Sister Wife

The Project

I'm sick for a week before I can go back to school. I'm surprised I even miss it, but I do. My fever finally stays away and I get dressed the next morning. Hope makes a fuss about me going back to the "germ factory" but she can't stop me.

With Selena back and behaving herself we settle into a routine. Justin comes and goes like he used to, spending equal amounts of time with each of us. I can't bring myself to ask if he and Selena are sleeping in the same bed again.

Hope's belly grows faster all the time. She's finally starting to seem like the pregnant women I'm used to seeing. I can tell she's tired and it seems harder for her to move around. But she's always cheerful and smiling which just amazes me.

One good thing that came out of my week of being sick was that I had plenty of time to work on my college applications. I applied at 3 schools and will just have to wait and see what happens.

Meanwhile graduation is getting closer and closer. All the seniors are assigned a final project to work on in teams of two. I was out when everyone got to pick their partners so I assume I'll have to do the project alone. It's a huge project that we have to do instead of final exams. I'm reading through the assignment at lunch while I wait for Casey and Katie to show up when Ethan comes to sit with me.

"Feeling better?" he asks while I'm trying to see where my friends are.

"What?" I'm not sure I've heard him right.

"Casey said you were sick last week," Ethan says. "You feeling better?"

"Yeah, mostly," I nod.

"That's good," he smiles. His eyes are really bright green, unlike Casey's which are darker. "I missed you," he says.

"Really?" I can't imagine why. We don't exactly talk or anything. I wonder if Casey ever told him I had a boyfriend.

"Yeah, you know, you always look so happy," he shrugs. "I've gotten used to seeing your smile around here," he says. I don't even know how to respond to that.

"Oh," I nod. I think of Justin and how he's always telling me I'm beautiful when I smile. It's fun to think that's true.

"So are you getting caught up on your work?" he asks and looks at the packet in front of me.

"Yeah, I was just reading about our capstone project," I sigh. "Sounds like a lot of work."

"It shouldn't be too bad with the right partner," he grins.

"Well, I missed that day so I'm on my own," I raise my eyebrows and look back at the list of things to do.

"No you're not," Ethan laughs.

"Unless they assigned me someone?" that thought hadn't occurred to me. Maybe there was someone else absent that day too?