Chapter 9
Kailani
"Are you ever going to tell me what's bothering you?" I asked Lincoln as we walked to our English class. "It has been a week since you started acting so distant and I'm worried about you."
"I'm fine," Lincoln said. "Really."
"That, I don't believe," I said. "Is it bad?"
"No," Lincoln said. "Just....confusing, I guess. Kailani, I promise I'm fine. I just want to figure things out alone."
"Okay," I said. "If it gets too much for you to handle alone, just remember that I'll always be here for you."
"I know," Lincoln said, giving me a faint smile. "Thanks."
We got to our English class and immediately sat down at our desk. There was a seating plan, so Lincoln and I weren't sitting beside each other. In fact, him sitting beside Wendy in this class is what got them to know each other better.
Shortly after the class started, our teacher, Mrs. Hunt, gave everyone a short story and told them about a project we were going to be doing with a partner. We had to rewrite the short story, keeping the key details of it to see if we truly understood what they were.
As soon as she told us we were now able to choose our partner, I looked over at Lincoln. He looked at me and pointed to Wendy, signalling he was going to work with her this time. I gave him a smile and nodded.
That was a first. He never partnered up with Wendy, no matter how many times I said it would be fine if he did.
On the downside, I now didn't have a partner and I barely talked to anybody in this class. I barely talked to anybody in the school.
I noticed that the principal walked through the door, a boy following him. The principal talked to Mrs. Hunt for a bit before leaving the class, the boy staying.
Mrs. Hunt then walked over to me. "Kailani, do you have a partner yet?" she asked and I shook my head. "Would you mind working with Simon here for the project? He's new to the school."
"Sure," I said, so Simon sat down beside me.
"What exactly is the project?" Simon asked.
I showed him the short story. "We have to rewrite this, keeping all the key details to see if we actually know what they are," I said. "Here, quickly read it."
Simon took the short story and read it over, quicker than I thought. "Okay, this should be easy," he said.
I opened my notebook and grabbed a pencil from my bag. "So, are you new to Ladera Grove?" I asked.
"Yeah," Simon said. "I just moved here on Saturday."
"How do you like it so far?" I asked.
"It's nice," he said. "It's peaceful and beautiful. Out of all the places I lived, this is probably my favorite so far."
"Have you moved around a lot?" I asked.
"Uh, yeah, you can say that," he said.
The two of us got started on the project, planning exactly what we had to keep in the story and what we wanted to change. When the class was over, we decided to meet in the school library so we could get ahead of the project since Mrs. Hunt told us we weren't going to get that much class time.
When school finally ended, I went to my locker to put my stuff away and grab my English notebook. While I was doing so, Lincoln walked up to me. "Hey," he said. "Sorry I'm not your partner for the project."
"It's fine," I said. "I was wondering when you would ever want to partner up with Wendy anyway."
"So, do you want to hang out today?" Lincoln asked. "We can go to the beach."
"I'm actually going to meet my partner in the library," I said. That, and ever since water kept moving on me and I got that peculiar mark on my shoulder, I tried avoiding water. Well, except for when I had to shower, of course. It was a pain at first because the water kept moving, but I finally got it to stay.
"Oh," Lincoln said, sounding a bit disappointed. "Okay."
"Are you sure everything is okay with you?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said. "Well, I should be heading home then. I'll see you when you get home."
When he walked away, I watched as I furrowed my eyebrows. Something really was bothering him. I hoped he was able to figure it out soon, because he was acting really different.
I grabbed my English notebook out of my locker before closing it and heading to the library. Simon was already sitting at a table, reading a book. As soon as I sat down beside him, he quickly closed the book and covered it with his notebook. "I'm guessing you don't want me to know what you're reading," I said.
"Not really, no," he said.
I shrugged, taking my bag off and setting it on the floor. I took out a pencil and the short story so we could get to work. However, we decided to get to know each other a bit more before we started.
"So, have you lived here you whole life?" Simon asked.
"Uh, yeah," I said. "I live with my best friend and his dad. Actually, when I was a baby, I was left on their doorsteps. I have never met my parents before."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Simon said.
"It's fine," I said. "I kind of accepted it. Besides, I like living with my best friend. His dad owns the resort here, so we get in all the time and get free food."
"Wow, lucky," Simon said. "And if it makes you feel any better, I've been fostered basically all my life. I just recently found my mom, but she was sick in the hospital and on Friday, she passed away."
I frowned. "I'm so sorry. That must suck."
"Yeah, it does," Simon said. "But at least I got to spend a few days with her. I just wished it was longer." He then cleared his throat. "We should probably get started on the project."
We were able to plan out what we wanted the story to go like before deciding that we would be able to start writing it the next time we were able to work together.
Our walk to our houses ended up being in the same direction, so we started walking together, talking more. As it turned out, Simon has lived all over Florida and he never stayed in the same place for too long. He was hoping that he would actually stay here for a long time.
We got to my house and I stopped in front of it. "And this is where I live," I said.
Simon looked at the house with an impressed look. "Wow," he said. "It's huge. You're quite lucky."
"I guess I am," I said. "Hey, tomorrow at lunch, you can see with me and my friends. You'll like them. There's my best friend, Lincoln. He's really nice and gets along with everyone. Then there's Heath, the captain of the soccer team. He's a jokester, so prepare for a lot of cheesy jokes. And then there's Wendy, Lincoln's girlfriend. She's the head cheerleader, but she's nothing like those stereotypes. She's really nice."
"Yeah, I'd love to sit with you guys," he said. "Thanks."
"I'll see you tomorrow then," I said.
"See you," Simon said before continuing walking down the path.
I walked into the house where Lincoln was sitting on the couch, watching TV, and his dad Marvin was reading a book. "Who was that?" Marvin asked.
"Simon, he's new," I said. "He's my partner for an English partner. Were you spying?"
"Some may call it spying, but I call it looking out the conveniently large window facing the sidewalk," Marvin said.
I rolled my eyes and sat down beside Lincoln on the couch. "Want to hang out now?" I asked.
"Nope," Lincoln said, keeping his eyes on the TV. "I'm comfortable here. Besides, you're the one who didn't want to hang out with me when I asked."
"Because I already planned to meet with Simon," I said. "But I'm done now, so we can hang out if you want."
"I don't want to," Lincoln said.
"Okay," I said, standing up from the couch. "You know, you should probably tell someone, anyone, what's going on with you. I'm worried about you."
"I'm fine," he said.
"So you keep saying," I said. "Even if you feel fine, just talk to someone so they can confirm that you are."
"How about you tell your old father?" Marvin asked.
"Dad, I'm fine," Lincoln said. "I don't need to tell anyone what's going on."
"Keep telling yourself that," I said. "I'll be in my room if you ever decide to tell me, or even if you just want to hang out."
___________________
Simon finally met one of the others. Woooooooo
He's still my bae. I love me my Simon.
And trust me, nobody will ever guess what's in the envelope. cx