Being Seventeen

I wasn’t entirely sure why I had took Michael there. I just knew I felt a connection with him. Ping! *Details tomorrow?* I laughed. She was so persistent. *Yes.* I worked on my education paper some more and almost got it finished before calling it quits for the night. I climbed in the shower, and changed into shorts and a tank top before getting into bed. I put on soft music and set my alarm. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
Beep! Beep! I rolled over and hit the off button. I slept later than normal that day, so I had to get up and immediately get dressed. I ran my bag out to the car, then came back to eat breakfast. I made a glass of orange juice and toast. While the toast was in the toaster, I checked my phone. There was a message from Michael. *Hey beautiful. Hope you slept well. Can’t wait to see you today. You make life better. XOXO* I smiled really big. Just then, Damon walked in. “What are you so happy about,” he asked.
“Nothing,” I said, trying to leave the house quickly before Damon started an argument. “Wait,” Damon said. I paused in the doorway. “I saw you with Blake,” he said. “Blake,” I asked. “Mr. Blake,” he explained. “You’re not as sneaky as you think you are.” I quickly left the house. I was distracted on the drive to school. It’s a wonder I didn’t wreck. I pulled my car into the space next to Michael’s. Michael looked up from his phone and smiled at me.
I got out of the car and waited while he got his stuff. He slipped his hand into mine as we walked into the school building. We went to my writing class since no one was there. We sat in silence for a few minutes, then he brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. Michael glanced up at me. “Will you be my girlfriend.” “Yes,” I said without hesitation. When the bell rang, Michael kissed me (one the lips this time) before rushing to class. I brought my education paper to Ms. Brooks for proofreading. On the way back to my seat, my phone buzzed.
I slipped it out of my pocket. It was Christie, of course. *Lunch. All the details. * I smiled. *He might sit with us. Who knows?* I loved leaving her in suspense. I moved on to the outline for the Current Issues project and then the rough draft. I wrote Love Letters to the Dead at the top of the paper and tapped my pencil against my desk. After a few minutes, I lowered my head and began to write...Love Letters to the Dead is a story about a girl losing her sister too soon. It’s a book about coping and self-discovery. It all starts when Laurel gets an English assignment to write a letter to a dead person. Creepy, right? But it doesn’t stop there. She continues to write letters to work through her problems. I first read this book shortly after I lost my dad. It really helped me learn to stop blaming myself….
I jumped slightly when the bell rang. I hurried to pack up my stuff and drop off my bag before P.E. Everyone was huddled around Coach when I walked in. “What’s up,” I asked, walking up behind Nick. “Fitness test,” he said. “Seriously,” I whined. He cracked a smile. “Alright, enough talking,” Coach boomed. We got into groups to go through the various obstacles set around the gym. By the end of it, I was exhausted. Mr. Blake had already started the movie by the time Nick and I got to class.
Gee, thanks, I thought. “Andie, see me after school,” Mr. Blake ordered. “Okay,” I said. I hate to admit it, but I didn’t really pay attention to the movie. When lunch rolled around, I didn’t stay in the classroom very long. I was eager to see Michael. I paid for my lunch and made my way outside. Christie was already waiting to ambush me. “What happened? Did you two kiss? Are you gonna see him tonight,” Christie babbled. “Calm down,” I laughed. “We job-searched and then went to dinner.” “That’s it,” Christie exclaimed. “That’s boring.”
I smiled. “Spill it,” she ordered. “Ok...we kissed this morning. And...we haven’t exactly made plans yet, but I hope we hang out tonight,” I said. “You like him,” Christie sing songed. “Stop,” I said, spotting Michael walking toward us. Christie gave me a look and I bursted out laughing. What’s so funny,” Michael asked. I was laughing too hard to answer. I just kept shaking my head. After lunch, Michael walked me to class, and kissed me on the cheek before leaving. I pretty much drifted through the rest of the day.
I started to leave school, before I realized I had to see Mr. Blake before I left. I rushed back to his room. “Sorry, I forgot we were supposed to talk,” I blurted, pushing the door open. “Sit,” he ordered. I sat down, slightly shocked by his tone. “About that talk we had,” he started. “Mr. Blake,” I interrupted. “Mason,” he said. “Mason, we can’t….I mean..you could lose your job,” I said. “That’s why we have to be careful,” he said. “But,” I started. “Try,” he pleaded, looking at me with his piercing blue eyes. “Michael,” I said. “We can work around it,” Mason said. “O...kay,” I said, slowly. I had no idea what I was getting into when I agreed.
When I finally got home, Damon snuck into my room. “We need to talk,” he said. What’s with everyone wanting to talk to me today, I thought. He shut my door and locked it. “I know you like Blake,” he said. “And I see how you look at Michael.” Thank God, he doesn’t know about Michael….yet, I thought. “Here’s what you’re gonna do. You will do whatever I say when I say it, and I won’t go public with your news,” Damon continued. “What! No way,” I exclaimed, outraged. He picked up his phone and started dialing. “Who are you calling,” I asked.
“My friend’s been looking for an interesting story to run in the newspaper, and I think I found it,” Damon said with a smirk. “No,” I almost yelled. “Then say it,” Damon said, his finger poised over the call button. “I’ll do whatever you say when you say it,” I said, defeated. Damon turned off his phone, something he never did. Mom was gone on a work trip until the weekend. I guess thought this would make the perfect opportunity to try out his experiment. Damon unlocked and opened the door. “Go to my room,” he ordered.
His room looked like a tornado had been through it. I froze in the doorway. “Clean it up,” he said. “All of it,” he emphasized, walking out. I closed the door and set to work finding the clothes basket. I finally found it shoved under the desk with clothes and a half eaten sandwich in it. He certainly not the cleanest person, I thought, while picking bits of food out of clothes. A couple hours later, Damon came up to check my progress. I had cleaned the majority of the mess and was just straightening up.
Damon smiled. “Good job.” “You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you,” I asked. “Hell yeah,” he agreed. By the time I got finished cleaning his room, Damon had a whole list of things for me to do. Clean the pool and kitchen, make dinner, and clean the kitchen again. I was exhausted by the time I put dinner on the table. That night, I went with simple, just frozen pizzas and drinks. I cleaned up the kitchen and went to my room before Damon could come up with more stuff for me to do.