I’m whirling around the kitchen, searching for the drawer my mom put the silverware in. How am I supposed to eat my cereal without a spoon? Addy, of course, is still upstairs fixing her hair. She normally takes ages, but today I’m almost certain it’s not just her usual procrastination. Last night, she wouldn’t stop talking about how cute Sam was.
Finally I hear her sliding down the stairs. And I do mean sliding. She’s the one person I’ve ever met who can actually slide down a banister. I’ve never mastered the art, mainly because I’m a total klutz and about kill myself if I try. But with the amazing spiral staircase in this house, she can slide down in 4 seconds flat; she’s timed it. “Girl, you have got to hurry up! We have, like, no time,” I snap, still pulling open and slamming shut drawers filled with everything from dish towels to scissors, but no silverware. “Halleluiah!” I declare, finally finding the utensil drawer. I grab a spoon and pour the milk over my Frosted Mini Wheat’s. Addy’s pouring herself a glass of chocolate Silk. Shoveling in my cereal like it’s the Last Supper, I search frantically for my purse. Without Mom here, the two of us can NOT handle time. At all. Delainee and Logan will be here any time now, and we haven’t even eaten breakfast yet!
Speak of the devil, a car honks outside the door. They’re here. Great. I find my bag on the back of a chair in the dining room and rush to the door. “Addy, come on!”
“I’m coming, shut up!” She bursts into the entry way, silver leather Poppy bag draped over her shoulder. At the end of the walk, Logan and Delainee sit in the front seat of Logan’s navy Toyota Camry. We pile into the backseat.
“Hey, Addy! Hey, Raelyn!” Delainee greets as we get settled in our seats. Logan says hey to us as he pulls back out into the road. Addy and I thank them for the ride and talk idly for the 10 minute ride to school. When we pull into Logan’s parking spot, there’s 5 minutes for us to get to our classes.
Logan heads off to his first class, which is Geometry, leaving Delainee, Addy and I to walk to science together. “So, Raelyn, how did you and Logan know each other, anyway?” Delainee asks me.
“Well, I was jogging and I kind of… ran into him. Like, literally.”
“Oh, okay. So that made you fast friends, or what?”
“Um, not really, I guess? He helped Addy and I find our classes yesterday.” Why am I being questioned?
“Mainly Rae. I’m way better with directions than her,” Addy corrects.
“Yeah, that’s why he helped Raelyn more,” Delainee says sarcastically.
“What?” We’re about to walk into the classroom.
“Never mind,” Delainee sing-songs. She turns away and sits down at her seat. What the crap was that about? I sit down at my seat. Sam isn’t here yet, so it’s just Charley for now. I see Addy glance over at my table. Her face falls when she sees Sam’s empty seat. That girl is hooked. I don’t see how, though, he’s rude, lewd, and crude. What’s attractive about that?
I really think Charley is a sweet girl. She’s a born hippie, too. Her parents were, too. She’s telling me about this now while she’s not busy continuing her never-ending fight with Sam. I ask her why she hates him so much. Her reply? “What’s not to hate?”
Logan walks with me to French again, and takes me to the fish and chips stand as well. James is there again, this time with Tara. Logan and James go about their business, being guys and talking about “the game.” What game that was, I don’t care to know. The only sport I can watch and stay interested in is baseball, and that’s because there’s a bunch of hot guys in skinny pants. I’m not meant to be a tomboy. I just couldn’t do it. I talk to Tara, who I saw yesterday but didn’t really get a chance to talk to. She’s really friendly, she plays basketball, and she has four little brothers. FOUR. Vincent, Gilbert, Dawson, and Quincy. Not to mention her two older sisters, Zoe and Brittany. God, I would die with that many kids.
We’re sitting at the same tree as yesterday, eating our lunches, when Tricky comes marching up.
“This weekend,” she announces to the group, “is my birthday. I’m having a party. You’re all invited.”
“Party? Abso-bloody-lutely!” Sam declared. Um, what?
“He means awesome,” Logan explains, noticing my confused look.
“Oh! Got it!” I exclaim. Logan laughs and ruffles my hair. “No, no, no! Do NOT touch the hair,” I warn him, smoothing out my bangs.
“Don’t worry, your hair’s fine,” he tells me offhandedly.
“You’re not even looking at me!”
“Promise, you look great.” I know he probably didn’t mean that the way I wanted him to, but I still find myself blushing. I tune back into the group’s conversation, trying to hide the color rising in my cheeks. They’re talking about Tricky’s party. I learn that the party’s at six on Friday, at her house. Also, that we’ll all get to meet her new boyfriend, Jason, because he’ll be there. The party sounds like a lot of fun, I have to say. But still, I can’t get myself fully involved in the conversation, because I’m too busy over thinking what Logan said. Why do I do this? I don’t get it. There’s no reason, he would never be interested in me. I’m a grade behind him! And I’m sure he’s got a girlfriend, she just doesn’t go to this school. I need to find out about that…
It’s the end of the school day. I’ve just gotten out of my last class for the day, English. Addy, Delainee and I are walking to Logan’s car. The whole scene is weirdly reminiscent of this morning, but I’ve turned the questioning around on Delainee.
“So, Dels,” I say, attempting a casual tone, “where’s Logan’s girlfriend at?”
Delainee looks at me for a second and then bursts into laughter. “You think…” she says between laughs, “that LOGAN… could get a girlfriend?” Catching her breath, she finishes the thought. “You must be mad.”
“So no girlfriend?” Addy clarifies.
“No way! I’m the closest thing he’s got to a girlfriend: I go shopping with him, go to his stupid rugby games even though I don’t want to, and get pissed at him when he plays too much X-box.”
“Ooh, Rae? Do you hear that? He’s single,” Addy teases, drawing out the last word.
“Trust me, if things go his way with this, he won’t be for long,” Delainee adds matter-of-factly.
“Wait, what do you mean?” I ask.
“Oh, look! There he comes now,” Delainee giggles, avoiding my question AGAIN.
“Answer me!”
“I’ll tell you about it later, sweetie,” she grins. Pure evil, this girl is.
YOU ARE READING
It's Just Rae
Teen FictionRaelyn's happily settled in Raleigh, North Carolina, when her dad drops the all-to familiar bombshell on her and her twin sister, Adelyn. They're moving. But this time, it's not just across a state or even a country: it's all the way across the Atla...
