the door all the way once he was out of the room. 

                "It's not gonna be like this the next time we work on our project, is it?" he asked.

                "God—I hope not.  Unless you can drown in a library."

                "You can drown in knowledge—whoa, that sounded stupid."

                I laughed.  "What do I do with the wet robe and towels?"

                "I just leave 'em in the hamper.  The swim team never notices."

                I found the hamper and dumped them in before leaving the room.  My shoes were a little damp, but I could toss them in the dryer at home.  "I'm ready to go."

                "Your hair's still looks wet."

                I shrugged as I followed him out.  "I'll hide it in my hood, then maybe hop in the shower before my mom notices."  I just thought of that on the spot.  Nice one, brain!

                We were quiet as we grabbed our stuff and left through the locker exit, not going back through the pool.  There were two other people in the hall—teachers—but they didn't pay much attention to us.  We left the building, and we weren't the only students out on campus.  A few kids were around, walking out of classrooms.  Tutoring was over.

                "How do you get home?" Ethan asked.

                "I drive.  You?"

                "Drive."  We were nearing the gate.

                He slowed down, and I could feel him watching me.  I stopped walking.  "What's wrong?"  Was there something in my hair?  I pulled my hood lower.

                "Bella, you're really weird," he said.

                I gaped for a second, then became indignant.  "Explain yourself."

                "You almost drowned today."

                "I know.  I was there."

                "And now you're all…." He gestured to me.  "Normal."

                I sighed.  "Ethan, stop talking.  I'm going to overthink everything and then freak out.  Let's just part ways now before I decide to have a panic attack or something, okay?"

                "Okay, okay.  Sorry.  I'll see you tomorrow."  He turned and started walking away.

                I watched him, and then frowned.  "Aren't you cold?" I called.

                He turned, walking backward.  "I'm actually almost dry."

                I nodded, then asked, "Are you going to give me the cold shoulder tomorrow?"

                Ethan stopped walking, but he was far enough that I couldn't see his expression well.  "I think it's better to keep up appearances."

                "Better for who?"

                He reached his black truck.  "Both!"  He got in and revved the engine, and then he wheeled out of the parking lot dangerously fast.

*************

Chapters 19 & 20 were so much fun to write, so I hope they were fun to read.  Do these chapters count as fillers?  I'm hoping not—but if so, I hope these were acceptable fillers.  Please comment about anything.  I'm mostly concerned about whether Bella and Ethan's exchange sounded natural and realistic.  Did it?

Also, I'm going to start making the chapters a bit longer.   I don't like there to be too many chapters, nor too many breaks.  I don't want any more than, like, 40 or something, just because I think it'll look like… a lot.