Rolly Polly

Chapter 5

Before {Harper}

 Where has the time gone? I could have sworn that it was the first day of summer yesterday, but now it's June 17th. I leave tomorrow. Just thinking about leaving for the entire summer gets my heart pumping. My mom and Connor hate it when I bring it up, but I just tell them it's like practice for college. That doesn't make them feel any better.

These past few days my mother has helped me pack my suitcases. I'm only allowed to bring one checked bag and one carry on. It was a miracle that I was able to fit everything that I wanted to bring, especially considering the number of shoes that I stuffed in there. Thankfully it's summer though. That means that my clothes are mainly lightweight and small, not the bulky sweaters and boots of winter. After we finished packing, we ended the night with a game of cards and watching TV. I don't know what I am going to do without my mom for two and a half months. Thank goodness for technology though, I can facetime her whenever.

Once I get out of bed, I walk over to my bathroom. Grabbing a towel and turning on my shower playlist, I get ready to get in. After getting out of the shower, I look at my reflection in the mirror. The makeup has been washed off my face, leaving my skin smooth. My brown hair looks almost black with the water clinging to it. I bend over and rub at my scalp with my towel in an attempt to dry it before I put on my clothes and head downstairs. Connor is supposed to come over sometime today so that we can spend my final day together.

I walk into the kitchen and open the fridge. Grabbing the bottle of Sunny D, I open the cupboard by the sink and pull out a glass from the bottom shelf. I pour myself a cup and put the bottle back in the fridge. Taking a seat at the counter, I unlock my phone and scroll through my social media while taking occasional sips from my glass. Colorful picture after picture goes across my screen and eventually I start to see posts that I have already seen, cueing me that it's time to put my phone down. Getting up from my stool I walk over to the sink and put my cup in. Picking my phone back up off the counter I walk to my parent's room to see what my mom is up to. When I walk in the room I see that my dad has already left for work and my mom is sipping her coffee watching some game show. Crossing my legs, I take a seat on the floor.

"What are your plans for the day?" I look up at her at the sound of her voice.

"Well, he's supposed to come over sometime this afternoon and we are getting Chinese food. After that we'll probably go to the park for a bit and head either to his house and watch a movie or come back here. It depends what we feel like doing after we eat." She nods her head in acknowledgement, her eyes never leaving the TV. Suddenly a knock can be heard. Both our heads turn towards the sound.

"That's probably him," I get up and head to the front door. Unlocking the deadbolt, I turn the knob and welcome him inside.

"You ready?" he asks me. I look up at him then back down at myself. He follows my eyes and takes in my yoga pants, messy bun and socks. He then squints his eyes.

"When did you take my sweatshirt?" I scrunch my face in concentration.

"Twoooo weeks ago?" I guess as I shrug my shoulders. He just rolls his eyes and walks past me to the staircase. I turn and lock the door, following him up to my room. Once I get to my room I see him laying on my bed scrolling through his phone. I look at the clock and see that it's 11:30. We have plenty of time.

"What should I wear?" I throw myself onto my bed, narrowly missing Connor in the process. His eyes leave his phone to glare at me, in turn making me laugh. He raises and eyebrow and looks at my outfit one more time.

"Why don't you just wear that?" The worst part? He meant it! I sighed heavily. Why does he not understand that this is not an appropriate outfit to wear in public?

"Connor, I cannot simply wear this out! What if I was to run into a cute guy? What then? What guy is gonna want me in this? No guy Connor, that's who."

He put down his phone and rolled to his side. "Am I not a guy now?"

I sighed and flopped onto my back. Why doesn't he understand?

"Connor, when will you understand? I could care less what I look like around you. You're like family, I could roll out of bed before a shower and you would probably think that I looked fine. Oh wait!" I thought back to all the times we have spent the night together and this exact thing happened. "You do think I look fine!"

He laughed and put up his hand. "Hold up, I can recall many a time I have told you to go take a shower because you look disgusting when you wake up. Or Heaven forbid after you work out. No one, and I mean no one should have to be near you after you work out."

I take one of my pillows and throw it at his face. "You are literally the worst" I say while laughing and getting off my bed.

He shrugs. "Just being honest".

I grab a pair of jeans from my drawer and walk to my closet to find a decent shirt before I head to the bathroom to change. Once changed, I open the door so that I can talk to Connor while I do my makeup.

"What do you want to do after lunch?" I ask him. He looks up from his phone before replying.

"I was thinking of going to the park for a little bit?" I smile at his reply.

"I said the exact thing to my mother when she asked this morning" I tell him as I apply a third coat of mascara to my eyes.

"Well you know what they say, 'Great minds think alike'".

"Yeah yeah. Do you wanna watch a movie after?" I look over to see him nod. "Okay, so I really wanna see that new movie with Nicholas Hoult. Your house of mine?"

"We can do my house and then come back here for dinner with your parents. Then I figured I'd just sleep here and go with your parents to the airport."

Turning off the light in the bathroom I sat down and began to put my shoes on. "Yeah, that sounds like a solid plan." Seeing me finish both my shoes, Connor stands up and grabs his keys from my bed. I stand up and follow him out the door.