Tutoring Mr. "Bad" boy.

Chapter 15

"No, mom," I protest as she tries to squirm her way beside me. "You can't sit here!"

"Nonsense, don't be silly darling," she chuckles lowly, lightly smacking my cheek.
"I'm not here for you. I just want to talk to Randy over here," she continues, smiling mischievously.

No!!! I yell within me.
I couldn't let this happen.
I mean, nothing much happened at the party, but I just didn't want mom to know what actually happened there.

And Randy just makes it all worse by not saying anything and just smiling like an idiot and scooting over to make room for her to squeeze in between us.

"Mom!"
We all turn around in sync to find Miranda staring at us in horror.

...more like disgust!

"What?" Mom half yells.

"Shouldn't you be hanging out with people your age??" She asks, and I burst into laughter.
Randy only stifles a giggle, and mom just glares at her.

"Thank youuuu, sis!" I excitedly sing.

"Now, that was harsh, Miranda. I'm very hurt," mom goes on, faking a sob while dabbing at imaginary tears.
She only shrugs in response and leaves as silently as she'd appeared.

"Well, I'm off to hang out with my age mates," mom continues, dramatically of course, still sobbing and wiping imaginary tears from her face as she rises to leave.
"O, and Randy, see me before you leave!" She calls out excitedly from the entrance.
"Will do!" He shouts back in equal excitement.

I only shake my head.

"That was embarrassing. Sorry about that," I whisper to Randy seconds after mom leaves.

Why do they keep on embarrassing me time and again???
Why??
Do they derive some kind of joy from it?

Not that Randy seems to think any of it is "embarrassing".
He thinks I have a very beautiful family, and a "cool mom", in his words.

"I'm serious, Mandy. Your mom's really cool. I mean, I was really impressed the other day when we spoke. She literally even understands slang!" He argues back, after I express how "embarrassing" it was.

"So, bottom line?"

"Bottom line, it's not the least bit embarrassing. You just need to loosen up, nerd!" I note the humor in his voice and give a low gentle laugh.

He's not the first to imply that I'm a bit uptight. And yes, I actually do recognize that I am uptight....too "serious" as Audrey loves to put it.

"Sir, Yes sir!" I mock salute and he smiles.

"Were you able to tell her?"
His voice was no louder than a whisper, totally different from a few seconds back.
He sounds cold....there is no humor in his voice again, and he isn't even smiling.

I nod. "I did."

"And how'd she take it?" I note the concern in his voice.
"She'll come around. She's 'mom' afterall," I try to be enthusiastic. "She'll bounce right back like a ball! But right now, she just needs time to process and heal," I continue, feeling the fake enthusiasm leave my body.

"You're right," he affirms.
"But I still feel I owe that guy a couple of punches for tryna hit on you!"
I spot his fingers curl up into a ball, and his jaw twitch slightly.

Uh uh!!

I can tell he's getting worked up.

"Randy," I call softly, reaching out to gently stroke his arm. "It's fine. I understand your anger, but just try calming down. It's over....it's all good now."