unconditional | e.d.

chapter 3

Ethan

It's been a week since I got partnered with Sol for this stupid project. She hasn't shown up to class for a few days. We have to complete the Powerpoint by next week, and she hasn't really done any of it yet; so I'm hoping she shows up.

The late bell rings as students are still pouring into the classroom, and miraculously, Sol walks in. She doesn't even spare me a glance as she walks all the way to the back of the room. I follow suit, and sit in the seat next to her. She looks tired, almost like she's been crying or something.

"Hey...do you have your section of this project?" I start lightly, "I'll just copy it down into the Powerpoint so it's easier." She looks at me with an emotion I can't decipher, and shoves her earbuds into her pocket. She puts her hand into her bag and pulls out a folder, handing it to me. I take it from her and open it. Wow, she wrote all of it down. Her handwriting is really pretty.

She sighs and looks up at me, "Just wrote some bullshit that I already knew. I'm fluent in Spanish so this is pretty much a scam on them; you're welcome."

"Thanks. I'll add it on." I smile to myself. She has good sense of humor. "Okay so now we just need to add the collaborated portion. We can work on it after school if you want, my brother and I don't have practice today."

The bell rings, and class is over.

She stands up and grabs her bag, "Hmmm. Okay; meet in the parking lot after school and we can go to your house and work on it. Bye Ethan." I walk out behind her, "Bye, sol."

——

I look around the parking lot, seeing if Sol got out of the building before I did. I spot her leaning against a tree smoking a cigarette, and jog over to her.

"Hey!" I yell, "Didn't know if you were out yet. My house is right down the street. This way." I tilt my head across the lot, turning to the rows of house and start to walk with her.

"So..." I start to speak and then trail off. What do I even say? Do we even have anything in common? I know almost nothing about her... and I'm inviting her into my house. Oh god-

Sol speaks up, releasing me from my anxious thought process, "Do we really have to work on this stupid project today? It's literally Friday. I would rather die than do homework." The word leaves her mouth as if it's poisonous. "Well...I guess not? But we have to get it done by next week. We can just hang out at my house instead, if you want."

She turns to me and stop walking. I repeat her movements. She looks up at me with a firm look on her face. "'Hang out' hmm? Watch yourself, Dolan." She says sharply, dropping her cigarette and squishing it under her boot. "God, not like that! I'm sorry. I meant like...we could pass the time and get to know each other? I don't know much about you anyways." I ramble, letting my thoughts leave my head.

She clears her throat, beginning to walk again. "Okay, fine. We can get to know each other. You're not gonna wanna finish this project with me after though." She says, slight sarcasm in her voice, but I can tell her words cut deep. "Oh yeah? We'll see about that." We continue the walk home in a comfortable silence, and I smile to myself.

——

We're sitting in my living room, playing chess of all fucking things. She doesn't seem like a girl who knows how to play chess, but I guess I don't seem like a guy who does either. "So, both of your parents live with you; and your brother?" She asks, moving her rook and taking my knight.

"Yeah," I exhale. "We all live together. One happy family." I move one of the pawns into the next corner, already bored of this stupid game. "You say it like it's a lie. So artificial." She comments, and I shake my head. "No. we're just...boring. Nothing new ever happens around here. Same old, same old."

"Ah, I see." She nods her head and we continue playing. "Do both your parents live with you," I look up at her with my eyebrows raised, "Any siblings?"

She chuckles dryly and shakes her head. "Nope. No siblings. I live with my dad for the most part." I take the information in, daring to ask her the biggest question on my mind. "What about your mom?"

"I haven't seen her since i was six. Got tired of me and my dad, I guess. Packed her shit and never came back." She keeps her eyes on the board, choosing another piece to move. "Fuck, I'm sorry, Sol." I reply, suddenly feeling guilty about my earlier comments on my own family.

"It's whatever. It doesn't matter anymore. Eleven years gives you a lot of time to get over it." She laughs. The tension in the air is thick and I can tell that she's not as 'over it' as she says she is. But I wasn't gonna put pressure on her to talk about it since this is the first real conversation we're having. I stand up and brush off my clothes. "C'mon. Chess is boring. Let's go to, like, the park or something."

"Oh yeah, because the park will be way more interesting." She replies. Her attitude is back, and for some reason I'm happy about it. "Never know until you get there!" I walk to the front door and wait for her. She grabs her jacket and walks out, letting me trailing behind her.

————

The park was nice and quiet. It's fall, so there weren't any kids playing on the jungle gym. We sat on the swing sets, telling each other little life stories we found funny, or hidden talents, or "unknown" things about one another. It was refreshing to talk to somebody who wasn't so uptight or worried about something.

I felt peaceful when I was with Sol. I hope she feels that way about me, too. I mean, not that it matters anyways. We're barely even friends yet. I'm not looking to be the center of her entire universe or some bullshit like that. But it would feel nice to know we could be something to each other. Like good friends, maybe. Either way, whatever was going on right now between us, I felt content with.