The Secret Inside

Chapter 06

"The metaphor for everything can be seen if you look at it it just right, for example-" a sharp ticking sound cut Mrs. Marshall off in the middle of her speech.

She sighed in frustration before turning around to glare at the metal fan rattling on the floor. She hunched down and started pressing different buttons, but the shaking only worsened.

"I'm telling you, there must be a robot inside of it!" Mrs. Marshall stated with conviction, waving an accusing finger at the small fan.

When the fan rattled again she whipped out an arm and yanked the cord out of the socket. She turned around with a self-satisfied (kind of scary) smile and stood with her arms up for a second.

"I feel that the aura of the room has changed. Yes, it is much better now." She squinted her eyes shut. "Sneaky robots," she clucked her tongue disapprovingly.

I stared with a look of disbelief, covering my mouth to hide a smile. I looked sideways at Jess, who was openly laughing, oblivious to the glares now coming from Mrs. Marshall.
Mrs. Marshall opened her mouth to scold Jess but the bell rang making Jess laugh louder as she grabbed her bag before racing out of the room. I shook my head and gathered up my stuff, leaving right after her. She was leaning against the wall outside the door with a slight smirk on her face. I smacked her arm lightly.

"You're such a trouble maker!" I chuckled.

"Oh yeah, I'm always ready to start up some drama." She rolled her eyes haughtily.

I laughed along with her, but truthfully Jess was the one you could count on to take risks and end up in some sort of trouble. Even when we were younger Jess had been able to convince me to sneak out in the middle of the night to go hang out with Chase, our other friend and my neighbor. Luckily we had never been caught, even though to this day we go almost every other Saturday night. It probably had something to do with the fact that my mom is never home and Chase's mom had been...gone. I grimaced.

"Turn that frown upside down!" Jess gibed and shoved her bag into me.

I laughed loudly and shoved a strand of hair behind my ear. Since it was Friday Jess was giving me a ride home. I couldn't do anything fun though since I had to clean my room before my mom arrived. Stupid rules. I arrived home about 20 minutes later and said goodbye to Jess. We made plans to meet up the next day for coffee and then go back to my house. I waved as she pulled away, then entered the house. No one was home yet, so I dropped my bag by the door and went upstairs.
I opened the door to my bedroom to find that it was a complete mess, as it always is by the end of the school week. Instead of hanging up my clothes like I should, I usually end up throwing everything in a pile on the floor. I pulled the shade up across from my bed and saw Chase in his bedroom also. I waved wildly from the window until his eyes snapped upwards to see what the commotion was. He shoved his blond hair out of his eyes and cocked a brow. He mouthed the words asking if I wanted to come over. I considered for a second before deciding that I should try and be responsible. I frowned back saying that I had to clean my room. He laughed at me and said that the door was always open. I reached over and pulled the window shade down so I didn't get distracted while I cleaned. My room was in total chaos, with random shirts and jeans draped all over the room. Mom was going to kill me. I checked the clock which read 4:00 and noted that I had about three hours until mom got home.
I tackled the first half of my cleaning job in an hour and decided that I needed a break. I threw on some running shorts and grabbed Winston's leash, descending the stairs two at a time. When I announced that we were going on a walk Winston wagged his tail happily. I smiled softly and hooked the leash onto his collar. I stepped out onto the porch and took a deep breath. It smelled like it did right before a big storm. It was my favorite weather. I jogged slowly and had to keep reprimanding Winston when he would try to bite the leash. On the way home I suddenly heard footsteps right behind me so I spun around quickly only to hit someone and fall backwards. I landed on my butt in the dirt and glared up at the person. It was Chase.

"Asshat." I grumbled and pushed myself off the ground. "Don't sneak up on me!"

I smacked his arm when I saw him grin slyly.

"Why are you out here?" I asked as I stretched my legs out. That fall had actually hurt a little.

"I don't know. I saw you running and thought I would join, is it that much of a problem?" He questioned with a fake pout.

I smacked him again, "I mean, I am in extreme pain now, but since you're my best friend, I'll get over it."

His smile faltered then widened again. We stood outside of my house now, and that's when I remembered I should probably be getting back to cleaning my room.

"Hey, I actually have to go, but I'll see you soon. My mom's going to be home later." I told him.

I leaned in to give Chase a hug but was yanked forwards as Winston darted away from me. As I was falling I threw my arms up around his neck to stop my fall. I laughed breathlessly, looking up at Chase. He was smiling down at me as his arms tightened around my waist. When I met his eyes I suddenly realized how close our faces were and blushed bright red.

'Oh my god,' I thought.

This is my best friend, why am I blushing? I awkwardly pulled away, holding tight onto Winston's leash.

"See you around." I called out quietly.

I smiled behind me, meeting Chase's perplexed gaze. He waved back casually and walked towards his own house. I wanted to hit myself over the head. Why did I have to make things weird? He was my best friend for goodness sake, it's not like he would try anything. I sighed to myself. Chase was pretty attractive, not that I would ever tell him that I thought that. I moved hastily up the steps so I could finish cleaning before mom got home, or I would probably be grounded for the rest of my life.