Finding Her Time

Mitch jumped with surprise when Claire entered his bedroom. Quickly, he shoved something under his pillow. “I didn’t know you were coming,” he said nervously as he sat up.

“I promised you I’d bring your homework,” Claire replied slowly. She noticed how he rushed to hide something from her. Shaking it off, she continued, “I brought you some soup that my dad made too.”

“Oh, cool,” Mitch greatly accepted the soup. He gestured for Claire to sit down. She dragged his chair from his desk and sat down next to his bed.

“How you feeling, buddy?” she asked when she was settled.

He opened the container of soup and sniffed. “Like crap. I haven’t gotten up much at all today.”

Claire hesitantly put her hand on his head. Mitch smiled at the gesture. Her hand felt cool against his hot skin.

“Poor baby,” she cooed in a way that was a lot like his mother, “I’ve got something that will cheer you up.” She reached down and picked up a pile of books and dropped them on his legs.

“Homework?” he gave her a look that said it all. You are weird, Claire Silver.

“Of course,” she said cheerfully, “I find that when you have nothing else to do, homework always seems less boring.”

Mitch looked down at the neat handwritten assignment sheet that Claire made for him. It had every homework assignment from each of his classes written down. He felt overwhelmed. The chemistry work looked like it would take up three hours by itself. When he finally replied to Claire, he answered, “So this is what period drama novel withdrawal does to you? It makes you a little school nerd?”

“Don’t make fun of me,” Claire pouted, “I’ve come to realize that without my books I have no life. I’ve spent a lot of time doing homework, but I’ve also been going on jogs after school. Still, I’d give anything to have my books back.”

“I know you would,” Mitch joked, “it’s like someone’s separated you from your babies.”

Claire’s mouth dropped. Mitch was unaware that he had insulted Claire. She sat quietly seething and trying to find a better comeback for him. She couldn’t think of anything. The two of them sat quietly staring in opposite directions. Mitch finished the soup and made a comment about how much he enjoyed it. Claire didn’t reply. Her mind was focused on something else.

“I’ll be right back,” Mitch said suddenly, “I need to blow my nose.” He left the room.

Claire sighed. It’s not like he meant to insult her about her books. Unintentionally, he would poke fun at her for having a dream world and an obsession with novels. He just didn’t understand sometimes. She’d forgive him, she decided. Their friendship meant more to her than a few rude comments about her choice of hobbies.

Staring at Mitch’s bed, Claire laughed. It was like he made a nest out of his blankets and punched his pillow into a corner of the bed. It looked rather uncomfortable so she decided to smooth it out for him since he was sick. When she picked up the pillow, a book fell out of the pillowcase.

Confused, Claire picked it up and read the title. Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Her breath was caught in her throat. It was a worn out copy, read many times. She flipped to the inside front cover and read aloud: Happy Thirteenth Birthday, Mitch. If you liked Oliver Twist, then you’ll like this one. Love your Aunt Julia.

Claire narrowed her eyes and then looked under the bed. Along with other secret items that Mitch usually kept under there (Pokémon cards, Star Wars action figure, etc), was a neat pile of classical novels.

“Um, Claire?” Mitch was standing in the doorway, “I can explain.”

“Oh, really?” Claire sat up on her feet and glared up at him, “Explain away. You’ve made fun of me for years for reading books like these. And you’ve liked them all along too?”

“I didn’t want anyone to know that I liked them,” Mitch hurriedly explained, “I think that
Charles Dickens is a genius and Jane Austen too_ even better than Mel Brooks_ , but all my friends thought that I was a nerd for liking their novels. So I kept it a secret that I read their books or any books for that matter.”

“You made fun of me for reading them,” Claire cried skeptically, “What does that mean?
Does that make me a nerd? Am I too uncool to hang with you because I read these books?”

Mitch crossed the room and gently touched Claire’s arm, “I’m really sorry.”

She shook his hand off and walked to the door, “Whatever. Get better, Mitch. I’ll see you at school.”

Mitch crossed his room to the window and watched as Claire walked out of the house in a huff while still putting on her jacket. There was no denying, she was mad.