It All Started With A Note

Chapter Two

"Mom, can we drop this for now?" I grumbled.

She shrugged, "Fine." Then she directed her attention to the twins and, thankfully, left me to my own thoughts.

A short time later, I was on my way to school with the twins bickering back and forth. They were freshman this year and it was hard to believe. Even though I'd only been three at the time, I remember when they were born. I didn't like them at first, then I loved them, then I despised them, then I was back to loving them. I was going to miss them next year when I went away to college. I'd gotten a basketball scholarship to Notre Dame and I was pretty stoked about it. The only down side, none of my friends were going to Notre Dame. Lately, however, I'd been starting to no longer consider that a downside.

After arriving at school, the twins went their own way and I went mine. I put my hand inside my pocket, feeling the note I'd written to Ivy. Should I give it to her? I thought about her blushing when we stood in her kitchen. I'd studied her closely, because...well, I'd never really studied her before. Imagine my surprise when I found her attractive. She was medium height and, because I caught glimpses of her through her curtain, I knew she hide a nice figure behind her t-shirts and jeans. She had light brown hair, which she usually had pulled back into a pony tail, and brown eyes hidden behind thin, wire-framed glasses. I knew why I'd never noticed her before and I felt ashamed. At first glance, she appeared to be a plain-Jane and it didn't help that she had her nose in a book, more often than not. Now that I'd taken the time to actually catalog her features, I was liking what I was seeing. She was a refreshing change from the fake, cheerleader type that I was used to.

"Hey Eric."

I glanced up to see Charity Owens step into my personal space. Speaking of fake, cheerleader, I thought. Charity and I have went on a few dates. We've swapped spit a couple times, but I'd held her off from taking things further. I knew she wanted to have sex with me, but I knew better. Charity was the type to think she owned a guy, once he gave in, and I had no desire to be owned by anyone, let alone someone like her. Don't get me wrong, she had some fine attributes. Her tits were huge, her waist was trim, and her legs were long. She had light blond hair, calculating blue eyes, and one of the fakest smiles I'd ever seen. She could turn it on or off, like a switch. I'd witnessed it more times that I liked and I'd considered, even more often lately, cutting ties with Charity. She and I were friends though. Had been since grade school.

For that reason alone, I forced a smile and said, "Hey Owens."

"What are you doing tonight? Want to come over? My parents have a work thing, so they won't be home." She purred.

Lately, she'd really upped her efforts with me and I knew that I needed to make things clear to her. I sighed, "Charity, you know that we're not going to go there, don't you? I mean, I care about you...as a friend. Sure, we've made out a couple times, but we've always been drunk when we did that, so I've never taken it seriously and I hope you haven't either."

Her smile slipped for a second and her eyes grew cold, but then she put her mask back in place and giggled, "Where is your mind at, Eric Porter? I was just thinking we could watch some movies. We wouldn't even be the only two there. Everybody is coming. Hear that, party at my house tonight!"

Charity had raised her voice, during that last part, as she issued her invitation. A few people cheered at the news. She made it sound like she'd had this party plan in her mind all along, but I knew better. I decided not to call her on it though. I'd said my piece. Whether she chose to believe me, about thinking of her as just a friend, was up to her. I nodded and told her, "I'll try to come tonight, but my mom has been pushing for more family time. So no promises."

Mom worked the night shift, every Friday night, so I was lying through my teeth. I just didn't know if I wanted to party tonight. I thought of Ivy, sitting at home, alone. Why did the idea of her cheer me up when the idea of a party just made me want to bang my head against a wall? Maybe I was maturing, I thought with amusement.

Charity gave me one last lingering glance, before heading down the hallway. Her hips swayed back and forth, more than necessary, making her short skirt swish as she walked. I saw several guys watch her walk by and knew what they were seeing. A cute girl in a short skirt. That's not all Charity Owens was, though, and I wish she could see that about herself. I knew she had low self-esteem and who could blame her? Her mother was a stripper, turned prostitute, before she met up with the wrong guy a couple years ago. The guy slit her throat, robbed her, and left her to bleed to death in a grungy hotel room. Charity's older sister got into drugs around the same time and ended up selling her body for her next fix. Last year she got busted for dealing and was now spending some time in the county jail. None of this was public knowledge, but because I was Charity's close friend, she had confided in me. So, it was no wonder, Charity behaved the way that she did, with those poor role models.

I glanced up and down the hallway, as my hand reached into my pocket to finger Ivy's note again. I didn't even know which locker was hers, I realized. Well, I'd just have to deliver this one personally, I decided. I didn't really know what I was doing. I didn't know how long we'd keep up the note exchange. I didn't know how Ivy really felt about it. What I did know was that she intrigued me. Her sassy response to my first note, made me want to get to know her. She was so different than the girls I was used to. She hadn't jumped, just because the note was from me. I wasn't stupid. I knew I was decent looking and I was popular. A lot of girls would have been gushing about receiving a note from me, but Ivy had basically chewed me out. That had been down right refreshing and I was anxious to see what would happen next.