Chapter Six:
The Boogy Man
____________________________
I sat up on my bed on this bright Thursday morning and looked at the snow pouring down outside. It was blanketing everything it possibly could outside including my mom's car that was sitting in the driveway. I sat up and groggily rubbed my eyes. A moan escaped my lips as I stretched my limbs out. Straightening out the shirt I had on, I stood up and shuffled slowly over to the bathroom across the hall.
After brushing my hair and teeth, I shuffled zombie-like back to my desk after noticing the laptop light that was still on. My screen was black, so it must've fallen asleep in the process of me falling asleep as well.
The screen lit up after I pressed the on button and revealed google results. Most were about the reading disorder that some people get called Dyslexia. It baffled me at first to why I had searched it in the first place, but soon realized I looked it up after coming home the other night. I had left on all last night and the night before because I was to busy with homework and everything else.
Cameron and I had went to the library and I tutored him for about 15 minutes before he gave up and wanted to go home. He seemed tired, but in a good mood. When he read, which wasn't much at all, he said his wrods differently. I assumed at first that he just did it by accident and was tired. After much more thinking, I had thought that maybe he had this disorder displayed on my computer screen.
Beside my laptop was my phone. It lit up and vibrated right off the desk. I picked it up and saw it was 20% battery as well as a text from an unknown number that made it vibrate in the first place. I quickly shut down my laptop and plugged it in the charge. A yawn surpised me as I made my back over to my bed which was calling my name.
Unknown Number: school was cancelled. Wanna study?
I racked my brain for a moment in attempt to figure out who it was. I can never function completely when I first wake up so I was a little foggy. Then it hit me, it's Cameron! I gave him my number the last time we were together at the library and he was just now using it.
Before replying, I walked out of my room and downstairs to find my mother fooling around in the kitchen. She had on her work clothes and was messing around with pancake batter when she sqealed, a puff of flour flying everywhere. I held back a giggle as I went to help her.
Mom was moving her hands around and dusting the flour off of herself when she saw me. Her movements were frantic and all over the place as she tried so hard to clean herself off.
"What's going on?" I asked her as I dusted the flour out of her hair. It was cascading down down onto her shoulders into soft wavy curls like it usually was.
"School was cancelled becasue of the snow. I still have to go to work and I'm trying to make pancakes for Matt..." She rambled as she hastily continued to pour the pancake batter into a frying pan. I slowly reached forward and grabbed the frying pan handle, "Here, mom. I'll do this. You go get cleane dup for work." I gave her slight shove.
She gave me a grateful cmile before kissing my forehead and setting the bowl down that had batter in it. I wiped off the flour that her lips left on my forehead and continued to make these pancakes for Matt. My mom ruffled his hair as she passed Matt, who was coming to check up on his pancakes.
"Are they done?" He asked me. He stood on his tip-toes so he could see how they were doing in the frying pan. The skeptic look on his face mad eme laugh.
"Almost." I patted his head and shooed him away. As the pancakes cooked, I lifted myself onto the counter and picked up my phone from where I placed it before helping my mom. I swiped it on and tapped on the unknown number.
Me: Cameron?
I didn't want to look stupid for talking about something that only the two of us know about.
Unknown Number: yeah
I quickly added him into my contacts and went back to messages to reply to him.
Me: ok. and isn't the weather bad for us to be going out?
Cameron: i was thinking i could come to your house
I thought about this for a moment. Would my mom mind if I had him over? I know my dad would mind me having a boy over, but he's at work. It would only be for a little while, anyways. Then I had the weather to worry about. Maybe it now being almost 10:00 am the roads wwould be a litle better.
"Mom?" I flipped the pancakes once and ran back the hallway to my mom and dad's room. Mom stood in front of the mirror, adjusting her new outfit and pulling her hair into a ponytail since it was damp after her shower.
"Is it okay if I have a freind over. I'm tutoring them." I was careful not to say it was a he so she didn't flip out. She turned around and had a wide grin on her face.
"Yes! I mean, if the roads aren't bad. I'm happy to see you've made more friends!" My mom gushed. She knew about everything that happened between me and Danielle and the other girls on my basketball tema that I call my friends. I knew she was secretly hoping I wouldn't end up a loner, which is what I've become.
She went back to getting ready and I hurried back to the pancakes, turning tehm off. Matt sat at the table as I cut his up and poured syrup on them. This was his favorite breakfast of all. Matt smiled up at me, his two front teeth missing. I almost forget about him losing both of them. It was one of the most important parts of his life according to him.
I opened my messages again and typed away a response that I was almost happy about. This coul be awkward, or I could let go of all the awkwardness I have in me and act like a normal teenage girl.
Me: you can come over at 10 if you want. do you know where i live?
He replied a few minutes later, which was enough time for me to scarf down two pancakes. My mom also came out and kissed Matt and I, giving us instructions on what to do today. She told me to shovel the sidewalk in front of the house and the one that led from the garage to the front porch and fold the laundry. I didn't mind it since I wouldn't be doing much more today.
I grabbed my phone after she left for work.
Cameron: just give me your address
I typed in my address and rushed up to my room after cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. If I was going to have a friend, a boy for that matter, come over, then I wasn't going to be in pajamas. I pulled on a pair of faded boot-cut jeans and a comfortable blue areopostale long sleeved shirt. Afterwards I allowed my brown locks to be their usual wavy selves and went downstairs.
Matt was in the living room watching morning cartoons. I decided to get a move on with my chores and start shoveling snow. It was still lightly snowing out but the temperature wasn't so low that I'd need a snow suit on. I wrapped my winter coat around me and slig on my gloves as well as a scarf and a hat that covered my ears. Matt didn't seem to notice when I slipped on my boots and out the door.
A shovel was waiting for me propped against the side of the house. I grabbed a hold of it and began shoveling the snow out of the way of the sidewalk.
Just as I reached the middle of the sidewalk that led to our grage, a truck pulled up in my driveway. I pulled the shovel out of a snow pile that it was jabbed in and leaned on it. Cameron stepped out of his truck wearing jeans and his snow stuff. A steelers toboggan covered his fluffy brown hair. He slammed his door shut and stood there for a moment with his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets.
"Need some help?" He asked me. I snapped myself out of the invisible trance I was in and dropped my shovel in the snow before grabbing another one out of the open garage. I handed it to Cameron without a word, but with a smile.
"Thanks," I said finally. Cameron started to shovel on the opposite side of the sidewalk while i continued from where I was. We slowly met in the middle.
Cameron's shovel was stuck on mine when he tried to get the last little bit of the snow in the middle. A smirk grew on his lips as he stood there, not moving. I leaned on one leg and cleared my throat, trying to play along.
"Eh hem. I believe i'm trying to clear off this snow." I grinned at him and rested my hands on the handle of the shovel, my chin on top of them. Cameron's smirk turned into a cheesy grin and he shoved his shovel so that it took all the snow.
While his back was turned, I bent down to pick up a snowball. I stood up and tossed it at the back of Cameron's head, hitting my mark right on. He froze for a moment before turning around a revealing a chunk of snow of his own. I squealed and took off running around the house. Cameron of course followed me and chucked his snowball at me. It hit my back and I ran faster.
Me being my clumsy self, I slipped in the snow and fell onto my back. I think I was on the patio in out backyard which is what made the ground so slippery. Cameron must not have been able to stop in time because his body came down onto mine, knocking the air of me.
We both burst out laughing and I couldn't help but notice how close our faces were. I continued laughing my butt off as did Cameron, and he helped me up onto my feet. My pants were a little wet frrom the snow so I decided we both had better go inside.
Still laughing, Cameron and I stepped inside the back door. Matt came running in and jumped up and down in front of me. He obviously had to much sugar at some point when I was outside.
"Matt, what did you eat?" I questioned. Cameron joined me after he hung his stuff where I hung mine. I noticed how he looked at Matt, then at me and had a satified look on his face. Yes, Matt and I do look an awfully lot alike. I smiled to myself and turned my ayyention fully to my little brother.
"Yeah! I ate pixy stix that were in the drawer. They were so good! Oh, and the marshmallows and cookies in the cabinet." i clamped my hand over Matt's mouth and picked him up in one scoop into my arms. i carefully walked in to the living room and dropped him on to the couch. He exploded into a fit of laughters and I playfully threw a blanket on him, covering his view from everything.
I turned around and ran straight into someone's hard chest. I felt my cheeks heat up when i realized it Cameron who was smirking down at me. I laugh at myself. Who else would i have ran in to? The boogy man?
I waved Cameron into the kitchen so we could start studying. After grabbing my book out of my bag, I laid it down on the kitchen table so we could start. Cameron seemd as if he was battling his thoughts when I sat down. He snapped himself back into reality and smiled at me.
For the first time in the one week I've been talking to Cameron, I felt butterflies erupt in my stomach. He had a flawless smile. So, I made the decision to hide away all the awkwardness that might come out off what I was about to say.
________________________
Mwaha! Cliff hanger. Well, I guess that's what you would call it.
Tell me what you think!
Vote/Comment/Fan!