HIGH SCHOOL DAZE

Chapter Three

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2007

I spent the end of my week avoiding No No and Nut. I knew that they would know that something was up and I did not want to talk about it. As much as avoiding No No was what was important, I felt that most of all I needed to avoid Nut. Nut could read me like an open book, and I knew that he would get the truth out of me. 

“Everything okay sweetie?” Pops asked me as he entered the living room from his den. He had been locked in there most of the weekend. This was good because I had not had to talk to him either. I guess I was not lucky enough for it to stay that way.

“Yeah Pops,” I said forcing a smile that I was sure he was going to see right through. My Pops and I have always been close and we knew when things were wrong with each other.

Pops sat down next to me on the couch and reached his hand into my bowl of popcorn. Placing his feet up on the coffee table, he looked over at me and ate each piece one by one. I knew that he was waiting for me to talk, but I did not know how to tell him what was going on. 

“Nothing is wrong,” I said again, trying to not only convince him, but to also convince myself. I could tell that it was not working, because he was still sitting there, eyes locked with my own. I hated that he knew me so well, but also deep down, I appreciated it. Not many people had parents who cared as much as Pops did.

“Okay,” he said turning his head back to the television and pretended to be interested in the new episode of criminal minds. I was lucky that it was also recording because I had not been able to pay attention to it at all since he sat down next to me. “I suppose you don’t have to tell me things anymore. I get it. I am old and you are a teenager.”

“Pops,” I said sadly, reaching for the remote so that I could pause the television. “You know that is not true. Sure I am a teenager and you are kind of old, but I still want to be able to tell you things. I just don’t ever know what is okay to tell you.”

“I see,” he said with a thoughtful look on his face, “I suppose whatever you are willing to tell me, it what is okay to say to me. I promise that I will not judge anything you have to say, though I can’t promise I won’t give you a dad answer to your problems.”

“That is okay,” I said giving him a smile, “I would not expect anything less.”

SO DO I TELL HIM?  ... Maybe some other time.

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I jumped when a cracking noise came from my bedroom window. I had just crawled into bed and was about to fall asleep. For a moment I was scared, but then I figured that it was just Nut. He was good for showing up in the middle of the night to crash on my floor. His parents were generally fighting and he just needed to get away. I wished he could live here forever, but I knew that would never happen.

I slowly made my way out of bed, not thinking about what I was wearing. Nut had seen my at my best and at my very worst, so it did not bug me if he saw me in my over sized pajamas that used to belong to my father. It did not bother me that my hair was a mess and I looked like I had just woken up. He was Nut.

“Are you out of your mind,” I said with a sarcastic laugh when I pulled my window open and poked out my head. “You might wake my parents.”

It was then that I realized that it was not Nut that was throwing rocks at my window. It was Cruz. My heart jumped up into my throat and I pulled my head back into my room. I did not know what to think or do. Why was he here? Did I talk to him? I was so confused.

“Butterfly,” he called in a whisper toward my window. “I know I should not be here but I really need to talk to you. Please, it is important.”