B(re)aking Away

Chapter 7

It was nice to be out of the rain, but as soon as I had sat down and closed the door, I felt oddly self-conscious. I could feel how wet my feet were from the water in my shoes, and I hoped that he could not smell it. Most of my hair is covered by my beanie and only a few locks of black hair pokes out; dripping slightly onto my jacket. It will dry soon enough, I told myself, because I did not want to make myself more self-conscious and awkward.

"Where to?" he asked as he pulled out from the bus stop and into traffic.

I mumbled the address and told him to take the next right. The car was a Toyota RAV4 and it seemed new or very well kept. I guessed that it was the family car, because I saw no evidence of a teenage boy owning this car. No trash, no food containers and no take-away menus. That is what I would usually spot in boys' cars from school. However, I did notice a first aid kit in the back seat.

We did not say anything at first and that brought my attention to the driver himself, as I was too preoccupied studying my surroundings to start a conversation myself.

His jet black hair was completely dry and almost matte looking, so he had not been outside recently. His face was almost pointed out because of his square jaw. It was very pronounced and looked like it could cut through any fits that came to contact with it. Two things were softening his face and that was his green eyes and the subtle stubble growing on his chin and around his mouth. For a moment I wondered how he would look with a full beard. If it was trimmed, it would probably look good on him. Today he was wearing a dark gray t-shirt and plain jeans. He was so concentrated on the road (as he should be) that I jumped a tiny bit when he suddenly said "What were you doing at the school so late?"

I instantly turned to look out the front window, but from the corner of my eye, I could see him smirk at my reaction, which in turn made me start to blush. I usually do not blush so easily, so it annoyed me somewhat when it came so easy to him.

"I stayed a bit after last class" I said while purposely not looking at him.

When I did not elaborate and continue, he asked further "Which subject?"

"Pastry art" I said quietly. Why was I whispering? It was not like it was a secret.

"Did you fart? Thanks for letting me know" he said and I looked at him shocked, while he rolled his window down.

"Pastry art!" I said more clearly and he laughed at me and rolled the window back up.

"I bet it smells better" he said and glanced at me before looking back at the road "Do you get to decide what you make or are there assignments set?"

With that question I was off and my sheer excitement for the subject shined through clearly. I talked about what I thought of it, my hopes of it and what I wanted to make. At one point, I wanted to stop. I felt I was oversharing, but I just could not stop. Usually, Carina or Jo would tease me at this point and a natural change in the conversation would happen, but they were not here, so none could stop me. Luckily, we turned onto my street soon afterwards, and I finally stopped talking, as I pointed out my house for him. I prayed that the blush was not as visible as I felt it was. I quickly felt my right cheek as he parked in front of my house and it felt warm, unfortunately.

We sat there for a moment in awkward silence, but then out of the corner of my eye I could see him slightly turn towards me and I panicked.

Before he could say anything, I opened the door, felt the now heavy rain pour down my arm and said "See you tomorrow then!" and practically ran out and slammed the door behind me. I ran to my front door and stood there for a moment. I dared not turn around out of pure awkwardness, but I could not make myself go inside. I did not hear the car pull away immediately, so I half turned and caught it in the corner of my eye. Then he drove off into the rain. I shook my head, clearing my head of this confusing encounter and went into the house.

Once inside in the dry and hanging my jacket on the rake, I suddenly realized how rude that could have seemed, what I just did. I had actually just run for him without seeing much.

I felt incredibly rude, for not thanking him for the ride, so I took out my phone, found his message and responded with a quick 'Thanks for the ride'.

Then I put the phone back into my bag, left it in the hallway and went to the kitchen to help my mom with dinner.

The main floor of our house was mostly the den and kitchen. It had its odd angles, but we had made it work and made it cozy. For instance, If we extended the dining table, for when we had guests, whoever sat at the end, sat in a nook, which used to be a built-in closet. The person could not get out unless the table was moved a bit back (which was difficult) or they crawled under the table. This was why it was usually Max and me who sat there. We were often the smallest and could get out easier. However, when it was just the four of us, there was plenty of space. Towards the yard we had my parents' room and bathroom.

During dinner we talked about Max's and my first days of school and how Max was trying out for the basketball team on Friday now that he was in junior high school. I talked a bit about my pastry art class, but stopped myself quickly, because the embarrassment from the car ride was still lingering in my mind. We finished dinner and Max and I went to our rooms on the second floor, separated by our shared bathroom. I read during the rest of the evening and went to bed early.

When I woke up the next morning, there was a message waiting for me from Jack.

"You're welcome and good morning!"

I hesitated for a moment, if I should text back and thought maybe I should ask advice from the girls. Then a moment later, I felt silly, so I texted a 'Good morning' back and started my day.

With the blue sky, I decided to bike to school and texted Jo during breakfast to let her know. We had talked about carpooling, but I was thinking of going downtown after school today. I brought my beanie right over my ears to keep my hair under control while biking. Halfway to school I spotted Carina a bit ahead of me, so I called out to her, but she did not hear me. I biked harder and a moment later I was next to her.

"Morning!" I called.

She smiled back and took her earpiece out, where she had probably been listening to a new podcast, "Good morning!" Carina followed a lot of podcasts and it felt at times as if she knew everything. Straight A student and partially the reason for many of our good grades. She never did our homework, but she would study with anyone who needed it or explain something again if we did not get what the teachers were talking about. At Carina's they had one dog, two cats and a couple of bunnies along with her and her siblings (two younger and one older, who was soon moving out), who she babysat often. She would be either a doctor/vet or professor.

She asked about the pastry art class and I told her a bit. I did not want to bore her, so I asked about what she was listening to before.

"Podcast about emerging wildlife in Canada" she said smiling "They're walking about some new wolves sightings of a certain size. Greater than usual".

"Sounds almost like science fiction" I said jokingly.

"That is what is so great. What we thought was fantasy, might actually be reality. Wouldn't that be exciting?" she asked as we biked through the school gate.

"I never thought of it like that." I answered as we parked the bikes "but that would be seriously cool".

"I know, right?"

We went into the school building and soon met up with the rest. Before we all went to our separate classes Jo and Brian announced that the first soccer match would be the coming week and we all agreed to come watch and then go out to eat afterwards.

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A/N* There was the new chapter. We have a long weekend in Denmark this weekend, so I might not be able to update before Monday, it'll depend on how much time I get behind the computer.

I hope you will leave a review and let me know if you liked this chapter with a vote :)

Best
- Sofie