from laughing. “We’re going to put everyone else to shame.”
“ Definitely,” Aaron said with a laugh.
I set my clarinet in its box. “Want to do some homework?”
I wondered what others might think of our choice to do homework instead of going home early. They didn’t know, though, what this was like. This was one of those times when it was so natural, so right . It actually wasn’t too hard to ignore what happened at the library when I was having fun with Aaron.
“ Oh, right, I need to do my 1984 paper,” he said.
“ You think the computer lab’s open?”
“ We can go see.”
As we walked through the halls, the school was quiet and deserted. There were a few teachers, and we passed one classroom where chess club was meeting.
“ It’s like a horror movie,” Aaron said.
We reached the computer lab, but it was closed. “And it’s only four o’clock!” Aaron said.
“ Four o’clock?” I repeated, my eyes wide. “We’ve been practicing that long? I told my mom I’d be home by four-thirty.”
Aaron groaned. “That sucks.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, and I knew he wanted to ask to come over, but didn’t want to seem pushy. Well, I had some algebra homework to get done, too.
It wasn’t hard to ignore what I’d been thinking about earlier, either, how I didn’t want to risk being hurt by him again. It was just homework.
I let out a sigh. “You want to come over? I’ll have to call my mom first.”
Aaron shrugged, but I could feel his excitement. “Okay, sure.” He and Steven both. What was with guys hiding their feelings? Not like I was much better.
I texted my mom, and while we were waiting for her to get a break so she could call me, Aaron drove me back to my house. He said he could at least give me a ride home. As we pulled up to my house, my phone rang.
“ Bonjour, Mama ,” I answered.
“ Bonjour , Anna . Qu’est-ce que c’est ?” she asked. What is it?
I glanced at Aaron. My mom had always liked him, but she’d been wary about everyone the last year. “Can Aaron come over so we can do some homework?” I asked in French.
After a moment of silence, she asked, “Aaron? Are you two friends again?”
“ I don’t know. I’m just helping him with Composition.”
“ You’re not doing his work for him, are you?”
“ No, of course not.” Not according to the traditional definition, at least. “We just need to use the computer, but the lab at the school was closed. We would go to the library, but Allie should get home in fifteen minutes or so.”
“ Hm, okay. I suppose. I want him gone by six, okay? I’ll text Ginger to make sure.”
“ Okay, that’s fine. Should be more than enough time.” I said goodbye to her, then smiled at Aaron. “Okay. You have to leave by six, though.”
“ We better make some headway,” Aaron said as he turned off the ignition.
It’d been more than a year since Aaron had last come over. It was after I’d broken up with Jordan, just days after Jordan and Carmen started spreading rumors about me, a couple weeks before Christmas Break. Aaron and I hadn’t talked about any of it at the time, but it had been on both of our minds, and we started arguing about something else. Our friendship just went downhill from there. Thinking about it made my palms kind of sweaty, and I actually considered changing my mind and asking Aaron to go home. I had to talk myself out of it as we walked up the path to the door. He’d been really nice since finding me in the library. I could tell he was trying to rebuild what we’d once had.
When we walked in, Ginger lay on the ground, talking on the phone. She watched us with a confused look as we passed. Our computer was shoved into the corner of my room. It had been in the dining room for a little while, but my mom got tired of it taking up so much space. She also thought I was being too rude to Ginger and Allie, so now whenever they wanted to use the computer and I was awake, I had
“ Definitely,” Aaron said with a laugh.
I set my clarinet in its box. “Want to do some homework?”
I wondered what others might think of our choice to do homework instead of going home early. They didn’t know, though, what this was like. This was one of those times when it was so natural, so right . It actually wasn’t too hard to ignore what happened at the library when I was having fun with Aaron.
“ Oh, right, I need to do my 1984 paper,” he said.
“ You think the computer lab’s open?”
“ We can go see.”
As we walked through the halls, the school was quiet and deserted. There were a few teachers, and we passed one classroom where chess club was meeting.
“ It’s like a horror movie,” Aaron said.
We reached the computer lab, but it was closed. “And it’s only four o’clock!” Aaron said.
“ Four o’clock?” I repeated, my eyes wide. “We’ve been practicing that long? I told my mom I’d be home by four-thirty.”
Aaron groaned. “That sucks.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, and I knew he wanted to ask to come over, but didn’t want to seem pushy. Well, I had some algebra homework to get done, too.
It wasn’t hard to ignore what I’d been thinking about earlier, either, how I didn’t want to risk being hurt by him again. It was just homework.
I let out a sigh. “You want to come over? I’ll have to call my mom first.”
Aaron shrugged, but I could feel his excitement. “Okay, sure.” He and Steven both. What was with guys hiding their feelings? Not like I was much better.
I texted my mom, and while we were waiting for her to get a break so she could call me, Aaron drove me back to my house. He said he could at least give me a ride home. As we pulled up to my house, my phone rang.
“ Bonjour, Mama ,” I answered.
“ Bonjour , Anna . Qu’est-ce que c’est ?” she asked. What is it?
I glanced at Aaron. My mom had always liked him, but she’d been wary about everyone the last year. “Can Aaron come over so we can do some homework?” I asked in French.
After a moment of silence, she asked, “Aaron? Are you two friends again?”
“ I don’t know. I’m just helping him with Composition.”
“ You’re not doing his work for him, are you?”
“ No, of course not.” Not according to the traditional definition, at least. “We just need to use the computer, but the lab at the school was closed. We would go to the library, but Allie should get home in fifteen minutes or so.”
“ Hm, okay. I suppose. I want him gone by six, okay? I’ll text Ginger to make sure.”
“ Okay, that’s fine. Should be more than enough time.” I said goodbye to her, then smiled at Aaron. “Okay. You have to leave by six, though.”
“ We better make some headway,” Aaron said as he turned off the ignition.
It’d been more than a year since Aaron had last come over. It was after I’d broken up with Jordan, just days after Jordan and Carmen started spreading rumors about me, a couple weeks before Christmas Break. Aaron and I hadn’t talked about any of it at the time, but it had been on both of our minds, and we started arguing about something else. Our friendship just went downhill from there. Thinking about it made my palms kind of sweaty, and I actually considered changing my mind and asking Aaron to go home. I had to talk myself out of it as we walked up the path to the door. He’d been really nice since finding me in the library. I could tell he was trying to rebuild what we’d once had.
When we walked in, Ginger lay on the ground, talking on the phone. She watched us with a confused look as we passed. Our computer was shoved into the corner of my room. It had been in the dining room for a little while, but my mom got tired of it taking up so much space. She also thought I was being too rude to Ginger and Allie, so now whenever they wanted to use the computer and I was awake, I had
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