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Chapter 6

        I wave goodbye to my mom as I walk up to Abel's door. Yes, I am tutoring him again, and probably will be for the next couple of weeks or so. So far I've only tutored Abel once, and it ended up in me just feeling worse because, well, if I haven't mentioned it enough already, his presence merely annoyed the heck out of me. But since I don't have much of a choice, I sigh lightly, and tap my knuckles on Abel's door, and he's the one who opens this time, greeting him with that ridiculous, wide grin of his.

       "Hello," he chirps, and I just don't reply. Abel's face falls a little at my silence, but then he recovers and leads me up the stairs. As I'm walking up, Abel's mom comes out of the kitchen downstairs and waves up at me.

       "Laurel, nice to see you again!" she says cheerfully, a smile on her face. I know I've only seen her about twice, but she seems like such an incredibly happy person. And I am such a downer, I find her positivity really strange.

       "Hi, Mrs. Irving," I wave back anyways, and after we reach the top of the stairs, we walk into his room, and I sit myself down on the chair by his desk like last time.

      "Alright, you ready to face the tortures of tutoring me again?" Abel says, walking over to me with a binder in his hand.

      "As ready as I'll ever be," I mutter, staring at his binder as he sets it down on the desk.

      "Okay, do you think there'll be something wrong with your dad's car again?" Abel asks. "Because I am all for beating each other up with pillows again."

       "I hope not," I say rather bitterly, then add, "and we didn't really beat each other up, you attacked me first and I just slapped you across the face with a pillow a couple times. If you want a real pillow fight, go host a sleepover with all the other girls in our grade. I'm sure the thought's crossed your mind already." My stare on him is stony and absent, and he notices that I'm not trying to stir up another inside joke between us, but just simply am insulting him. Taking the hint, he clears his throat and opens up his notes, gazing over them absent-mindedly. Obviously, he would rather go bungee jumping off a cliff than do his math homework right now. Too bad he doesn't have that choice, but if he did, I think he'd choose the suicidal attempt to go bungee jumping.

      "What are you thinking about?" Abel asks with an amused expression smeared on his face. I guess I must have been drifting off again.

      "Nothing," I snap, and point to his homework sheet. "You better start now, or else you won't be able to finish those twenty questions in the next two hours we have."

     "Hey, I am not that slow," he defends himself pathetically, in my opinion. "I think I have the potential to be a mathematician."

       "Wow.... not funny," I reply to his idiocy, and get back to my homework while Abel pouts his lips at me. Such a kid. I wonder why I hadn't realized it two years ago.

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     Mom and Dad stare at me across the table with awkward, unsure smiles. I look up to them, and then slowly return my gaze to my plate, that's currently still under the process of being wiped clean of the spaghetti it holds. It's like I'm in an interrogation.

     "So, Laurel, honey," Mom starts, grinning at me with a strange look on her face. I have to say, this is getting creepier by the minute. And Dad's nervous tapping of his feet just only makes the situation so much more uncomfortable.

      I have to escape this scenario, I mentally decide, and sigh. "Mom, I feel tired after that tutoring session, so I think I'm going to go get ready for bed now."

      But apparently my excuse isn't enough to free me from this. Mom glares at me and it's like a gravitational force pulls me back down to my seat. It's as if mothers have weird superpowers to make their children do what they want.

      "Or I can stay," I deadpan, and sigh quietly to myself. I wonder what's so important that they have to hold me hostage in the dining room.

      "So, we've been thinking, don't you think this house seems a little too small lately? It's like I can barely breathe in here these days..." Mom shakes her head, looking at me as if to ask if I agree with her. I have to say that I disagree, considering I don't understand how a family of three needs to live in a fancy mansion.

       "Um, no," I reply unsurely, not really fully understand where this conversation is going.

      "Well, think about it. You've always wanted your own pool, right?" Dad asks casually, yet there's a subtle persuasive edge to his deep voice.

      "...I can't swim."

     Dad considers this a moment, then replies enthusiastically, "Well, you can't learn without having a swimming pool first! Think about it. Really, Laurel, summer's coming up, and think about how awesome it would be to wake up every morning to a dip in your very own pool?"

     "...Sure."

     "Sounds nice, doesn't it?" Mom adds hopefully. "On a completely unrelated topic, honey, Dad's been doing great with his new job. Easier transportation, better work area, more money," Mom says in a sing-song voice, and I just squirm in my seat under their happy, too enthusiastic gazes. Seriously, this is so confusing.

      "I know. I know your job's a thousand times better than your old one," I say emotionlessly, just nodding in acknowledgment to what they're saying.

      "Yeah, it's great... So, maybe we could make use of his great new job," Mom chirps enthusiastically, and I raise my eyebrows at her suggestion, completely clueless of they're talking about. And honestly, I'm not even sure I want to find out.

      "How would you feel about moving, Laurel?" Mom finally drops the bomb on me, not really able to hold it in much longer till it exploded. But I think I'm the only bomb that's about to explode. They just said that we're moving! Out of the blue, out of nowhere, they randomly say we're moving! Not that I have any close attachments at all to the people here, but moving to a new town and a new school full of new people who don't know to respect my bubble already will be a new kind of torture for me. This can't happen. Maybe it's just their idea of a joke... but I highly doubt that.

       "NO! No, no, no! You... you-you can't just drop that on me like that. Wha-why?! Where we live right now is perfectly fine..." I can feel my voice breaking, and warm tears brimming my usually emotionless eyes. I like this town. It's... peaceful. I know it well. It's my home... where I grew up. I can't leave it behind. That would mean a new start... and I certainly don't want one.

      "Listen, honey! You don't think it would be that bad, do you?" Mom asks, trying to reassure me, but she just makes my heartbeat even more frantic and my cheeks feel even hotter out of anger.

       "No, I don't want to listen! And yes, it would be that bad! I don't like people! I certainly don't enjoy meeting new people either! So you have to understand, that I just can't move!" I feel tears streaming down my cheeks, each little scalding droplet expressing the many overwhelming, unbearable emotions I'm feeling about this whole thing my parents are trying to pull on me.

      "But at least you asked me first before making any decisions..." I sniffle and wipe the remaining tears away. "Because I just really couldn't take it if you actually decided on something before telling me first."

       I relax my shoulder and let them slump a little bit, before straightening up again. I let out a last tiny sniffle and announce gently, "I'm going to go sleep now-"

      But Dad cuts me off and admits with a guilty expression, "Laur, sweetie... We already made our decision."

       And boom. There goes the world I've always been accustomed to, the world I've made myself believe in my whole life, suddenly so fragile as it shatters to pieces inside my head.

        "No..." I shake my head with a horrified expression as I run off to bed. No freaking way.