The Unfortunates

Chapter Eleven

"They're all late," Anna grumbled, pacing nervously in a circle.

"This feels like déjà vu," I sighed, falling back in my beanbag chair. "From the first Unfortunates meeting."

"Why did we choose that name?" Anna lamented, pacing across the room. "It's given us such bad luck."

"Hey now. You're starting to complain like me," I said, laughing a little. "It's a clever name."

"Uh-huh." Anna checked her watch again. "We've been sitting in this shed with nothing to do for like, five hours! The least that they could do is be here on-time."

"Better late than never, that's what I say."

The door to the shed burst open.

Mason sauntered in, bringing a puff of cold air with him. He slammed the door behind himself and I looked at him for a moment. He was still really cute. Dark brown hair a little more tousled than the day I'd met him for the first time. His cheeks were rosy again from the cold, and I couldn't see his freckles from far away but I knew they were still there. He wore the same orange winter coat I'd always seen him in.

He looked at me and smiled. "Hi."

"Welcome," Anna said sarcastically. "Please sit down, we're still waiting on everyone."

He rolled his eyes and laughed in his carefree way. "Thank you, I think." Mason walked over to me, and gestured to the beanbag next to mine. "Anyone sitting here?"

"All yours."

He sat down in the chair, much further away from me than he'd been a few hours ago, and I tried not to look at him, tried not to think about the answer I still hadn't given him.

"You doing okay?" I asked softly.

"Yeah." He nodded, as if trying to convince himself of the same thing. "I'm doing pretty well, Leah."

Names. I felt like he hadn't said my name since the day we'd introduced ourselves for the first time.

"Mason."

"What?"

"Nothing." I looked down, embarrassed I'd said it out loud.

"You guys, I'm not deaf or mute. Want to let me in on your little conversation?" Anna raised her eyebrows.

"Nothing, Anna." I shook my head with a smile and turned to the boy beside me. "Sorry. She's nervous again today, for reasons I cannot guess, and you know she gets crazy when she gets nervous."

"I do not!"

The door slowly creaked open again.

Chase ducked under the doorframe, putting a hand on it for a moment like he was fighting the uncanny urge all high-school boys had to jump up and slap any door they went under. His hair was a little wet, and I peeked outside and saw it had started to sprinkle rain. Maybe we would get some snow.

He smiled, a little nervously. "Oh, hi guys."

"Hi," Anna said, gesturing to the worst beanbag. "Take a seat."

Chase eyed the big, cushy beanbag Anna was saving for herself but dutifully sat down in the new, smaller seat.

"How's it going, Chase?" I asked. "Get that lawn mowed?"

He laughed. "Oh, yeah. I did. Thanks."

"You know, you were late," Anna chided.

"Family dinner ran a little long." He shrugged. "And I was not going to miss my mom's homemade apple cobbler. Sorry."