What's Funny?

Chapter 5

The next morning I awoke to the sun shining in through the open window and into my eyes. I rubbed my eyes groggily and slowly sat up, noticing Eli sleeping next me soundly. 

“Get up, asshole,” I mumbled, nudging her gently. 

“I don’t wanna,” Eli whined and reached out at me like a young child looking for her lost teddy bear. 

“Come on,” I chuckled and grabbed her hand, pulling her up with me. She groaned rather loudly and flopped back onto the bed. 

“Dude,” I sighed heavily, taking her wrist and pulling her up once again. She let out another exaggerated groan and sat up, giving me the death stare before standing up and following me out into the hall. 

I quickly made my way to the base of the stairs and looked up at Eli, watching her as she stumbled down behind me at a slow pace. Once she made it to the bottom, I grabbed her wrist once again and dragged her into the kitchen with me, where we found a note from my mother sitting on the counter. 

I picked it up and began to read it out loud, “’Dad and I had to go into town, you’re on your own for the day. Food in the fridge, here’s the number for poison control, call me when you wake up. Love you, mom.’ Aww, Eli, look, she put a little heart,” I smiled to myself and showed the note to Eli. She nodded drowsily in response and closed her eyes.

“Wake up, damnit!” I yelled, slamming my fist on the counter. 

“What? I am up!” she argued and took a seat at one of the stools by the counter. 

“Whatever. Hey, can I borrow your phone?” I asked, playing with the hem of my t shirt. 

“Yeah, but it’s probably almost dead,” Eli replied as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and handed it to me. 

“Gracias,” I thanked her as I dialed my mother’s number and brought the phone up to my ear. A few moments of silence passed before she answered.

“Good morning!”  My mother greeted rather loudly.

“Hey, mom. So, I have a question,” I flashed a quick smirk at Eli. 

“I have an answer,” my mother replied, her voice ringing through my ears.

“So, you know the situation with Eli and her parents and such?” I mumbled into the phone, chewing at the inside of my cheek nervously. 

“For the most part, yes. What’s up?”

“Well, unfortunately, her mom kicked her out,” I sighed, shifting my weight.

“Oh, wow, that is unfortunate. Does she have a place to stay?” 

“That’s the thing. Is it alright if she stays here for a bit?” I asked hesitantly, nervous about her response.

“Of course she can!” My mother responded almost immediately, then finished with, “Your father won’t be too thrilled about it, but he’ll get over it,” 

“Thank you so much, mom,” I let out a sigh of relief. 

“Not a problem honey. I’ll see you two later. Love you!”

“Love you too, bye.” I smiled into the receiver and hung up, hanging the phone back to Eli. 

“So?” she asked impatiently, shoving the phone back into her pocket. 

“You can stay,” I smiled wide. 

“Wicked!” Eli cheered, throwing her fist up into the air.

“Yeah, I know,” I continued to smile. “You want some cereal?” I asked as I walked over to the pantry. 

 “Nah, let’s have an omelette,” Eli beamed up at me.