Rayonnante - Paul Lahote

Chapter 8

It was Friday night and Lena was bored. She'd spent the last few days trying to do anything but think about Paul Lahote. That meant that she'd cleaned her entire house top to bottom, washed her car and done all of her homework. She'd even watched a two hours documentary about the evolution of pants throughout history. Still, every time she had even one free second, her thoughts went back to the boy who still hadn't come back to school. She was starting to truly worry about him. Was anyone bringing him his homework? He'd missed a lot of stuff. Enough so that she wondered if he'd even be able to graduate. She couldn't phantom a good enough reason for such a long absence. She knew that he wasn't sick. Jared was also missing and it'd just be way too convenient for them to be gone at the same time. Although she had to admit that she'd suspected it was an illness going around school for a while after hearing from Jacob that Embry Call hadn't come to school either. But then she'd reminded herself that Paul had actually told her he wouldn't be coming to school for a while. He couldn't have possibly planned on being ill. Anyway, it wasn't any of her business. She barely knew the guy and, no matter how much of a deeper meaning she tried to give their few conversations, she understood that she realistically couldn't expect any sort of explanation from him.

Sighing, she focussed back on the list she'd been writing. Since she'd spent the past few weeks alone, she hadn't felt the need to go to the store as often as she did when her aunt was in town. She tended to cook larger quantities of food so she'd have leftovers for the following days. It wasn't exactly the most exciting culinary adventure. She did sometimes get tired of eating the same thing. But it saved her money and time. Now, though, she had to admit that she was quite grateful for the distraction. She'd even decided to walk, knowing that it'd entertain her for even longer. That was one of the greatest things about the reservation. There weren't any big roads full of traffic, or industrial looking buildings. Everything was nature, houses and small shops. That meant that the scenery was always perfect for a nice stroll. Sure, the rain often hindered her plans, but as long as she wore a decent raincoat, nothing could stop her.

Thankfully, the weather hadn't been too bad for the past few days, which meant that she was able to wear sneakers without the fear of getting her feet wet. She'd tried to infuse a bit of joy in her day by going for a colorful outfit, wearing one of her favorite lavender sweater that was so soft it reminded her of a cloud. She grabbed a few reusable shopping bags that she kept in a closet near the door and headed out.

Although there was a slightly bigger grocery store in Forks, Lena often chose the small market of La Push to do her shopping. Sure, they didn't have as much of a big selection as their competitors, but she liked that it was so close to her house and that the staff was so nice. Most of the older employees had seen her grow up and always took time out of their day to ask how she was going. There were also a few kids from the reservation who stocked the shelves and sometimes manned one of the two cash registers. They were friendly enough. One of them, Matthew, who was a year below her in school, even helped her sometimes when she couldn't reach an item on the top shelf.

She started stocking up on fruit and vegetables, which were the first thing you could see when entering the building. It was much easier to shop only for herself, buying the things that she liked and making up a menu for the week as she went along. Her aunt was more of a picky eater. She usually ate most of what Lena cooked but it'd be easy to see it on her face when she wasn't happy with the meal. Since her niece was so grateful for being able to stay in her house rent-free, she always tried her best to please her with her cooking. Sure, she wasn't the most responsible guardian figure in the world, but she was still a heck of a lot better than her dad.

She had just reached the cereal aisle when she heard someone call her name behind her.

"Lena! "