The Yellow Umbrella

Chapter Three: A Poet's Heart

I pulled off the jacket and stepped out of the dressing room, a nervous throb in my stomach as I thought about what I was going to say to Mia the next day in class.

But waiting outside the door wasn't my mom or Wyatt.

It was her. 

It was as if my thoughts summoned her. But by that logic, she would have been by my side twenty four seven. 

"Mia." I whispered breathlessly.

Our eyes locked, hers burning mine into oblivion. My mouth went dry, hands clammy, heart beating a million miles a minute. As if she wasn't nervous at all, Mia skipped over to me.

"Hey Jake." She smiled, revealing that tooth I loved so much.

I could feel the corners of my mouth inadvertently twitching upwards into a smile, "Hey. W-what are you doing here?"

Had she seen the text? Was she here to murder me? She totally seemed like the get-away-with-murder-type.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder, "Oh you know, just finished doing that thing girls do when they go shopping and tell their friends what they look good in. I hate it."

"Community service?" I joked nervously, my phone feeling like a hundred pound weight in my pocket.

Mia laughed. It was the kind of laugh that filled the entire room.

"I hate going to the mall. So many great places I could be right now, but here I am listening to pop hits in a store. " Mia smiled. 

I nodded, "Yeah I totally get that-"

"Jake!" My mom cut me off, "Who is this?"

I cringed, like physically cringed. 

Wyatt appeared behind me and apologetically whispered in my ear, "I tried texting you when I saw Mia come in, but there's no service. Your mom is relentless."

There was no service. Did my text send?

Mia shifted her attention to my mom and stuck her hand out, "Hi, I'm Mia."

"I'm Mrs. Morrow, the mother." My mom boasted, as if I were an Olympic athlete. 

My phone was burning a hole in my pocket. 

"So when are you planning on working on this project with Jake now?" My mom asked.

My stomach dropped to the floor.

"Uh, Friday I think." Mia answered. 

"But he said you canceled-"

"Mom!" I exclaimed. "I think I read the text wrong. Can we go?"

Mia cocked her head at me. I raised my eyebrows, praying she got my mental message.

"I actually have to go." Mia said slowly, "My phones getting fixed and I have to pick it up from the kiosk."

I was about to break into dance. She didn't have her phone! But then I realized, she soon would. 

"Jake can walk you. I need to get home anyways. Right, Mrs. Morrow?" Wyatt suggested.

The text, the text! I mentally screamed at him. I guess our friendship wasn't that strong. He misunderstood the assignment.

My mom exploded with excitement, "That's a good idea! Jake I'm going to take Wyatt home. Pick you up in half an hour?"

"Make it an hour." Mia answered for me.

It would take less than an hour to murder someone, but the clean up probably took awhile.