Chapter 17
Mom had gotten home late last night. I had debated on not waiting up for her and Addie to return but in the end I decided to go ahead and crash for the night. It wasn't like she kept me updated on her adventures with Addie this weekend. She texted once after I spoke to her on Saturday. She said that they wouldn't be getting back until Sunday evening and that I shouldn't wait up for them.
I wanted to wait up to make sure they got home alright, but if Mom didn't want me waiting up, I wouldn't. It's not like she'd care if I did or not. So I went to bed and around two in the morning I woke up to hear them coming through the door.
I had heard Addie complain about how she was tired and she didn't want to go to school in the morning. Mom shushed her and sent her off to sleep. Telling her they'd discuss it more in the morning. When Mom had stopped by my room to check on me. I pretended to be asleep hoping she would just leave it like that, but she spoke out. "Honey, we're home..." She called out to me from my bedroom door.
Ignoring her I kept my eyes shut and my breathing steady. I didn't want to deal with her right now. We could "discuss it more in the morning." I thought sarcastically.
Eventually she left, heading to bed herself. I willed myself not to think about anything. I had tried to fall back asleep using thoughts of Jack and I to soothe me. When I did manage to fall asleep around four, I slept restlessly and it wasn't long until my alarm went off.
I hit snooze and rubbed my tired eyes. It was still dark outside. The sun barely peeking over the neighboring houses. I sighed not wanting to get up and face the day.
Besides dealing with my mom, I haven't even finished my math homework or the readings for English. Georgia had stolen all the time for homework by continuing to talk about the hockey team and Jack with me until she went home around eleven last night. I had no problem with putting off my schoolwork then but now I regretted it.
My alarm went off again, reminding me that I'd have to get up whether I wanted to or not. I groaned then rolled off my bed and trudged to the bathroom.
*****
"Good morning, sweetheart!" Mom chirped brightly as I made my way into the kitchen.
I was confused. She was never up this early and when she was it was because she had to shower. But this morning she was already dressed, drinking coffee, and had set out cereal for Addie and I.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at her change of behavior, and made my way over to the fruit basket. "Are you feeling alright?" I questioned my Mom as I plucked a banana from the bunch. Mom chuckled moving over to me and ruffled my hair. I grimaced. She caught on to my discomfort and flitted over to the sink where she began washing her mug out.
"I feel fine, darling. Actually I feel rejuvenated after the fun weekend Addie and I had." She says. "You should've seen the look on her face when we arrived at the Princess Castle, as Addie likes to call it."
My heart clenched. It surprised me how much it hurt to see and hear about the things they did this weekend without me. To see mom acting the way she used to be, with only Addie. I fought back the hurt that had begun to spread through me. It wasn't like I cared anyway. I had some fun of my own this weekend.
Shaking the feelings off, I gripped the banana in my hand. "I should get going before I'm late."
Mom didn't say anything as I walked by her. I wouldn't doubt she knows how I feel about the whole situation. She's known me long enough to see when I'm hiding, but I continued on to the front door.
I stopped in front of the door, waiting for Addie to say goodbye like she usually did in the mornings when I left. But no goodbye came because Mom was going to let her stay home and sleep off their exciting weekend.
*****
"Someone seems a little moody this morning..." Georgia said poking my side while we sat in Chemistry together.
We were supposed to being doing a lab but I wasn't feeling it today. The other two girls in our group and Georgia worked on without me. I tried to help but when I accidentally spilled a vile of chemicals they booted me to data recorder which I didn't complain about.
"I'm just stressed because I didn't finish my homework and I'll have to rush to get it done during advisory." I say using my homework as an excuse to my behavior."What was the ounces of fluoride you put in again?"
Georgia hummed while she looked back at the vile of fluoride we had set out. "Um about .13 ounces." She answered. I wrote down the number in our data chart.
"So your mood has nothing to do with your Mom?" Georgia inquired.
"Maybe, but I don't want to talk about it." I say.
Georgia nods. She's concentrating on dropping the fluoride into the beaker. I watch her. She looks so sure of herself and confident in what she is doing. It's not even just in Chemistry that she's like this, it's outside of the lab too. I watch as she puts down the dropper and let's Kate, one of the two girls in our group, mix the substance together.
She then turns to me. "What about the subject of Jack, is that safe to talk about?"
"Jack Vella? The hockey player?" Jane our other lab partner asks questioningly. The tone of her voice seems condescending and I blush. I had forgotten that Jack was well known at this school.
Brushing back a strand of my hair I say, "Yeah... That's the one."
Her eyes widened and Kate looks up at me. "Wait... Your talking to Jack Vella?" Kate whispers across the lab table.
"Not just talking..." Georgia muttered under her breath with a smug look on her face. I kick her in the shins and motioned for her to zip it.
Kate and Jane are staring at me now. Was it really that big of a deal for me and Jack to be talking. I avoided their eyes and shaded in some of the letters on our lab report paper. "It's not really a big deal..." I mumbled.
"Um, it kinda is. I've never seen Jack Vella talk to anybody but his teammates and his teachers. My friend Sadie tried to flirt with him last year and he completely blew her off." Jane says dropping the stopwatch onto the table. "It was like she didn't even exist to him."
My heart tightened. If that's true then why is Jack opening up to me? What makes me different than any other girl at this school? It wasn't even like I offered anything great to him. All I seem to do is cause him trouble.
I shook it off. "Can we just finish this Lab already."
*****
Lunchtime came around and I tried to push off my foul mood. It was pizza day in the cafeteria but even that didn't lighten my mood.
"Would turn your frown upside down please, it's making me feel gloomy." Georgia says dropping her tray onto the table. I looked up to her placing a fake smile on my face. "Much better."
I grumbled and took a bite of the greasy pizza. I had no clue why I was acting this way. What my mom does or doesn't do with me shouldn't make me this upset. I'm seventeen. I'm a big girl.
"Hockey boy incoming." Georgia exclaimed looking behind me at the approaching boy.
Without even having to turn around I knew it was him. My heartbeat raced and my breath caught in my throat. I didn't understand my reaction to him. No other guy had this affect on me. The sound of footsteps stopped as he stood right behind me. "Mind if I sit down?" Jack asks already taking a seat beside me.
I look over to him his hair was quiffed up and he wore a navy blue button up with only the top two buttons undone. His appearance appealed to me and I fought the urge to throw myself at him.
"How'd your homework go last night?" He asked but I doubt he really wanted to know about that.
"It went alright, I'll probably fail Calculus but it's no biggie." I joked. Jack smiled and shifted closer to me making our hips touch. My body ignited with the simple movement. What was he doing to me?
I watched as Jack leaned forward, lightly brushing his lips over mine, then hovered his mouth beside my ear. I had forgotten about Georgia and the pizza I had yet to eat. The cafeteria and the people sitting inside of it melted away and all I felt was Jack beside me. "You know." He whispered. I held my breath. "If you need a tutor, I'm always available."
He leaned back away from me and winked. My cheeks heated. "I'll... Um, keep that in mind." I say.
Watching as he stands up, I glance towards Georgia knowing she had seen the whole ordeal. I take another glance around the cafeteria and saw that all eyes were staring at me and Jack. Oh no...
"I have to get back to the team now, but I'll see you around, Rosie." Jack smirks then walks back to the hockey team's table. He doesn't seem to notice all the stares we both were getting, but I doubt that he cared. I, however, did.
"What was the point of that?" I exclaim to Georgia. "I mean it's bad enough he affects me the way he does but now the whole school has seen us talking, and it wasn't even about something important." I rant. Confused and frustrated I push my tray away not even hungry anymore. Georgia chuckled. "What?" I asked her harshly.
"You two dig each other so badly." She says popping a grape into her mouth. I was about to respond but the bell rang.