I'm New York City

thirty three

"heyyy"

I could feel my cheeks turning red as I stared at his text message. I decided not to reply back right away, that would make me seem weird. I went back to our group chat and saw that no one else was talking. 

"Sage? Time to eat," Mom said, peeking through my door. I nodded my head, my eyes not leaving my phone. 

"Do I need to start controlling your screen time too? I've never seen you so attached to your phone until today," she said, walking into my room. 

I shook my head, turning my phone off and placing it on my nightstand. I sighed, giving Mom a smile as I followed her downstairs. Ivy was already at the table, devouring her food. Mom talked to us about the plans for when Dad comes back in a couple weeks. I was so excited to see him again, talking to him over FaceTime isn't the same.

"Did you girls finish studying?" Mom asked.

I nodded my head, looking over at Ivy who nodded and gave her a thumbs up. Midterms were approaching and let's just say doing tests online can either be a blessing or a curse. I felt like I was studying over time and tried to cram as much information as I could. My teachers have been super helpful with all of the questions that I had, so I was grateful for them.

After I finished eating, I went back upstairs to get ready for bed. I took a peek at my phone that was lit up and saw that I got another message from Mason. 

"leaving me on read?"

Crap! I forgot to turn that off.

"i'm so sorry, i saw your message, but didn't have time to reply. mom called me for dinner"

I sighed, placing my phone back down and went inside my bathroom to hop into the shower. I couldn't help but think about him while I was in the shower. I don't even know him, I barely know anything about this boy. But he was so pretty, his hair was perfectly set, his skin was literally flawless, and the way he smiled at me. No ones ever smiled at me like that.

When I got out of the shower, I laid down in my bed and went on my phone. I saw a new message from Mason and smiled, opening it.

"no worries at all! have a good night sage"

I smiled even bigger at his message and said 'goodnight' back. I placed my phone down on my nightstand and stared at my ceiling. Why was I feeling like this?

"Hmm, what's got you so smiley today, babe?" Mom asks as she walks into my room.

I shake my head, pulling my covers up more. Mom sat down beside me and ran her fingers through my hair.

"Sleep tight, baby girl," she said softly, giving me a kiss on the forehead.

"Night Mom," I replied.

-

I woke up the next morning to Ivy running through the halls. I never get any peace and quiet in this house if she's living in it. I checked my phone and saw that Mason had texted me a, 'good morning' and I blushed, replying back to him.

"Bye Sage! I'm going to school!" Ivy screamed as she busted through my door.

"Get out!" I yelled and she giggled running out.

During breakfast, I kept my phone upstairs to avoid my mom seeing anything. I know that she really had her eyes on Mason at the party since he was the only boy that stayed near me. To be honest, I want to know more about Mason. I don't even know when we're going to see each other next. 

"Do you want to come with me to the studio?" Mom asks as she washes the dishes.

"How long do you think you'll be there for?" I ask.

"Not too long, just need to finalize a couple things," she says.

I nodded my head. It'll be good to be out of the house. Especially since Ivy won't be with us and I also don't have any work to do today. I hurried and got ready to go out, meeting Mom downstairs where she was waiting for me. She smiled, wrapping her arm around me as we headed out the door.

When we got into the back seat, I looked at my phone again to see that Mason had sent me a photo of him and our friends in class. I smiled, taking a quick selfie in the car. I could sense Mom side eyeing me, but I just ignored her. 

"so prettyyy!" he replied a few seconds later.

I blushed really hard and shut my phone off, slouching into my seat more.

"What's up now?" Mom asks, smiling at me.

"Nothing, the girls just said something funny," I lie.

When we arrive at the studio, I'm immediately greeted by Uncle Jack who gives me a hug and high five. I take a seat on the couch as Mom and Uncle Jack start talking. 

"oh god, i look horrible today" I replied to Mason's text message.

I only turned my phone off for a minute and he already messaged me back.

"don't say that! you're literally the prettiest girl i've ever seen"

Wow. No one has ever told me that. My family doesn't count.

"thanks mason! really, you aren't too bad yourself!"

"And there she goes. Why is my princess smiling again so brightly today?" Mom asks, standing above me.

"Nothing, god Mom!" I exclaimed, putting my phone into my pocket. She looked a bit shock by my reaction, but just kept quiet. 

Mom was right, it didn't take too long for them to finish today. We were probably only at the studio for an hour and then we were headed back to the car. Mom insisted that we bake something together since there wasn't much to do at home and that she knew that I'd be bored. 

We agreed on making chai cookies since it fit for the season. I wasn't a big fan of chai, but I didn't mind it. While I mixed the ingredients together, my phone buzzed, meaning I got a text message. I quickly put down the mixer and looked at my phone to see a message from Mason. 

"i wish you went to in person school"

I smiled.

"i wish i did too, but some kids there say otherwise"

"Hey, more mixing! I don't want you on your phone so much," Mom tells me, starting the mixer again.

I sat on the counter as Mom started preparing the little balls of dough. We were basically just waiting for the oven to finish preheating, then we could put them in.

"Mom," 

"Hmm?" she looked at me.

"What age were you when you got your first boyfriend?" I asked curiously.

She stopped what she was doing and sighed. 

"Young, around your age," she smiled at me.

I nodded my head, processes everything in my head. 

"Why do you ask? Sage Madeline, do you have a boyfriend? I swear, you better tell me right now," she demands, standing in front of me.

"No, no, god! I was just asking," I saying, putting my hands up.

"Good! You aren't allowed until you're out of college!" Mom smiled, making me gasp.

The oven finished pre heating and Mom placed the tray inside. We both washed our hands and then headed over to the living room where we had some random T.V. show playing. When the episode ended, we both heard noise coming from the front entrance. Mom got on the other side of me, gripping onto my arm as we looked at the door. 

"Well, aren't you going to welcome me?"