The Pessimistic Pinky Promise

ｄａｙ ｔｗｏ

P H O E N I X

The next morning wasn't significantly greater or anything, but at least Dad was able to make French toast. They weren't as legendary as his pancakes, but anything was better than cereal. Jasper and I had also exchanged numbers the day before. It turned out that he had moved in where Percy had previously lived, so we decided to do the same routine as Percy and I had.

Mid-bite through my French toast, the doorbell rang. Not wanting to abandon my breakfast, I let Dad answer it.

"Fee! Percy's here!" he exclaimed.

What?! I dropped my fork and dashed to the door.

Unfortunately, I saw Jasper instead. "Dad, Percy moved to Australia, remember?"

"Then who's this?" he asked as he ran a hand through his aging hair.

I opened my mouth to answer but Jasper stepped in.

"Hi, I'm Jasper Gabriel. We just moved in further down the street," he said to Dad with an undeniably charming smile. It was obvious he was trying to win my dad over.

Dad's face lit up instantly. "You guys moved in where Fee's boyfriend used to live?"

Jasper's face looked almost as perplexed as mine. "No, Dad, Percy was never my boyfriend."

Dad frowned again. "Are you sure? There wasn't a moment you two were apart. Especially that time when you two found out you would have separate classes in high school and you both threw a tantru-"

I could tell Jasper was feeling as awkward as I was, so I decided to swoop in and save the day. "Alright, Dad, that's enough for today. Jasper and I have to head to school now."

Before he could protest, I dragged Jasper out the door and propped up my bike from the lawn. I waited for Jasper to do the same but there wasn't another bike in sight.

"Um, Jasper? Did you bring a bike by any chance?" I asked.

Jasper's lips transformed into an O. "I don't exactly have one?"

My eyes widened. I thought everybody owned a bike! A scooter at the very least! "How do you think you're gonna get to school?"

"Walk?"

"Well, you're gonna be walking alone by yourself then. I always ride my bike. I might have a spare one hidden in the garage if you like. Might not be the right size though, but we can always try-"

"Idon'tknowhowtorideone," Jasper said without a breath.

I frowned. What had he said? "Excuse me? I didn't understand. Maybe breathing would help."

"I... I don't know how to ride a bike."

Getting to school would take a lot more work than I had anticipated. If only there was a way I could get Jasper to ride my bike but let me do all the work...