The Great Escape

Chapter 6

I ate my toast in silence, watching my parents hustle around for work. I couldn't help but feel a bit nervous around them. My stomach was in knots and my muscles were tense. I pretty much spent the whole weekend with Grace. I finally came home late last night. I almost waited until they left to come out of my room this morning. I've never dated anyone before and I didn't exactly want to get the third degree from them. I was a bit afraid they would start noticing a change in me and assume it had something to do with a guy. But so far this morning they've barely noticed me. 

"Honey!" I heard my dad yell from down the hall. "Where did I put my keys last night?" he asked her. She put her newspaper down.

"Oh!" she gasped. I looked up startled. "Veera, I feel like I haven't seen you in ages. What time did you finally make it home last night?" she asks.

"Honey!" my dad yells louder. She quickly gets up and goes down the hall to my upset father. I finished my toast and had started to walk out the door before she came back. They were both going to be late.

"Veera," she began. "I'm not done talking to you." she said walking up to me.

"I'm going to be late for school, Mom." I tell her.

"Very well," she sighs. "We'll talk later." I blow her a kiss and walk out to my car. There was a warm breeze, and it felt nice.

The drive to school went by slowly. The entire time my stomach was in knots. I kept thinking about what would happen when I ran into Spencer. Now that we're not under the magic of the colorful lights in the black sky, will he still be as mesmerized by me as I am by him?  And why hadn't I heard from him the rest of the weekend? 

I pulled into a parking spot and shut off my car engine. I took a deep breath and let it out to relax my nerves. I grabbed my book bag and keys and got out of my car.

I slowly walked up to the school building. When I reached my locker I saw Grace standing next to it leafing through a book. When she heard me approach she looked up. A giant smile spread across her face and her eyes grew huge.

"Well, well." she said amused. "Look at you today." she seemed to approve. I don't know why, but I decided to wear something other than my typical plain jeans and t-shirt. I wore khaki shorts and a white lace top. I felt very out of place, like all eyes were on me. Whenever I looked up, though, everyone's eyes skimmed past me and ignored me just like any other day.

"Do you think I look okay?" I asked her sheepishly. I already knew her answer. She's the one that bought me the outfit last summer. She's been desperately trying to get me to wear something with personality. Let's just say this is the first time I've worn it since she bought it for me.

"Well, duh!" she said excitedly. "I didn't think you were ever going to wear that." she said smiling.

I smiled back. "I guess I never really thanked you for it." I told her ashamed. "I'm sorry." 

"You wearing it now is thanking me enough. I forgive you." she told me. "So," she said stepping closer to me. "Has Spencer seen your outfit yet?" she asked curiously.

I laughed. "No, I just got here, silly. And to be honest, I'm kind of scared to see him."

She looked shocked. "What?" she asked bewildered. "Why? You seemed so happy about your date." 

"Last Friday was sort of, perfect." I admitted. She looked at me expectantly.

"Yeah, we've covered that. So the problem is...?" she pressed. 

"It feels like it was all a dream." I confessed. "What if he's really not as in to me as I thought he was?" I asked her. "I never heard from him over the weekend. Maybe he didn't think it was so magical." I concluded. I opened my locker and got out my necessary books for class. I hid behind my locker door to hide the blush of embarrassment on my face. I hated feeling so insecure. I hated that I was so inexperienced and didn't know what things meant.