It All Started With An Apple

Chapter 3

My eyes widened.  Did he not realize how popular he was?  “Yeah.  You know, the people with crowds staring at their every move.”  I paused.  “You seriously don’t know how popular you are?”

“Enlighten me.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.  I stood up and grabbed a pen from my bureau.  I’d won it in a fair a couple years back.  It was a funky little pen with a weird little creature at the top with rubber strings hanging down so you could only see its huge, blue eyes peeking through all its man-made hair.  A pink cowboy hat sat on top of its head.  I swayed it back and forth, jumping slightly when the strings tickled my finger.

“I don’t need to enlighten you on the obvious,” I said, getting bored with the pen and setting it back on my bureau.  I grabbed a necklace I hadn’t put on since I’d gotten it at my fifteenth birthday party.  My grandparents thought I was all into jewelry and makeup like every other girl my age, so they always got me that kind of stuff.  “And I’m still awaiting the reason for this phone call.”

Dannon chuckled.  “I already told you—I don’t know.”

I seriously found that hard to believe.  You didn’t just grab a yearbook, find a girl’s last name, and then call all the Nichols families throughout the area.  You had to have some sense of reason.  At least, I thought you did.  “Uh-huh, okay.”

“So, what’s up?” Dannon asked lightly.

I cocked an eyebrow.  “Don’t you have football practice or something?” I asked, answering his question with a question.  “Or someone else to talk to?”

Dannon laughed.  “What makes you think that?”

I shrugged even though I knew he wouldn’t see it.  “I don’t know.  You’re always surrounded by people so you ought to have someone to talk to.”

“I have you to talk to.”

I was about to reply, but suddenly there was another voice in the background.  I tilted my head to the side, trying to figure out who it was.  Was it his mom or his dad?  Maybe a sibling?  That got me thinking—did he have any siblings?  Or was he an only child?

“Hold on,” Dannon murmured softly.  I could tell he’d pulled the phone away from his ear when he called.  “Yeah?”

I heard creaking.  Was he getting off his bed?  Or maybe it was his couch.  I sighed, sitting back down on my bed and resting my chin on my hand.  There was no point in guessing.  It wasn’t like I would know what was going on anyway.

“Dad?” I heard Dannon call, the curiosity clear in his voice.

“Oh, you’re on the phone,” came his dad’s voice.  He sounded a lot closer.  So either Dannon had come to him or he had come to Dannon.  Or maybe somewhere in between.

“Yeah,” Dannon said.  “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” said his dad.  “Just telling you I was home.  Who’s that on the phone?”

“Great.  Hi,” Dannon said, laughing.  “And it’s no one you know.”

What a great way to be introduced.  “No you one you know.” 

I sat there for a few moments, listening to him and his dad talk.  It was interesting how they talked to each other.  It wasn’t more of a father-son conversation, more like a conversation amongst equals.  It was like Dannon’s dad looked at him like they were the same age—like Dannon was mature enough to be considered older than he was.

“Remember, you have an appointment tomorrow after school,” his dad said, his voice becoming more distant.  He must have been walking away.

“All right,” Dannon called.  A moment later his voice turned back to me.  “Hey, sorry about that.”