Romance
Chapter Three.
Chapter Three
Beams of fluorescent lights cast shallow shadows amongst the small room, mixing in with the rather drab furnishings randomly placed around the space. A padded folding chair to the right, a stretch of a leather sofa in the left-hand corner. Exactly three potted plants accompanied the orange shag carpeting, and close inspection made me realize that they were fake. (Actually, I could see the plastic details from across the room…)
“Well, this is it, the humble abode” Catesby said, her usual level voice rising. Her dark eyes scanned her living room, on her lips was a smile. I gave the room one last once-over, trying my hardest to pinpoint something that could be at least halfway decent enough to compliment. “It’s…nice. I like it”
Catesby laughed. “A lot of people say it’s outdated, this particular room. But hey - who needs to conform to the norm anyways?” She chuckled once more. “It’s not like anyone would really want to go and check out the houses in ruddy old Eastport, anyways” I smiled. No matter what situation Catesby was presented with, she could either make a joke out of it, or learn to love it.
Pushing a strand of hair behind my ear, I nodded. “Seriously. Sometimes I wonder if it’s even on the maps” I laughed, poking fun at my new hometown. In a odd way, doing that made me feel like a seasoned resident, someone who actually belonged there.
It was hours before anything of importance surfaced in our trivial conversation, the topics ranging from the weather, (It was sad, really) to our history project due the following day.
“OH! And how could I forget? Seriously. Okay, well, I’ve got these tickets to a concert. Two. And I was wondering, if you wanted to come with me? I’ll have to check the times and such, but I’m pretty sure -no, positively sure, that it’s this weekend.” Pausing, Catesby bit her lip and silently racked her brain for fragments of helpful information. “Saturday. You want me to go upstairs and get the tickets?” She asked, fluttering around the God awful room like a restless, caged bird.
My head spun in confusing circles at Catesby’s sudden and fast proposal. Truth be told, I had never been to a concert - and never wanted to. The large, sweaty crowd filled with less than desirable people, having to clutch any possessions close in fear of one of those disgusting, sweaty headbangers, and the lack of privacy - or breathing room, for that matter.
No Catesby, I will not go…. The words pushed at my lips furiously. However, I just couldn’t bring myself to use them. Why lose the lone friend I had? I mean, I could always just use the old ‘oh, I don’t think my parents would like it..’ excuse. Perfect.
“Uhm, well, I guess I could ask my dad about it…”
“Perfect!”
“….But I really don’t think he’d agree, he’s kinda over-protective, with me being the youngest and all…” I trailed off, slipping over my excuse. I knew damn well that my father would be more than thrilled to have me engage in something normal for my age, and I was never much of a natural liar to begin with.
Burrowing her brow, Catesby nodded intently. “I see. Why don’t you call him now? It’s Wednesday, his day off, right?” I nodded sheepishly. She simply knew me far too well. Catesby pointed to my phone. “Call him, please? My mom said that I need to clear this soon, or I can’t go. C’mon, Ellie, live a little!” She begged, entwining her hands together.
Sighing, I punched my house number into my phone. Within literally only a couple seconds of the dial tone’s purr, my father picked up the phone.
It took a moment for my father to actually say something, as he was caught in a fit of coughing. “H-ale resident, this is” He paused and uttered a single cough. “…George speaking.”
“Hi dad, you okay?”
“Ellie, I’m fine. Do you need to be picked up?”
“Nah, uhm, Catesby invited me to this concert thingy, and err, I was wondering if I could go. It’s this Saturday.” I tried my hardest to slip him the hint through my stumbling, something extremely unusual for me.
“A concert, eh? Hmm. Well isn’t it Tally’s play rehearsal - oh, no, that’s Friday. Let me see…” A click of one of the phone’s buttons, and could tell he put me on speakerphone. The distant sound of my dad rustling through one of our numerous cabinets confirmed my hunch. After about a minute of waiting, our conversation was resurrected. I held my breath. For once, I was glad that my family insisted on doing so many things together.
“Yeah, we’re all free on Saturday. You have fun at that concert, squirt” Letting my captive oxygen out with a faint whoosh, I mentally slapped myself in the face for letting my hints go unnoticed.
“Uh, thanks Dad”
Perfect. Absolutely perfect.
Beams of fluorescent lights cast shallow shadows amongst the small room, mixing in with the rather drab furnishings randomly placed around the space. A padded folding chair to the right, a stretch of a leather sofa in the left-hand corner. Exactly three potted plants accompanied the orange shag carpeting, and close inspection made me realize that they were fake. (Actually, I could see the plastic details from across the room…)
“Well, this is it, the humble abode” Catesby said, her usual level voice rising. Her dark eyes scanned her living room, on her lips was a smile. I gave the room one last once-over, trying my hardest to pinpoint something that could be at least halfway decent enough to compliment. “It’s…nice. I like it”
Catesby laughed. “A lot of people say it’s outdated, this particular room. But hey - who needs to conform to the norm anyways?” She chuckled once more. “It’s not like anyone would really want to go and check out the houses in ruddy old Eastport, anyways” I smiled. No matter what situation Catesby was presented with, she could either make a joke out of it, or learn to love it.
Pushing a strand of hair behind my ear, I nodded. “Seriously. Sometimes I wonder if it’s even on the maps” I laughed, poking fun at my new hometown. In a odd way, doing that made me feel like a seasoned resident, someone who actually belonged there.
It was hours before anything of importance surfaced in our trivial conversation, the topics ranging from the weather, (It was sad, really) to our history project due the following day.
“OH! And how could I forget? Seriously. Okay, well, I’ve got these tickets to a concert. Two. And I was wondering, if you wanted to come with me? I’ll have to check the times and such, but I’m pretty sure -no, positively sure, that it’s this weekend.” Pausing, Catesby bit her lip and silently racked her brain for fragments of helpful information. “Saturday. You want me to go upstairs and get the tickets?” She asked, fluttering around the God awful room like a restless, caged bird.
My head spun in confusing circles at Catesby’s sudden and fast proposal. Truth be told, I had never been to a concert - and never wanted to. The large, sweaty crowd filled with less than desirable people, having to clutch any possessions close in fear of one of those disgusting, sweaty headbangers, and the lack of privacy - or breathing room, for that matter.
No Catesby, I will not go…. The words pushed at my lips furiously. However, I just couldn’t bring myself to use them. Why lose the lone friend I had? I mean, I could always just use the old ‘oh, I don’t think my parents would like it..’ excuse. Perfect.
“Uhm, well, I guess I could ask my dad about it…”
“Perfect!”
“….But I really don’t think he’d agree, he’s kinda over-protective, with me being the youngest and all…” I trailed off, slipping over my excuse. I knew damn well that my father would be more than thrilled to have me engage in something normal for my age, and I was never much of a natural liar to begin with.
Burrowing her brow, Catesby nodded intently. “I see. Why don’t you call him now? It’s Wednesday, his day off, right?” I nodded sheepishly. She simply knew me far too well. Catesby pointed to my phone. “Call him, please? My mom said that I need to clear this soon, or I can’t go. C’mon, Ellie, live a little!” She begged, entwining her hands together.
Sighing, I punched my house number into my phone. Within literally only a couple seconds of the dial tone’s purr, my father picked up the phone.
It took a moment for my father to actually say something, as he was caught in a fit of coughing. “H-ale resident, this is” He paused and uttered a single cough. “…George speaking.”
“Hi dad, you okay?”
“Ellie, I’m fine. Do you need to be picked up?”
“Nah, uhm, Catesby invited me to this concert thingy, and err, I was wondering if I could go. It’s this Saturday.” I tried my hardest to slip him the hint through my stumbling, something extremely unusual for me.
“A concert, eh? Hmm. Well isn’t it Tally’s play rehearsal - oh, no, that’s Friday. Let me see…” A click of one of the phone’s buttons, and could tell he put me on speakerphone. The distant sound of my dad rustling through one of our numerous cabinets confirmed my hunch. After about a minute of waiting, our conversation was resurrected. I held my breath. For once, I was glad that my family insisted on doing so many things together.
“Yeah, we’re all free on Saturday. You have fun at that concert, squirt” Letting my captive oxygen out with a faint whoosh, I mentally slapped myself in the face for letting my hints go unnoticed.
“Uh, thanks Dad”
Perfect. Absolutely perfect.