Windows of the Soul

That night I lay in my bed, staring at the white light on my ceiling. It was only nine thirty, and I was too energized to go to sleep yet. I rolled over, facing the wall, and grabbed the Great Expectations book off the nightstand. I flipped to the page I was on. I hated the book, but we had to read it for English class.

At Pip and Estella’s second meeting, Estella slaps Pip across the face when he mentions she isn’t as cruel as she was last time. I rolled my eyes and closed the book. My energy had drained out of me from reading that. I didn’t care that Charles Dickens wrote the book two hundred years ago; it bored me.

I rolled back over and faced the other way. My bed was so warm and inviting, and I wished I could stay there all night. It was only nine thirty two. I sighed and pushed myself out of bed, plopping down at my computer desk. I had no new emails.

An idea popped into my head. What if I emailed Jace and told him I wanted to go to Homecoming? Then again, that would sound like I needed his permission to go, or that I was so desperate I was forcing him to ask me. I opened a blank email and typed a quick message.

Jace,
I really want to go to Homecoming. Are you busy that night?
Ali

I read it over and shook my head. I didn’t want to ask him out, I wanted him to. I deleted it and tried again.

Jace,
Can we go to Homecoming together?
Ali

Eh. That sounded better, but not the best. I decided with my bored brain I couldn’t come up with anything better, so I entered his email and hit send.

I got a reply almost immediately. It read: Meet me at your locker ten minutes before the first bell. That was it. No answer. I sighed and shut down the computer.

My head hit the pillow, and I was out. So much for the energy keeping me awake.



I pulled on the printed flower skirt that hit an inch above my knee and tucked in the green tee. After slipping on the green flats I had chosen to go with the ensemble and curling my hair, I was ready for school. I planned on looking a little nicer today, just in case Jace decided to ask me to Homecoming that day.

I slung my backpack over my shoulder and went downstairs. As soon as my foot hit the bottom step I could smell pancakes. Mom was up? She normally didn’t get up until eight, since that was considered early for her anyway.

I entered the kitchen and saw my mom, flour under her right eye, whisking pancake batter. Judging by all the ingredients strewn across the countertops, she was making her homemade pancakes that made everyone’s mouths water. I threw my backpack into a corner and my mom glanced up.

“Hey, honey,” she said. She stopped whisking and gave me a quick side hug. Tessa was still asleep; I could see her curled on the couch where Mom had brought her out. She moaned and rolled over in her sleep, pulling the pink blanket covering her closer to her chest.

“What are you doing up?” I asked, taking the milk out of the fridge. I poured myself a glass and sat it on the dine-in table.

“I have an early catering meeting with my staff, to see who is working what occasions,” my mom said in explanation. “I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to make some pancakes.”

“Fine by me,” I said, laughing. She smiled at me and poured equal amounts of batter onto the pan. I watched them bubble a little, and the aroma of them filled my nostrils. It was already shaping up to be a great day.

“So, hon, are you going to be home tonight?” My mom asked. I already knew where this was going. “I have a job, and the babysitter is busy, so I have no one to watch Tessa.”

“Sure, I’ll watch her,” I said, deciding I’d rather spend a relaxing night at home then out with Penny or Jace. It wasn’t that I didn’t like them, but I was so tired from running around that I needed a night at home. Besides, I hadn’t seen much of my family, especially Tessa.

“Thank you, honey.” My mom kissed my cheek and delivered a steaming plate of pancakes in front of me. My mouth watered and I dug in. My mom sat down next to me, and I glanced at Tessa. She was snoring softly, her little mouth opened. My mom just smiled and shook her head. I turned back around, and my mom said, “So, Ali, can you help me with a new menu I’m thinking about making available to customers? I’m not sure whether or not to choose Marinated Lemon Pepper Chicken Breast or a Turkey Breast and Smoked Gouda with smoky pepper mayo sandwich. It’s for a new sandwich menu.”

I thought for a moment, practically tasting each in my mouth. “Go with both. They both sound really good.” My mom looked relieved and got up, going to the other side of the kitchen and scribbling something down on a piece of paper.

“Thank you,” she said, returning to the table. We ate a couple of bites, then I heard a thump from behind me. I turned to see Tessa standing there, half asleep, rubbing her eyes. My mom jumped up and scooped her up in her arms.

“Good morning, sweetie,” Mom said. I watched as Tessa’s eyes gently closed and she looked like a porcelain baby doll. “Do you want any breakfast yet?”

Tessa shook her head and her eyes opened again. She turned her head to look at me. I stood and kissed her on the forehead on my way to the sink. I put the plate in and grabbed my backpack.

“Well, I gotta go to school. Thanks for breakfast. Bye!” I waved to the two and left through the front door. Penny wasn’t there yet, so I sat on the sidewalk and sent a quick text to her, asking where she was.

She pulled up a couple of minutes later, looking like her usual bright self. I jumped in and we screeched out of the driveway, not caring it wasn’t even a quarter till seven yet.

“Good morning!” Penny chirped. “Why do you smell suspiciously of pancakes?”

“I had some this morning. My mom made them.” Penny looked at me quickly, her eyes diverting back to the road, and she exclaimed, “And no one told me?”

“I didn’t know until this morning,” I said. Penny claimed her favorite food was my mom’s pancakes, and every time I knew in advance that she was making them I made sure Penny was over. She rolled her eyes playfully and we pulled into the school. I checked to make sure we weren’t late, and I jumped out of the car.

“Where are you going?” Penny called to me as I weaved through the crowds.

“I have to meet Jace at my locker!” I called over my shoulder. Soon I was standing in front of my locker, tapping my flat impatiently. Jace finally appeared in front of me, and kissed me in greeting. I smiled and bit my lip when he pulled back.

“Why did you want to meet here?” I asked, wondering if this was the moment I was waiting for. Instead of taking my hands and looking into my eyes and asking me like I had imagined, he took a rumpled piece of notebook paper out of his pocket and put it into my hand. He smiled and stepped backwards, then turned around and disappeared around the corner. Confused, I opened it to see his familiar scrawl.

Our place, after school. See ya there. -J

I smiled and stuffed the slip of paper into my pocket, then headed to class.