Jail Baby

Uncharted Territory

After our kiss, reality hit me like a truck. I was like, Kadence, what are you doing you can't be in a relationship! I realized that I had no idea how to date someone. My face fell. I couldn't do it.

"What's wrong?" Axl asked. I started to panic. I didn't want to hurt his feelings by saying that I couldn't be in a relationship, and we couldn't ever do that again. I didn't know what to say, so I did the only logical thing to do, at times when you don't have a clue what to do or say, and ran.

Yep, I ran right out of that crowded room like my life depended on it. I could hear Axl calling after me, but I didn't slow. I don't think he tried to follow me, but I couldn't be sure, so I kept running. I ran to the one place where he couldn't come find me, the girl's bathroom.

I know, bathrooms are not the most fabulous place to think about a boy, but it was the best I was going to get. This particular bathroom smelled of crap, urine, mold, and contaminated water. My nose scrunched at the fumes, but I still didn't slow.

I raced right into the closet stall. I sat on the gross toilet, fully clothed. I would probably have a brown stain on my pants, but I couldn't have cared less.

My mind raced, my heart pounded, my breathing was quick and shallow. I didn't know what was wrong with me. Since when did boys make me nervous? I had never experienced anything like that before. It was uncharted territory. It was foreign. I definitely was not a love expert. I needed to find someone who was.

With a new resolve, I exited the stall, reentering the normal bathroom. Sprawled out in front of me, where five moldy sinks. They were plain hunks of metal, coated with blue green mold, covering from the faucet to the base. It looked like the place had never been cleaned, which it probably hadn't.

There was one small mirror above the middle sink. I stood in front of it, staring at my reflection, my hands planted on the rim of the sink, me leaning forward. "Wow, Kay, even after fleeing a scene, you still look fantastic," I whispered to myself.

Then a voice sounded from behind me. "I saw you run from that cute boy. Having guy troubles?"

I whipped around to face the voice. It was Lydia. I knew her well.

Lydia was a tall, thirty something year old, brunette, that I had known for a long time. She had sort of been like an aunt to me, or maybe a godmother. I'm not sure, I don't have either.

"Oh, hey Lydia. Yeah, I guess I am," I admitted sheepishly. "Aw, come here baby, tell Lydia what's going on."

And so I did. We sat on that dirty, infected floor, and talked.

"Well, we met a few weeks ago. We've been hanging out and talking a lot. I know him well by now. His name is Axl. I think I like him, but I don't know for sure. Anyways, he kissed me, because he really likes me. The problem is that I don't know how to be in a relationship. The only real relationships I've seen are my parents and these two kids in the high school I went to. I'm new at this. I have no idea what to do! You had a lot of boyfriends right?" I explained.

"Yes I have. Aw, so sweet, darling. You two are so cute. It sure sounds like you like him," Lydia said, thinking it through.

"I'm almost positive I do, but I don't know how it's supposed to feel. Like, I assume this is what like feels like, but I don't know. It could just be indigestion."

Lydia took my hands in hers. "Listen, you are going to date him. When the time comes, you will know what to do. It will come naturally. If you have any questions, you can always talk to me. Now go get your happy ending, sista!"

"Um, okay," I said, rising up from the floor. I dusted my butt off.

"Thanks Lydia," I shot her a thankful smile. "No problem, Kadence, I'll talk to you soon."

I left the bathroom. No, I wasn't going searching for Axl. I wasn't ready yet, I had some thinking to do.