The next day of school continued to drag on as usual. I just glided from class to class. I had a hard time paying attention because I was worried what my mother would think when she met Miah. She was always a person that stuck to first impressions, judging everyone and not trying to learn about them. It was hard to change her mind about something.
As I was gathering everything from my locker, puting it into my bag after school, Miah came and leaned against the locker next to mine. I turned my head and smiled at him as he smiled back. He watched me put everything in my bag and when I was done I closed my locker and he came and grabbed my hand. We walked out of the school swinging our hands like two toddlers that had just met their new best friend.
"Are you nervous?" I asked, staring up at his eyes.
"Shoulld I be?" he smiled. I turned my head, looking straight forward again. He might not have been nervous, but I know I was.
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When we got to my house, I unlocked the front door and dragged Miah upstairs to my room.
"Make yourself at home," I told him walking into the bathroom. When I walked back into my room I saw Miah going through my CDs. I had 253 CDs. A bit of a music geek, I know. I went over and sat on my bed watching him with his amazed expression.
"These are classics!" he said with a big grin. His gaze hadn't left the CDs. I smiled. He took out a led Zeppelin CD and put it in my stereo.
"Stairway to Heaven," I said smiling and shaking my head," I haven't played this album in forever."
"You've got a good taste in music. I never thought you'd like this stuff. I figured you were more the Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift kinda music."
I laughed,"I really come off as a person that listens to that type of music?" I said joking and we laughed. We did homework and talked listening to tons of CD's I hadn't played in forever. Since I got diagnosed. Miah even pulled out a couple records that he'd found.
"I collect em'," I told him. He was so excited, I thought it was funny. We grabbed my electric guitar from the corner of my bedroom and I taught Miah a couple chords. We were sitting on the bed, Miah playing like a pro, when I heard my mom call to us yelling that it was time for dinner. This is when the fun began.
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"Everything tastes great," Miah said with a smile and I smiled back at him.
"Thank you," my mother said a little tensely. "So, did you two meet in class?"
"No, we met in chemo," Miah answered calmy.
"Oh," was all my mother said as she glared at me. I pretended I didn't notice.
"He has leukemia too. It's almost gone though," I told her.
"Lucky him," Miah looked up at my mother, chewing on his food awkwardly now. "Well, I hope you too don't get to attached. You should know if Ben's told you about her own condition." I glared at my mother and I figured Miah could see the tenseness coming into the discussion.
"Ellie," my dad interupted,"not at the table." It was quiet for a while as we all ate.
"Well I guess I better get going," Miah said, breaking the silence,"I need to help my ma with all the kids." Miah stood up and everyone else followed him to the door.
"It was nice meetin' ya son," my dad smiled as they shook hands.
"Mrs. Penington," Miah said, nodding towrd my mother. As he walked out the door I waved bye and shut the door behind me.
"What the heck was that!" I yelled at my mother. "I bring home one guy and you treat him like crap!" I was furious and had had it with my mother.
"How come you never told me he was black?," was all my mother could say as she walked towards the dinner table to clean up.
"I don't know! Maybe I never noticed! Because it doesn't matter. What is with you? You don't like Briel, you Hate Marianne's boyfriend!"
"They're different than the rest of us," she said coldly.
"They're different. Really? They're not that different! Last I checked I was more different than them. I have a rare type of leukemia. Having cancer I would say is a lot more different!" I was fuming now. "A girl that has a mother that doesn't care who her daughter loves, that's different! Not some damn skin color! Are you aware that you're the only selfish person that still hasn't passed through segregation. I love him mom! I love him!"
"Love is a strong word that you can't possibly know the meaning of," my mother said calmy as if there was a force field around her that no one could penetrate.
"I know, I'm 17 not 10! You need to stop acting like your dying, because you aren't, I am" I spat at her. I walked out the door, tears running all over as I walked down the street to Miah's.
