Originally Published: September 12, 2023
"I can't believe you got to stay with Leo all evening. What was his house like? What was the food like? Did you two start liking each other? Did you kiss? Did you-"
I stopped my younger sister in the middle of her question as I turned to her. She had been following me the entire way up our stairs. I had decided to just go straight to my room when I got home, since it was getting late and my homework was completed.
"That's a lot of questions, Ruth," I told her.
"I know, but I want to hear all about what happened. Can you please tell me," she pleaded, sitting next to me on the edge of my bed.
"Okay, but there's not a lot to tell. There's nothing romantic going on between us. I mean, I don't think he likes me like that. And his house was a huge mansion, and what I saw of it was beautiful. Um, his chef served us pasta and it was the best I ever had. Is there anything else you want to know? Please only ask me one thing at a time," I quickly added when I saw her open her mouth with a deep breath.
"Is that all that happened? Did you do your homework together or something?"
"No, we worked in separate rooms, and then I watched Pollyanna by myself."
"Oh." I could tell she was disappointed as her shoulders slumped.
"Anything else," I checked, wanting nothing more than to be alone.
"No, but I still think it's amazing you went to his house. Maybe he'll talk to you more now."
"Maybe," I repeated, not wanting that to be the case if he started being mean again. Once she was gone, I couldn't help but lie straight back on my mattress, smiling some up at the ceiling. I had seen glimpses of Leo potentially liking me tonight and it made my heart flutter.
The following day everything was back to normal though. He was only interacting with people who approached him, and it was rare to see him without a large group following. I did see him go into the art classroom at one point though, so I think he was taking my advice. I felt a little sad as I gazed longingly at the science room from the previous afternoon. I ended up slipping inside just to look around, but I was surprised to find Leo setting up in there again.
"Are you sure they won't figure out where you've been going," I asked as I stepped farther out of the shadows.
"I don't know, but I'm going to enjoy it while I can," he shrugged. "Let me guess, you want part of my lunch again?" He playfully rolled his eyes and he pretended to be upset.
"Just maybe part of your sandwich... I can start bringing food from home, if you want to make this a thing."
He pushed out the side of his cheek with his tongue as he thought over my offer. "Alright, but you have to make sure no one ever sees you come in here. You're not supposed to be in here either."
"I promise I'll be careful. So, did your day go any better today?" I sat next to him as he tore off half his peanut butter and banana sandwich for me.
"Not really. I did start taking art class. It's not so bad," he admitted, running his fingers through his blonde hair.
"Have you drawn anything yet? Sometimes if you're good enough they put your picture out in the hall. I had it last year, and they did that for my rabbit that I made out of pastels."
"We just started with drawing shapes and shading them in."
"Oh yeah, we did that too. I was called out as the worst one in the class," I sadly recalled, avoiding his gaze since I could feel him staring at me.
