Cucumber

Chapter Six

Today it was Wednesday. That means that this was  the day Cucumber had agreed to ride the bus to my house. Granted she's still right next to me, house wise, but she would go into my house with me. I mentally reviewed my room; undies in the drawers, clothes up, books on their shelves, and Teddy on the bed. Check. Wait! Teddy on the bed? No!

Teddy's been my favorite stuffed animal since I was three. Three! And ever since then, he's laid on my bed next to me and was the constant in my life. If Gigi pulled my pants down on the playground, Teddy would let me know that my undies looked okay. As I got older, the questions got more serious. Does Henry like me? Does he think I'm weird? And at my worst, What if I don't want to be Paisley anymore? Teddy's stuck with me through all of this and lets me talk for minutes on end and always listens. I know he can't talk, but it seems like he gives off positive vibes that reflect on the answer to my question. Only three people besides me have seen him though; Hannah, Sidney, and Jade. I like to keep my therapist to myself.

But if Cumber and I go in my room, she'll be the fourth person! I don't want that! I don't know how she feels about teddy bears or stuffed animals in person! Though I don't think she would be the type of person to spread gossip, I do know Cumber has an iPhone 5 just sitting in her bag, itching for her to take a picture and text it to everyone.  Gosh, I've got to hide Teddy!

I fly off the bus and into my house.

"Um, Paisley?"

"One moment!" I yell, swinging the door open rushing down the hall. I look back and see that Cumber is coming after me. I pick up the pace and bolt to my room. Cumber's right there! I throw myself onto my bed and over Teddy. I finally relax.

"Paige?"

Oh, I forgot about Cumber.

"What was that all about?" she questions, a bestranged look on her face. I shift myself into a more casual position in front of Teddy and try to act natural. 

"Oh nothing. I just really wanted to, you know, lay on my bed."

"You think I'm stupid?" Cumber says, walking over to my bed. She unexpectedly shoved me and I rolled off the bed.

Oof.

Now I'm on the floor and she's on the bed with Teddy. Great. I make myself sit up and stare at Cumber. She's got her legs tucked under her on the bed and she's playfully moving Teddy.

"I have one of these! He's like my...

"Therapist," we say together. We both laugh and I know she's okay with Teddy, but I think we should move on to our cucumber.

"So umm, we've got the supplies in the greenhouse."

"Of course!" she hops off and we walk out back. Weirdly enough, she links her arm through mine and we end up skipping to the supplies. Keeping with the happy-go-lucky theme, we prepare our cucumber while acting like Indian gardeners. Huh. It seems like our cucumber project will be more personal after all.