Not Another Jock

Chapter Four

Once the house was fully stocked with fresh food, - and a big bottle of Pepsi - we decided to order a take out.

"To celebrate the move." Dad had said, but I knew it was because it was because he had found a menu for an Italian place in the town.

I didn't want much, I wasn't overly hungry tonight. I took two slices, but only picked away at them on my bed.

I was on my laptop, trying to log into my new school email, but getting the same error message every time.

In the corner of my screen, I seen a FaceTime request from Pearl, back home. I grinned, clicking the answer.

Quickly, her face filled the screen, her dyed blonde bangs hanging loosely by her cheeks, her hazel eyes shining with excitement.

"Harper!" She exclaimed, smiling wide. "I miss you."

"I miss you too." I agreed. "It's pretty lonely here with you, even if it's only been a day or two."

"School starts on Monday, you'll meet people then." She said, full confidence in my introverted personality. "What about your mom's friend? Lauren something or other."

"Oh, yeah." I shrugged. "They're nice. Caz is really quiet, but I don't dislike him and he seems to like me, so I guess that's a good thing. Tyler is a jock though."

"Hold on." Pearl interjected. "Caz and Tyler are boys?"

I rolled my eyes, nodding. "Yeah, they are."

"Harper, this is amazing." She squealed. "Not only are you friends with two boys, but you're right next door to them."

"Pearl, they're the only people I know here." I told her, smiling as she practically bounced up and down with the number of questions flowing through her head. "And they're Lauren's kids, I'm practically gonna live with them once Mom gets settled."

"So, tell me." She started, and I already dreaded what was about to come from her mouth. "Which one is the cute one? I bet it's the jock."

"Pearl, oh my God." I laughed. "I don't know, I only met them."

I stood up, heading over to my desk and plucking a bottle of nail polish from my drawer and heading back over to my bed. Unscrewing the top, I fixed the bottle in a way to make sure it didn't spill.

"Come on, please." She begged. "How much hotter are the Utah boys compared to ours?"

I let out a dramatic sigh, watching my hand carefully as I flicked a lick of paint onto my short nails. It was a dark, shimmery brown that looked almost black if you only looked at it quickly.

"I mean, I guess you'd think Tyler was hot." I shrugged. "You like the whole hot, quarter back look he's got going on."

"Really?" She gasped. "When can I sleep over?"

I burst out laughing, shaking my head. Pearl definitely would be into Tyler.

"Whenever the next school break is." I replied. "I'm sure me and the boys will be much more buddy-buddy by then."

"That's ages away." She pouted. "Why don't you say it's my birthday and beg your mom to let me come up?"

"One; my mom has know you since you were five, she knows when your birthday is." I teased. "And two; it's only eight weeks away."

"Fine." She grumbled. "But I'd better get at least one photo of the two boys."

"What am I supposed to do?" I probed. "Walk up to the and say, 'Hey, boys, my friend back home wants to see how hot you are, photo?' and not look like a weirdo?"