Something Ends, Another Begins

I walked into class and made the relieving realization that we had a substitute teacher for English. I started walking toward my seat and saw Christie waving to me with a wide smile on her face.

"Hey, Ali," she said happily as I sat down.

"Hey," I replied. "So, I'm guessing we won't be doing too much work today considering we have a sub."

"No," Christie said, "The sub said that we should just continue working on our essays." I nodded in response.

"But, I really want to talk about is how your Homecoming night went. I saw you leave with Rick," Christie squealed and was bouncing in her seat.

"Oh, yeah," I sighed as I rolled my eyes.

"What? What happened, I thought things were going great between you two." Christie's smile dropped and her eyebrows furrowed together.

"They were. That is until he ended up being one of those jerks that only wanted one thing from me."

Christie gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry, Ali. I would have never set you up with him if I knew he was going to be like that."

I shrugged my shoulders and smirked. "Don't worry about it," I replied. "Thankfully, I never even got into his car. Cameron actually showed up and stopped things before they went too far. Then, Cameron offered to drive me home."

Christie looked confused somehow. "Wait, Cam was there? And he drove you home? Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah. He pretty much told Rick to back off and when Rick did, Cameron offered to give me a lift. What's the big deal?"

"No, nothing," Christie said. "It just seems a little convenient that Cam was there. Not that I'm not happy he was there to get Rick off your back. Again, I'm really sorry."

I smiled and shook my head. "Don't be sorry, Chris. It's not your fault that Rick turned out to be a jerk. You were just being a good friend."

Christie smiled back before saying, "So, Cam just drove you home? That was really nice of him."

"Well, actually, before he took me home, we went to pick up his aunt at her job. She then offered to get something to eat at their place. I stayed there for a bit and then I went home."

"Oh, you met Liz?"

"Yeah, she's really nice."

"She is. When Cam and I were going out, I would hang at his place a lot and talk to her at times." She paused before saying, "Do you like Cam, Ali? I mean, like like him?"

If I was drinking something, this would probably be the part when I spit it out in shock. "What?" I choked out.

"It's just a thought," Christie answered quickly. "You know, you guys spend a lot of time together and he offered to drive you home Saturday night."

"Chris, that does not mean there's something romantic happening between us. Believe me, I'm not even thinking about getting another boyfriend right now. That's the last thing on my mind."

"Okay, I'm sorry. It was just some far fetched thought that came into my mind, that's all." She quickly looked down at the paper, her essay, laying on her desk.

I have no idea as to how the thought of me dating Cameron Reeves ever entered her mind. We're just friends and that's basically all we'll ever be.

***

After school, I was walking towards my car when I heard someone calling out my name. I turned around to see Cameron jogging towards me.

"Hey, Cameron," I said as I waited for him to catch up with me. When he did, I continued to walk.

"You have Physics with Mr. Copeland, right?"

"Yes, I do. Why?"

"Did you understand that assignment he gave us that's due next week?"

I thought about what he was talking about for a second. "It's a little complicated but I'm pretty sure I can figure it out."

"Oh, well, I'm pretty sure I can't figure it out at all. So, I was wondering if you wanted to work on it together. No cheating, I promise. At least help me figure out what to do. Please?"

"Alright, I can do that. When and where?"

"Uh, this Saturday at my place? Or your place, wherever."

"Your place is fine. Just as long as it strictly just involves two people working on a complicated Physics assignment." I was half-joking.

Cameron seemed to take me seriously, however. "No, no, no. I promise it will be just that."

I laughed and shook my head. "Calm down. Your place, this Saturday. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Bye, Cameron." I turned around and stepped inside my car before driving off.

***

I walked through the front door and set my bag down before taking off my shoes. I headed toward the kitchen to make myself something to eat.

I saw that Mom got the mail before she left to work and I looked through it. To my surprise, there was an envelope with my name on it on the top of the pile. My dad's name was on the top left corner and I could pretty much guess what was inside.

As I figured, after I opened the envelope, I pulled out what to be a certain invitation. The front cover of the invitation simply had the words 'You're Invited' in an elegant font. I opened the invitation and I read, 'You're invited to celebrate the marriage of David Andrew Pearson and Ruby Elizabeth Chambers. The wedding will take place November 24th at 3:00 PM.'

As I was reading, something else slipped out of the envelope. It was a separate folded piece of paper. Curious, I opened and immediately recognized Dad's handwriting. He wrote: Ali, I know this is not easy for you to handle at the moment. But, you have to consider my feelings, as well. Ruby and I love each other. But, I also love you. Please do not think that I am leaving you in any way because I am not. Ruby wants to meet you, her new stepdaughter and we want you to meet her. We would also really like it if you would not only come to the wedding as one of Ruby's bridesmaids but for you to also consider visiting us as much as possible here in New Jersey. We want you to be a part of our lives, including your soon-to-be new brother or sister. Please consider it and please talk to me as soon as you can. I love you with all of my heart.

After I reread the invitation and Dad's letter about twenty times, I found myself ripping up both papers and throwing them in the trash.