I wake up to the sound of Atty's concerned mumbling. It takes a few seconds for my vision to adjust, but when it does I spot him sitting at the round table with his phone cradled between his ear and shoulder as he fiddles with his laptop.
What time is it?
There's sunlight filtering through the half-open velvet curtains beside his bed, casting a beautiful halo on his ruffled hair. Considering he's still in his pajama, it seems like he just got out of bed.
I stifle a yawn as I shift around on the mattress, trying to reach the clock on our shared nightstand.
6 a.m. Huh. We're not supposed to be up for another 2 hours. I know because Atty set multiple alarms on his phone, and then some on mine too. He was really excited about seeing a few of the 'sights' around here before we got back on the road.
Hold on, is it bad if I eavesdrop? But it's such a small room, how can I not? I think I'll just lay still and whatever noise enters my ears is fair game.
I wait a few minutes but all I can really make out is a couple words, most of which are 'yeah', 'okay', and 'I understand'.
Atty finally puts his phone down on the table and sighs. I watch quietly as he balances his chin on the palm of his hand and curls his fingers, slowly tapping the index against his cupid's bow.
Deep thoughts, it seems.
I prop myself up on my elbows, tilting my head. "Everything okay?"
He sits up instantly, gaze trained on me. "You're awake?"
"Barely, I would've went back to sleep too but you're looking super stressed so..."
Atty chuckles, shaking his head. "I got a call from work, some of our teams' deadlines have been moved up because they're estimating a delay with one of our other projects and the schedule is all screwed up... anyways, it's kind of a shitshow right now."
Ah, I see. "They need you to clock in right now, don't they?"
He purses his lips and nods. But his eyebrows are too furrowed and his eyes keep drifting to his laptop. There's more.
"And?" I ask, prompting him to continue. I have no clue why there's all this suspense. Usually when people get like this they follow up with 'I'm pregnant' or 'l want a divorce'.
"I accidentally let it slip that I'm here, in New York- only 20 minutes away from head office. They insisted I come to HQ, not at the branch back home. Normally I would tell them I can't and set up a conference call but it was Ivan on the phone."
The gears in my head immediately start shifting as I sort through various memory clutters trying to remember who the hell Ivan is. I'm thinking so hard, if I was a computer the overheating fans would start kicking in.
Let's see, Ivan... instant messenger- IM, M for Marge... Oh! He's the district boss!
I gasp, sitting up straight this time. "You can't say no to bossman, he'll shred your ass."
Atty frowns and folds his arms. He gets up from the table and begins packing up all his papers and gadgets. "I'm really, really, sorry."
"Don't be." I wave my hand and shrug. There's no helping it, Atty did everything he could on his part. Sometimes it's just unavoidable. The last thing I want is to pull Atty away from work.
Guess this means I'm going home alone. No biggie, I just finished my super long playlist a few days ago so I'm all prepped.
I hop out of bed, taking time to stretch and pop everything possible. A cold soothing feeling rushes into my lower spine, as if some kind of flood gate has been opened. There's just something about sleeping next to the AC, it liquefies all my joints.
Atty sees me collecting the various items I've scattered around the room and smiles (tries to, at least). "That's good," he says, "we need to leave now if I have any shot of making it back in decent time."
Making it back? I freeze in my tracks, slowly turning to face him. "What're you talking about? You're only 20 minutes away."
"Yeah but I'm going to drop you off and come back."
If Atty wasn't making such a serious face, I'd think for sure he's messing with me. Holy crap, he's finally lost it. He's going to drive 6 hours minimum for no reason? That's peak insanity.
Despite my best efforts, a laugh escapes from my lips. "Have you gone senile, gramps?"
Now Atty just looks confused. Oh boy.
I stroll right up to him, stopping only a foot away. I clear my throat and clarify, "you're going to take your time and drink some of your gross OJ, eat a bagel or two, then drive to HQ. I'm going to shower, pack up, load my bags with snacks, and catch one of those fancy coach buses."
Atty firmly shakes his head, "no way. I'm not just going to abandon you like this, I gotta get you home. Otherwise it's just... it's just plain rude!"
Jeez, such chivalry. Makes me feel almost bad for trying to ditch him at Arcadia- almost.
"Thanks for the concern, but I'm a big kid. I'll be fine." I sidestep around Atty to get behind him and place both hands on his back, nudging him towards the door. "Now, go get yourself some breakfast- and pick something up for me too."
He grabs onto the door frame from each side as I try to hustle him through, refusing to budge. Wow, when he's actually trying to resist, I can't even move him an inch. I really don't want to think about how attractive I find it right now, because I need to get this dummy moving.
Atty stays firm in the doorway despite me pushing with all my weight, it's only when I pause for a break that he takes the opportunity to turn around so that we're face to face.
"Jade," he says, "if I'm going to even consider letting you go alone, it'll be under the condition that you take the car."
Let me? I cross my arms, scrunching my nose. "You're not the boss of me Atticus."
"I know that, and you know I know that. And, you know what I mean. Please take the car, there'll be no point of me going to work if I know you're getting bumped around in a coach bus."
I raise an eyebrow, not completely catching on.
"I'll be too distracted," he mumbles, trying to shuffle back into the room.
"Okay, I'll take the car," I relent, holding my hands out in front of me. "Will you go get breakfast now?"
Atty grins as he strolls away without another word. Once he's gone, I jump into the shower. It's going to be a long drive.
***/\/\***
Apparently, during my drive I received a couple of texts. Since I was busy jamming to my perfect and amazing playlist, I didn't notice. I park on the Martins' driveway and scroll through my notifications.
When I see the few texts from Atty, 7, 3, and 2 hours ago, I can't help but break out into a smile.
The first one reads, 'drive safe and don't take any side trips'
Then 4 hours later, 'Colette says you're not home yet, got distracted, didn't you? -__-' (He's right, I visited the Cake Museum again).
And then an hour later, 'let me know when you're there'
That's really cute and my heart is kind of beating super fast. The only other people that've cared enough to ask me for an arrival text are my parents. I rest my face in my hands and giggle. Damn, this crush business makes me feel like a sixth grader who just learnt cooties are a scam.
Is this what it means to be boy crazy? Except in my case, it's only one boy.
I pull myself together enough to type out 'here' and send. I have to say something else, something clever and witty. But my scrappy wit seems to have conveniently flown out the window because every time my fingers hover over the keyboard, I picture grumpy Atty's eyebrows furrowing as he checks his phone. And then I get too busy smiling to actually think of something to write.
There's a knock on my car window that scares the crap out of me. My whole-body jerks so fast at the sudden noise that my phone drops on my lap as my shoulders wind back. I steady my breathing and glance at the window, only to find Jay squishing his nose against the glass.
He pulls back and grins wide as Presley clutches her stomach and cackles in the background.
I don't waste any time sliding out of the car and tackling the two in a massive hug. I'm glad Jay's in a good mood, he was moping around before we left yesterday because he couldn't come.
"Did you guys just get back from school?" I ask, eyeing their tattered backpacks. Jay seems to be extra loaded with an overstuffed gym bag and two pairs of sneakers hanging from each of his straps.
He very dramatically rolls his eyes and pretends to faint. "It was so boring I don't know how I'm still alive."
Pres smirks and mock whispers in Jay's ear, "maybe you aren't and this is just your flashback."
"Pretty shitty flashback if it's just the three of us standing on a driveway," I comment. They both burst out laughing, as if what I said is comedic gold- which it's not.
It's times like these I revisit my running conspiracy theory: that PresJay are just high all the time. And not on regular weed either- I'm thinking edibles, the super potent kind. Who can say no to a brownie? Some people maybe, but certainly not PresJay.
"C'mon missy, enough of that- you gotta give us all the details," Pres exclaims. There's that familiar glint in her eyes which obviously means she's up to no good.
You know what they say, mischief loves company.
Pres ushers us to her house. Specifically, she urges us to climb up the side using her many makeshift foot holds. Jay simply shakes his head and pulls out a key from his bag to unlock her front door.
I'm very tempted to try Pres' method. In the face of loose bricks and conveniently twisted pipes, regular stairs seem rather boring. So much so, I even take a step toward the side of her house. Jay immediately catches my arm.
"Nope, don't even think about it. If you fall and break something Atty and Colette will make sure I break something." Jay pauses for a moment then adds, "and I don't even want to think about your sheriff Dad."
Good point. I will conquer Pres' wall some other day then. Maybe after some climbing lessons.
Jay leads me through the house, up to Pres' room. It looks pretty much exactly like how I would imagine it. Very urban chic- the kind where the mattress is held up on a dark steel frame and saddled with tons of grey and teal pillows. There's even light-wood paneling on one of the walls and a super fancy red vase in one corner. And of course, on the floor in front of the bed is the softest teal fur rug I have ever experienced.
I don't even make it to the bed, as soon as my feet sink into the plushness of the rug, I'm laying on my back stretching as much as possible. If only they could make a bodysuit out of this material. I'd put it on and never do anything ever again- just lay there and sink.
"Soft, right?" Pres asks, her grin is laced with a suspicious trace of smugness.
Jay scoffs, walking around the rug. "Doesn't mean it was worth ditching me for. I watched my favorite movie alone!"
Pres flops on to the bed, tossing her backpack on the floor, near her half open walk-in closet. "Shut it wimp."
Ha, short and sweet, I like it.
Instantly, she rolls over and narrows in on me. I guess it's time to spill my guts.
I go over the entire trip, sparing no detail. PresJay are the absolute best audience anyone can ask for. They ooh and ahh at all the right parts. Also, watching them react to details about Atty is absolutely hilarious.
When hearing about my run in with Duke, Jay gets super angry- enough to turn his cheeks red. If this were a cartoon, I'm sure there would be steam coming out of those ears. Presley, of course, offers to put a big rock in her purse and whip it at Duke's balls multiple times.
I assure them it's fine and that Duke is a headache for later. Jay chuckles, "amen to that."
Pres pumps a hand in the air, "ditto."
It's soothing to be among fellow procrastinators.
She waves her hands around theatrically and says, "girl, forget all that. How was Cornell? How'd you feel walking around in your dream school?" She wiggles her eyebrows as if we're at a slumber party sharing our deepest secrets.
I sigh, smiling wide. "I think I understand Nate's obsession with Harvard now."
It's only for a brief moment, but at the mention of Nate Pres' lips twitch. Uh oh.
She's quick to cover it and ask more about Cornell. But I'm not going to pretend I didn't notice, that wouldn't be fair to her. Time to be a good friend.
"What's going on with you guys?"
She shrugs and tilts her head. I'm sure Pres thinks she's conveying pure nonchalance, but her flitting eyes are giving her away.
When I continue staring at her, she shoves her face in one of her pillows and groans loudly. "He's stupid, that's what's going on," she grumbles.
Jay, who up until now was relaxing beside me on a massive black bean bag, clicks his tongue. He turns to me and explains, "Nate's mom is putting pressure on him about Pres. She's suspecting something's going on with them and now he's freaked."
Oh.
I clear my throat, stalling until I can think of what to say. "Why don't we try speaking to her? See what she dislikes about you so much?"
Pres' head shoots up from the pillow, her almond eyes stretched wide. "Madeira-Jade have you gone insane?"
"I'm serious. We can handle this, Pres you're literally perfect. Kind, beautiful, smart- not to mention, a complete badass."
Jay nods, all business. "MJ's right."
MJ? Wait, is he talking about me? "Are you trying out a new nickname?" I ask.
"Yup."
"I hate it."
"Me too, won't happen again."
Well, I'm glad that's sorted.
I sit up properly on the rug and fold my legs underneath me. "If you don't want us raiding the house stormtrooper style, what if we 'coincidentally' bumped into MommaNate somewhere else?"
Pres is quiet for a minute, then she scowls. "Or what if we just don't approach her at all?"
Jay replies, "I think speaking to her will be worth it. At the very least we'll know why she doesn't like you?"
"I already know that!" Pres exclaims, throwing a pillow at Jay. He dodges with expert precision and chucks it right back at her.
"It's because," she explains, "MommaNate doesn't think I'm fit for her Harvard boy. Because I want to go pro in baseball."
"There has to be more to it than that," I mumble. "There just has to be more. I know that if Mama was against the person I really liked, she'd have a way better reason than something as superficial as 'you two are going to be in different fields when you grow up.'"
I glance between the two of them and continue, "I know that not every mother is like Mama and that I'm particularly blessed. But still, Nate's happiness has to matter to his mom, right? I'm sure there's a better reason. Maybe there's a misunderstanding that needs to be cleared. We won't know until we try."
Jay leans forward on his bean bag, hands clasped. "Yeah, that," he states gesturing to me.
Pres stays silent. She just lays on her bed and stares at her ceiling. Minutes pass by and I'm convinced she'll say no, but she finally speaks. "Okay."
Yes!
"But," Pres warns, "we're not storming the house. And I'm not going to be visibly involved. If we do this, it has to be one of you, undercover."
"ME!" I yell instantly, my hand shooting up in the air. Holy crap, this is my chance.
"Hey, I wanted to-" Jay begins to protest but I cut him off. "I got dibs kiddo. You got to go undercover with Will. This one is all mine."
Pres waits for our dispute to be settled. When I finally get Jay to give in, she continues, "Nate told me his mom always spends her Monday afternoons in the mall. She has her weekly facial, buys a pair of shoes, eats several donuts, and sometimes, even buys a book for the week."
I grin, beginning to get giddy. "Guess we're headed to the mall."
/\/\/\/\/\/\***/\/\/\/\/\/\
I was browsing different images to find one for this chapter when I came across the one I've put up. I was stunned, the girl looks exactly how I've been imagining Presley!
so yeah, Chp pic: Presley Chang (except with her hair dyed copper instead)
How do you think Jade will do undercover?
Please vote if you enjoyed the chapter :)