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Excuse the mistakes
Picture of Zephyr on the side (she's in second half of chapter)-->
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"What's your favorite color?"
"Black... like my soul."
I raised an eyebrow at Parker's response, and he just shrugged and flicked some hair out of his eyes. I sighed and scribbled the answer down on the napkin I'd grabbed from a nearby table, along with the red ballpoint pen I was using.
I asked Parker a couple more, one-answer questions before moving onto the more in depth questions that were typed out on the sheet.
"What do your parents do for a living?" I asked, clicking my pen uncomfortably. Paulie's, and the crowd it attracted, didn't exactly put me at ease.
"My dad is a CEO," Parker replied, crossing his arms over his chest, "He works for a publishing company."
"What about your mom?" I prodded as I scribbled his answer down.
"She's dead."
My head snapped up, and I stared at Parker with wide, shocked eyes. I had no idea how to respond to news like that. So, my brain decided to reach for sounds that didn't quite form into coherent words. "I.. The... Wha..."
Parker burst out laughing, which made me even more confused. But after a moment of thinking he was crazy, I understood what was going on. My eyes narrowed, and I started to slap Parker on his shoulder, since he was bent over laughing.
"I thought you were serious!" I cried, mentally kicking myself for being so gullible. "Parker, that's so not funny!"
"Then, why did I laugh?" Parker retorted, and he sat back up with a wide smirk on his face. I bit the inside of my cheek and set my jaw in a firm scowl. Parker rolled his eyes and said, "My mom and dad are divorced, and she lives in Hong Kong for work. I live with my dad and stepmom, who stays home and looks after my four-year-old half-sister."
"That's a normal answer," I stated, writing it down. I checked the time on my cell phone, and I saw that I didn't have much longer before I was going to need to head home. "We only have time for a few more questions," I informed Parker as I tucked my phone back into my pocket, "I have to go soon."
"So, is it my turn?" Parker asked, and I gave him a confused look. "Is it my turn to ask you some questions?" Parker clarified, "I mean, it's only fair for me to pick your brain since you got to do mine."
Unfortunately, the guy had a point.
"Fine," I said with a sigh, "Go ahead and ask away."
First, Parker went through the generic questions. He asked about my favorite musicians, favorite movies, books, and foods. Then, Parker took a sharp turn to the personal.
"Are your parents divorced?" Parker asked, and my head snapped back in surprise.
"My, aren't you blunt?" I muttered, and Parker shrugged like he didn't care. I bit the corner of my lip and answered, "No. My dad owns and manages a couple of restaurants and my mom is a professional matchmaker."
"Wow," Parker commented, folding his hands in his lap and raising his eyebrows, "That sounds fantastic. I bet you go out a lot."
"You have no idea," I muttered, rolling my eyes. It was then that I noticed Parker wasn't writing down any of my answers to the questions he was asking. "Shouldn't you be jotting the things I'm saying down?" I asked.
"Nah," Parker replied with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I can remember it."
"Whatever," I mumbled under my breath, and I motioned for Parker to keep asking me questions so that I could get home.
"What's the craziest thing you've ever done?" Parker asked, and I blanched.
That was a hard question... especially since I hadn't done anything crazy. At least, I don't think an all day Harry Potter movie marathon was crazy.
Just as I opened my mouth to give Parker a bullshit answer, Eddie appeared in front of the chairs we'd taken at the edge of the room. He had this strange emotion in his eyes, and he looked really flushed.
"Parker, mate, we gotta leave," Eddie said urgently, and when Parker didn't move, he added, "Now!"
"What did you do?" I asked, and when I looked past Eddie, I noticed a group of guys glaring at Eddie's back and talking to each other, their mouths stretched into fatal scowls. Suddenly, I didn't want Eddie to answer that question.
"Let's just say," Eddie said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, "that some guys are sore losers. And when said guys get mad, they like to take it out on poor English lads."
Without having said a word, Parker glanced behind Eddie, and he got a pained look on his face. "Eddie, Eddie, Eddie," Parker chastised, "How many times do I need to tell you not to play cards with Ron and his pals?"
Parker was trying to be light and casual, but I could see right through his act. Apparently, it seemed like this Ron dude wasn't someone you wanted to piss off, and Eddie had managed to do just that.
"They're coming this way," I whispered, glancing over at Parker, "Should we leave?"
"Immediately."
I stood up from the dirty, plastic chair I'd been perched on, and I hurried behind Parker as he made his way towards the front of the room. Eddie was behind me, but suddenly, I sensed that he wasn't there. When I turned around, I was right.
"Parker," I called, getting his attention. I turned around to see Eddie, the collar of his shirt gripped tightly in a beefy man's hand, getting yelled at. The man pulled his fist back just as Parker shoved past me.
Right before my eyes, Parker landed a right hook on the man's face. Eddie was released, and Parker grabbed him and started to drag him quickly out of Paulie's. "C'mon Reed!" Parker yelled as he passed me, "Let's get the hell out of here!"
There was no way I was going to protest to that.
I shoved through the mass of people and burst out through the metal door, right behind Eddie and Parker. We didn't stop running until we were across the street and down the sidewalk a bit. I spotted my car parked against the curb and sent a silent 'thank you' to the heavens.
"Well, I had a great time," I said sarcastically, and I pointed to my car, "but I really do need to get home."
"Nice to meet you, Love," Eddie replied with a half-hearted wave, and he immediately started to fish in his pockets to find a cigarette and lighter, since Parker wouldn't let him smoke with me around.
"Likewise," I said slowly, and I turned to look at Parker. "I'll see you around, Baby Daddy."
"Until next time, Baby Mama," Parker replied, his smirk dripping with arrogance.
I turned quickly on my heel and hurried towards my car as the wind started to pick up and whip my ponytail around. I unlocked the driver's side door and ducked into the car seat. After a moment of sitting there and letting the events sink in, I turned on the car and peeled away from the curb.
*
"Is that an egg?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
I placed the basket containing the egg wrapped in tons of tissue paper on the bench and plopped down on the folding chair across from it. Zephyr eyed the basket and then looked back at me, her expression telling me that she was waiting for an explanation.
"We're doing the stereotypical baby-raising project in health class," I explained, rolling my eyes.
"No offense, babe, but that sounds lame," Zephyr stated simply, and she shimmied out of her jeans.
"You're not the one who has to do it, Z," I replied, and Zephyr nodded.
Today, Mrs. Matthews had handed out the eggs to the parenting pairs. Our homework was to outline the parenting relationship and give the egg qualities to make it more human to us. Of course, Parker decided not to show up to class today, so I was stuck watching the unfertilized chicken baby.
"Damn straight," Zephyr replied, "My school just throws an abstinence rally once every couple months to keep the parents off their backs." I chuckled as I unzipped my gym bag, where I kept my dance clothes.
If Maya was my best friend, Zephyr was like my long lost twin. I'd grown up dancing in the same studio as Zephyr since I was four-years-old, and we knew each other better than any other person. It was funny that I got along with both Maya and Zephyr extremely well, but the two girls couldn't stand each other.
Zephyr thought Maya was a snob who believed she was better than everyone else. Maya felt that Zephyr was an uppity bitch who thought she was badass and cool, but was really just a lame wannabe. It was a miracle from God that Zephyr didn't go to the same school as us, because she wasn't afraid to slap someone she didn't like.
Namely, Maya.
"Hurry up, RJ," Zephyr barked, using her nickname derived from my first and middle initials, "We're going to be late teaching the glass lickers how to dance."
Zephyr and I taught a dance class to six- and seven-year-olds Thursdays after school, much to her annoyance. Originally, it was just a class for me to teach, but I told the owners of the studio that Zephyr had to do it with me. She wasn't thrilled, since she hated dealing with little kids.
I honestly don't know why we were picked in the first place, since we had mouths as dirty as the raunchiest sailor and no filters when it came to adult subjects. I like to think we were because Zephyr and I were good dancers, but it was probably because no one else wanted the class.
Quickly, I pulled off my jeans and blouse, and I changed into a pair of spandex shorts and a neon blue sports bra. I yanked a purple tank top on over that and pulled my hair up into a loose bun on top of my head.
After making sure the egg was in a place where it wouldn't be crushed, I walked out of the locker room barefoot and into studio A, where my class was waiting for me.
Zephyr already had the girls and one boy down on the mats, stretching, so I padded over to the stereo system where she stood. "Ready?" I asked, grinning at her.
"I'm only in this for the money," Zephyr grumbled, and I chuckled to myself. I started flipping through the massive collection of CDs to find the one for our class, and Zephyr poked me on the shoulder.
"Hey," she said, "can I ask you something?"
"Shoot," I replied without looking up.
"This guy I'm sort of eyeing is throwing a party on Saturday," Zephyr said, and I smiled at her word choice. "Will you come be my wing woman?"
"Of course I will," I stated, grinning up at her. Zephyr pumped her hand up in the air and made a gruff sound of happiness.
"You are amazing, RJ," Zephyr said, and I shrugged.
"I can't help but be me," I replied, giving her an innocent look. Zephyr laughed and walked over to our students, and she told them to line up for an opening acro workout. As I found the CD and popped it into the player, I couldn't help but think that something else was going on this Saturday.
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Now, I go to bed.
So what do you guys think about Zephyr? Parker? Reed? anyone else?
Also, HOLY POO KNUCKLES THIS STORY ALREADY HAS OVER 4000 READS!!!! You guys are amazing! It is also currently #117 on the what's hot list for teen fiction, as well as #224 on the humor, which is the lowest I've ever gotten in each of those catagories. Thank you so much for making that possible!!!!
Just an update; the pain in my foot has gone down a lot and I'm getting my cast on Monday. It shall be bright orange. IT HAS BEEN DECIDED!!!
Haha, obviously, I need to go to bed now.
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