The Mendacity of Winnie Hart

Chapter Eighteen

"That was so fun!" Ash sang, happily skipping his way back to the cars. He chucked the sleds into the back of Wrens car with unnecessary force.

"Careful you moron! She's fragile." Wren slapped him on the back of the head.

"Ouchies." He pouted and rubbed the spot she had hit. "What should we do now? The day is young!"

"I'm going home," Noah stated, opening up his car door. "Get in Ash."

I waited patiently by Wrens car to be let in. We had been out for a couple of hours, and I had had enough fun to last me years. My cheeks not only hurt from the cold, but also from smiling too much. However, nothing lasts forever. The fun winded down, as it does, and I was growing tired.

"We should figure out a way to bring Mr. Frosty with us. He'll be lonely," Ash said, pushing past me and jiggling the passenger door of Wrens Volkswagen.

"It's a snowman, it has no feelings," Wren sighed.

"Not until we put a hat on it!"

We all watched him repeatedly attempt to open the locked door before Wren spoke up.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Ash looked surprised, as if the answer should have been obvious. "I'm hitching a ride with you! Noah can be so boring and mean."

"God, if you were anyone else I would beat the shit out of you," Noah grumbled.

"Whatever. Winnie, you'll do a swapsies with me, right?"

To be honest, I didn't care who took me home as long as I got there. Noah offered no opinion. Arguing seemed futile, so I acquiesced.

"I don't mind," I said quietly.  A snowflake hit my nose, making it twitch uncomfortably.

The wind had started to pick up, and snow was falling heavier than before. All of the people who had previously been sledding with us were all clearing out, leaving us as some of the last people in the parking lot. Clearly, the mystique of the first snowfall was wearing off on everyone.

"Fine. I don't want to be driving when the weather gets even worse. This car can barely handle normal weather. See you at school tomorrow Winnie!" Wren waved to me and got in her car, finally unlocking the door to allow Ash in.

I walked around Noah's car to get into the passenger seat, being pleasantly reminded that they were heated.

"Do you need a reminder of where I live?" I asked as he got in beside me.

"No."

It looked like the curt, annoyed version of Noah was back. He had only went sledding the initial time he made me go, and didn't join in the snowman building or snowball fight Wren, Ash and I had partaken in. In fact, he hadn't done much but watch us, throwing out the occasional sarcastic remark. It made me wonder why he even bothered to leave his car. Surely it would have been more enjoyable to sit in a heated vehicle and watch from a distance. Yet he never went to his car once, until we were all ready to leave.

I tried to look out the window as we drove, but everything had become a grey blur, with the snow falling in such thick layers it was impossible to make out anything. I squinted, but couldn't even tell where we were. Having no experience with driving, it made me a little nervous to think about how Noah was even navigating.

Cautiously, I looked at him. He seemed concentrated on the road, not driving as recklessly as he had all of the other times I had been in his car.

"Is it hard to drive?"

"What kind of a question is that?" He responded, shaking his head.

"Never mind then."

He glanced at me for a second and sighed. "Not really. It's shitty in this kind of weather. You don't know how to drive?"