Panic Over; Party Off, Party On
Chapter V
“Why are you in such a chipper mood?” Eric asked as I entered our home after band practice. I didn’t think I made my good mood that obvious, but maybe the fact that I nearly skipped into my own home gave it away. I tossed my orange bag on the counter and let my hair fall down.
“Because I’m hanging out with a guy tomorrow.” I responded, looking in the fridge for something to eat before I set out on my homework. I didn’t know if I wanted to get a start on my essay so that Zack had something to help me with, or if it was better that I just waited until tomorrow to start it with him. On the one hand, I wanted him to think that I tried hard in my English class, but on the other I didn’t want to write something and him think it was beyond terrible. I finally decided to write up the first few paragraphs, but make sure that they were the best few paragraphs I had ever written. Just incase.
Was it weird that I cared that much?
“Well aren’t you so lucky.” Eric said, catching me off guard. I closed the fridge, an apple in my hand, and looked at him.
“What’s wrong with you?” I asked, taking a bite.
Eric sighed. “The numbers the girls in my class gave me are fake.” Ouch. He stood up and walked out of the kitchen towards his room, and I thought I heard him mumble something along the lines of ‘I hate it here.’ I felt bad for him, sure, and I made a mental note to bring him extra dessert after dinner. But I wasn’t going to let his misfortune ruin my great mood.
------------
Okay, my physics work was finished. I had studied for geography (along with emailing Alex the study guide I had been working on like he made me promise) and I felt confidant in my ability to ace the test tomorrow. I had placed my cell phone on the other side of the room, knowing that if I had it anywhere near me I wouldn’t get any work done. I could hear Eric blasting music from his room, and I thought I heard my mom come in a few hours ago, but I didn’t go downstairs to check.
I finally felt the pit of my stomach rumble, and I forced myself to go downstairs and get something to eat. My mom wasn’t in the kitchen, but there were bags upon bags of groceries, from what I assumed was the first time she had gone shopping since we moved here. Rummaging through the bags, I finally pulled out a box of raspberries. I washed them and picked out the bad ones before heading back up to my room and shutting the door. My room was still a mess, though it was organized in my mind. My bed was in the far corner, with a wooden desk in the other that had come with the house. The walls were a shade of olive green that I loved, even though my mom said it made it look like someone threw up in the paint. I thought it made the room look unique. Already I had hung up posters for bands that I liked (Mes Aeiux, Phoenix, Klaxons) and photos of my friends and I back in Montreal. It felt like nothing had changed from my old room to my new one.
A soft vibrating noise caught my attention, and I flopped on the bed where my phone was.
To: Remy
hey remy. sorry it took me so long to txt u
To: Zack
its cool. u still up for math/english tomorrow?
To: Remy
yeah for sure. my house or urs?
To: Zack
u think u could come here? i dont have a car yet
To: Remy
no prob. where do u live again?
To: Zack
588 king street.
To: Remy
oh cool, u live like five minutes from jack. is 4:30 good?
To: Zack
sounds great. see you then : )
To: Remy
: D
My stomach twisted a bit when I saw the last smiley face, and I flopped down on my bed, finally able to get some peaceful sleep.
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“You look particularly happy today.” Jack commented when I sat down for lunch the next day. I suppose it was kind of obvious – I had worn my favorite pair of skinny jeans, my favorite Kings Of Leon shirt, and my favorite pair of glasses. I felt like a million dollars. I had even packed a peanut butter and banana sandwich, a lemonade juice box, and a pudding cup as extra celebration. I never let myself eat all of that at once, because I knew it was a recipe for a stomach ache from too much sugar later on, but today I felt I deserved it.
I shrugged, trying to hold back the smile that had threatened to break loose since I had finished texting Zack last night. “Yeah, I’ve been having a pretty good day.” I said, opening my pudding cup.
“Does it have to do with a certain someone?” Rian teased, elbowing me lightly in the side. I ate another bite of my pudding cup before putting the spoon inside of it and pushing it away. I didn’t notice that Jack had taken it until the last bit of pudding had been scraped off of the side, but I didn’t mind.
I shrugged yet again, a grin visible on my lips. “Maybe.”
“Wait,” Kara said, leaning across the table as if what she was about to say was classified information, “did you make plans with him yesterday?” I bit my lip from trying to hold back my smile and nodded. “Yes!” Kara exclaimed, high fiving Lisa.
“For today?” Alex asked.
I nodded. “After school. He’s coming to my house.” I watched as Lisa and Kara exchanged excited squeals, both for me and them for making it all happen. From the corner of my eye I could see Jack’s fingers inching towards my sandwich and juice box. I pushed both towards him. “Here, just eat it if you’re hungry, Jack. I’m not.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” Jack responded, taking a sip of lemonade.
“So you are you going to make a move?” Alex asked, the gleam in his eye becoming visible. I thought I saw Lisa slap his arm, but I wasn’t paying attention. My eyes widened at the thought, and the excited, giddy butterflies in my stomach turned into butterflies of lead and steal. I didn’t exactly hit me that Zack might be expecting more from our study session than just some new math tips. I mean, I thought he was really attractive, yeah, and I wanted to get to know him, but the way Alex made it sound, Zack would show up and just instantly want to make out. I had a boyfriend before, but we never did much more than making out, and once I let him put his hand under my shirt. What if Zack came and wanted more? He didn’t exactly strike me as the kind of person who would, but then again, he was a friend of Alex and Jack, and I only needed to know them for three days to know what they were like.
“I… I don’t know.” I finally stuttered out.
“Don’t worry,” Kara said, coming to the rescue like she always did, “Zack isn’t like that.”
“Yeah.” Jack said, his mouth full of peanut butter and banana sandwich. He batted his eyelashes flirtatiously. “Zack’s a total sweetheart.” All of us burst out laughing, and for the moment, my fears were calmed.
“Because I’m hanging out with a guy tomorrow.” I responded, looking in the fridge for something to eat before I set out on my homework. I didn’t know if I wanted to get a start on my essay so that Zack had something to help me with, or if it was better that I just waited until tomorrow to start it with him. On the one hand, I wanted him to think that I tried hard in my English class, but on the other I didn’t want to write something and him think it was beyond terrible. I finally decided to write up the first few paragraphs, but make sure that they were the best few paragraphs I had ever written. Just incase.
Was it weird that I cared that much?
“Well aren’t you so lucky.” Eric said, catching me off guard. I closed the fridge, an apple in my hand, and looked at him.
“What’s wrong with you?” I asked, taking a bite.
Eric sighed. “The numbers the girls in my class gave me are fake.” Ouch. He stood up and walked out of the kitchen towards his room, and I thought I heard him mumble something along the lines of ‘I hate it here.’ I felt bad for him, sure, and I made a mental note to bring him extra dessert after dinner. But I wasn’t going to let his misfortune ruin my great mood.
------------
Okay, my physics work was finished. I had studied for geography (along with emailing Alex the study guide I had been working on like he made me promise) and I felt confidant in my ability to ace the test tomorrow. I had placed my cell phone on the other side of the room, knowing that if I had it anywhere near me I wouldn’t get any work done. I could hear Eric blasting music from his room, and I thought I heard my mom come in a few hours ago, but I didn’t go downstairs to check.
I finally felt the pit of my stomach rumble, and I forced myself to go downstairs and get something to eat. My mom wasn’t in the kitchen, but there were bags upon bags of groceries, from what I assumed was the first time she had gone shopping since we moved here. Rummaging through the bags, I finally pulled out a box of raspberries. I washed them and picked out the bad ones before heading back up to my room and shutting the door. My room was still a mess, though it was organized in my mind. My bed was in the far corner, with a wooden desk in the other that had come with the house. The walls were a shade of olive green that I loved, even though my mom said it made it look like someone threw up in the paint. I thought it made the room look unique. Already I had hung up posters for bands that I liked (Mes Aeiux, Phoenix, Klaxons) and photos of my friends and I back in Montreal. It felt like nothing had changed from my old room to my new one.
A soft vibrating noise caught my attention, and I flopped on the bed where my phone was.
To: Remy
hey remy. sorry it took me so long to txt u
To: Zack
its cool. u still up for math/english tomorrow?
To: Remy
yeah for sure. my house or urs?
To: Zack
u think u could come here? i dont have a car yet
To: Remy
no prob. where do u live again?
To: Zack
588 king street.
To: Remy
oh cool, u live like five minutes from jack. is 4:30 good?
To: Zack
sounds great. see you then : )
To: Remy
: D
My stomach twisted a bit when I saw the last smiley face, and I flopped down on my bed, finally able to get some peaceful sleep.
------------
“You look particularly happy today.” Jack commented when I sat down for lunch the next day. I suppose it was kind of obvious – I had worn my favorite pair of skinny jeans, my favorite Kings Of Leon shirt, and my favorite pair of glasses. I felt like a million dollars. I had even packed a peanut butter and banana sandwich, a lemonade juice box, and a pudding cup as extra celebration. I never let myself eat all of that at once, because I knew it was a recipe for a stomach ache from too much sugar later on, but today I felt I deserved it.
I shrugged, trying to hold back the smile that had threatened to break loose since I had finished texting Zack last night. “Yeah, I’ve been having a pretty good day.” I said, opening my pudding cup.
“Does it have to do with a certain someone?” Rian teased, elbowing me lightly in the side. I ate another bite of my pudding cup before putting the spoon inside of it and pushing it away. I didn’t notice that Jack had taken it until the last bit of pudding had been scraped off of the side, but I didn’t mind.
I shrugged yet again, a grin visible on my lips. “Maybe.”
“Wait,” Kara said, leaning across the table as if what she was about to say was classified information, “did you make plans with him yesterday?” I bit my lip from trying to hold back my smile and nodded. “Yes!” Kara exclaimed, high fiving Lisa.
“For today?” Alex asked.
I nodded. “After school. He’s coming to my house.” I watched as Lisa and Kara exchanged excited squeals, both for me and them for making it all happen. From the corner of my eye I could see Jack’s fingers inching towards my sandwich and juice box. I pushed both towards him. “Here, just eat it if you’re hungry, Jack. I’m not.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” Jack responded, taking a sip of lemonade.
“So you are you going to make a move?” Alex asked, the gleam in his eye becoming visible. I thought I saw Lisa slap his arm, but I wasn’t paying attention. My eyes widened at the thought, and the excited, giddy butterflies in my stomach turned into butterflies of lead and steal. I didn’t exactly hit me that Zack might be expecting more from our study session than just some new math tips. I mean, I thought he was really attractive, yeah, and I wanted to get to know him, but the way Alex made it sound, Zack would show up and just instantly want to make out. I had a boyfriend before, but we never did much more than making out, and once I let him put his hand under my shirt. What if Zack came and wanted more? He didn’t exactly strike me as the kind of person who would, but then again, he was a friend of Alex and Jack, and I only needed to know them for three days to know what they were like.
“I… I don’t know.” I finally stuttered out.
“Don’t worry,” Kara said, coming to the rescue like she always did, “Zack isn’t like that.”
“Yeah.” Jack said, his mouth full of peanut butter and banana sandwich. He batted his eyelashes flirtatiously. “Zack’s a total sweetheart.” All of us burst out laughing, and for the moment, my fears were calmed.