Letting Go...

Chapter 6

    By the time eight o’clock rolled by, I was already bouncing in excitement. I couldn’t wait to see what Charlize would do, I was looking forward to her finally speaking to me. I had told Greg all of the events that had taken place and he was not happy with my father. He thought he was a douche and I couldn’t have agreed with him more. He was slightly more upset about missing out on Noah’s visit. He cracked up when I told him about how Charlize had gotten him to blush, and was even more sorry that he had missed it.

    I was waiting for the school bell to ring with Mavis and Greg, trying in vain to mask my eagerness. Mavis obviously noticed, by the bouncing of my leg or the way that my fingers were fidgeting, that I was anticipating something.

    This was the first time that we were hanging out since she got mad at me. She had come over this morning and acted like nothing had happened and that was fine by me because in my book, nothing had. I’m wasn’t going to apologize for wanting to be someone’s friend.

    Even if that friend is beautiful and funny and gorgeous? My conscience asked.

   Just friends, just friends, just friends… I repeated in my head like a mantra. Maybe if I thought it enough my mind would finally get the memo.

    “What has you so jumpy?” Mavis asked. I could hear the accusatory tone that she spoke with, as if she already knew the answer to her own question. I wasn’t really in the mood for her complaining so I figured it would be best just to divert her attention.

    “So how was your weekend?” I asked her, putting on a smile. I knew she would be fine once she had my undivided attention so that she could talk about herself.

    It worked like a charm and before I could blink, she began spouting the details of her weekend like a volcano. I couldn’t help but block her out.

    “...was yours?” I tuned back in realizing that she was addressing me. I guessed that she was asking about my weekend but I knew her well enough to know that she didn’t care. If she wasn’t apart of it she wasn’t interested.

    “It was fine, nothing too exciting,” I lied, knowing that talking to her about Charlize would only start a fight.

    “Haha, my ass, man. He had dinner with Charlize and her parents, and then on Sunday they ran into her at the diner. That’s why he’s so jubilant this fine morning; he can’t wait to see her again.” Greg laughed, not even caring that he had just sold me out. I caught a glimpse of the glare that Mavis shot my way, but the bell rang and I nearly sprinted to my first period.

    I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw that Charlize was already there in her seat, looking out the window with her earphones in her head. She must have gotten here before the bell.

    I walked toward her and slid into the seat right in her line of vision. I smiled at her but her face remained impassive as she just looked over my shoulder to the window. I couldn’t help the confused expression that was no doubt on my face; she was still acting like we weren’t talking.

    Were we?

    I was starting to doubt the situation. She only seemed to speak to me out of school and that was barely; actually she only spoke to me when I was with someone else, as though she felt obligated to be polite. The sinking feeling in my stomach as I churned that possibility in my head , let me know that I was not okay with it. The idea that she was only speaking to me because she had to saddened me a whole lot more than I was willing to admit.

    She took out her headphone when other students started filtering in the classroom and I took the chance to test out the waters.

    “Good morning, Charlie,” I smiled, hoping that she didn’t just leave me hanging.