Hold Your Breath

Chapter 5

Hold Your Breath

Chapter 5

We sat there for a while until it was near lunch time. Nathan drove me home, and after telling him I'd text him later, I went inside. I shut the door behind me, and smiled. I kicked off my shoes and wandered through the house looking for my mom. I finally found her in her office. Her office had one giant desk, and bookshelves outlining the wall behind it.

"Hey Mom. Grading papers?" I asked as I sat in an extra chair in front of her desk.

She nodded, not looking up.

"Need any help?"

She nodded, once again, and handed me a stack of papers and a grading key.

"So how was your date?" she questioned, still not looking up from her papers.

I thought about it. Random words to describe it popped into my mind. Magical. Wonderful. Amazing.

"It was really great," I said, and wrote a 65 on one students paper. "This one's gonna need tutoring."

My mom looked up, and I showed her the paper.

"How wonderful," she mumbled.

"You want some tea?"

"Yes! Thank you!"

I stood up to go to the kitchen, but my arm hit a picture frame on my mom's desk. The frame fell to the floor.

"Sorry!" I exclaimed.

I bent down to pick up the frame carefully, in case the glass broke. Luckily the glass was fully intact. I turned the frame around to look at the picture. It was a picture of my family: my mom, my dad, and me when I was a baby.

I never knew really my dad. He passed away in a car crash when I was 2. A drunk driver hit the car head on, so at least he didn't suffer, but I still really wished he was still here.

I sat the frame back on the desk, tears welling in my eyes. My mom looked up at me, then at the picture. I wiped my eyes and took a deep breath. My mom reached out and touched my hand, still clutching the top of the frame.

"I'll go make that tea now," I muttered.

"Love you, honey!" My mom said as I walked out of her office.

"Love you, too, Mom," I responded, my voice wavering.

***

The rest of the day was pretty un- eventful. I made my mom the tea, and I helped her grade papers some more until there were only a few left. Then, I went into my room to relax. I picked up my phone off my dresser, and saw I had a text from Nathan.

Nathan ☺️: Hey, beautiful 😘

I smiled down at my phone.

Hi 😋, I texted back quickly.

Nathan ☺️: Would you like to go swimming with me tomorrow?

I frowned. Me? In a bathing suit? The mere thought of me wearing one of my ugly tankinis in front of Nathan made me cringe. I thought about Emily and I swimming this past summer. Emily! I had a light bulb moment, and rapidly text Emily.

You. Me. Shopping. Now, I texted.

In only a few seconds, Emily responded, YES. I texted Nathan back, telling him that would be very nice. I ran down the hall to talk to my mom.

"Mom?" I said as I slipped into her office.

"Yes?"

"Can you drive me and Emily to the mall?" I rushed.

"Sure! I need a break," Mom said, standing from her desk and rubbing her eyes.

"Thanks! You're the best!"

I ran to her and hugged her tightly. After a few minutes, we were in the car driving to pick up Emily, my wallet in hand. We got to Emily's, and she jumped in the car. I reached over and hugged my friend.

"How're you doing?" she asked.

"I'm great," I said, smiling. Quieter, I said, "I went on a date with Nathan this morning."

Emily squealed, and grabbed my forearms.

"Really?!" she exclaimed.

I nodded and grinned widely at her. Shortly after, we reached the mall.

"So... What're we shopping for?" Emily asked me as we walked into the mall.

"Bathing suits," I mumbled.

Emily looked at me with a confused face.

"Anna, you do know it's fall right?"

"Yes. I do, but Nathan asked if I wanted to go swimming with him tomorrow and my tankinis are NOT going to cut it," I sighed.

Emily nodded, understanding. We walked around in one huge store for about 10 minutes before we found the bathing suits. I searched the racks for one that would be great for tomorrow. There were so many choices: one pieces, two pieces, cutouts, bikinis. It made my head swirl.

"Found one!" Emily yelled from the other side of the section.

I walked over to her and saw what she was holding. It was a red, halter top one piece with white polka dots. The chest area twisted in the middle. I looked up at Emily and smiled.

"This is perfect!" I announced.

I went into the dressing room to try it on. It fit wonderfully. It gave my curves a little extra curve and my boobs a little more boob. I twisted my light hair up in bun, and looked at my reflection in the mirror. Tomorrow was going to be amazing.