Curveless

The Neighbor's Kid

Someone was knocking on my door. I grabbed my glasses and squinted out of the peephole. It was my neighbor, who was two years younger than me.

I unlocked the apartment door and stared her with heavy eyes.

"What is it, Kate?" I said.

"I didn't know you just woke up," Kate said. "Can we talk?"

I stared at her. "No."

She ignored me, walked past me, and sat on my couch. Kate had silky black hair and a face that people would call "pretty." She's the type of person others  would flock to. The center of the crowd.

"Your place looks so clean even though you live alone."

I shut the door.

"Hey, I said, why are you even here?" I said.

"I need your help on a problem."

"Why don't you ask your friends instead of me?"

"Because, I have an image I need to maintain, Charlotte. They're going to look down on me. You don't really talk much to other people, so you can't really spill anything."

I raised my eyebrows. "They don't sound like friends to me."

"I know, but this is a small town. Everyone already has their little cliques."

"...What's your problem?"

"So the truth and problem is that I haven't dated a single guy in my entire teenage life."

"Doesn't sound like a problem to me."

"I need a boyfriend."

"We're in high school. Focus more on school first."

"Charlotte... I turned down an upperclassman who confessed to me the other day...politely! He asked why? And my stupid pride made me say that I already had a boyfriend. I found out that he had spread that lie around school saying that he only got turned down because I have a boyfriend."

"You're right. That is stupid thing to say when you live in such a small town. All you have to say is that you're really not dating anyone."

"But that means I purposefully lied to that boy. I don't want him to think that."

I puffed up my cheeks and blew out air.

"So what do you want me to do?" I asked.

Kate looked down.

"In the coming festival, come with me," she said with a quiet voice.

"What."

She looked up into my eyes.

"Please! I got to show people I wasn't lying, so I won't look pathetic. No one knows who you are or anything since you take high school courses online and never get out of your house. You even look like a boy! I thought that you were a handsome boy when you moved in the first day too!"

I shook my head in disbelief.

"Kate..." I said.

"Please Charlott—"

"What do you have to offer?"

She looked at me. A smile grew on her face.

"You accept?!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself. I can't work for free."

She started laughing.

"What? I was hoping that you'll help me out as a friend for free, you know."

I looked at her silently.

"Aw, fine. What do you want?" she said, with a smile.

"I don't know. You'll have to owe me one."

"One dollar?"

"One favor, you idiot."

She grinned. "Okay!"

She got up from the couch and skipped to the front door.

"So when is the festival?" I called out.

"Tomorrow."

She closed the door.

"What."