Forsaking Lilly

Chapter Nine

I was able to find my way to Home Ec. simply by asking a random teacher in the hall. The class its self wasn't that simple. See, I can cook but I simply cannot bake. However, that didn't matter much seeing that I was stuck with a safety lesson, ugh.The class flew by fast enough though, and I found my own way to my health class. 

As he had said, Cooper and I did share that class. We didn't sit next to each other, and we didn't talk much either. Mostly, this was because there wasn't much that I had to say to him. Another reason why I didn't try to communicate with him was because he sat in a corner with a group of his friends. Now, how awkward would it be for me to go over there and try to strike up a conversation( Correct Answer: Very ).So, of course, I kept to myself the whole class period until the final bell rang. 

I was scooping up all the papers that I had accumulated from the class, when Cooper came and rested his hands on my desk. " Ready to go yet?" I stood and sighed tiredly.

" Oh please, I was ready yesterday." He laughed as if my comment was actually funny and pulled his backpack on his shoulders.

" Lovely humor you have there, Calla." He slapped his hands on the desk and then turned to exit the classroom. " You better hurry if you want a ride home." I watched him tuck his hands into his pocket and walk off down the hall. With a sigh, I followed after him.

By the time we got out to the parking lot, I was jittery with anticipation of home. I didn't want to see my mother, of course, but I did want to go relax and find something creative to do with my time ( Definitely not homework ). Cooper, on the other hand, took much more time to get in the car than I did. Once he unlocked the door for me, he seemed to see someone he knew across the lot and yelled at them for a while. It went something like," Hey, man! How's Stacy?"  and, " You going to the game on friday? ". When he finally did get in the truck, I wanted to knock the hell out of him.

" Take you long enough?" He closed the door and started the truck. He laughed at me and put the truck in reverse, turning a little so that he could see behind himself. His arm came sliding across the seat to rest behind my head, which made me scoff.

" You sure are mighty sour." He made a face at me and then drove us out of the parking lot. I put my seatbelt on and then offered him a very stern face.

" I am not sour. You just irritate me." He turned the radio up then and country chorus drafted through the speakers. 

" You're also very blunt."

" Gee, do you know everything about me now? " I batted my eyelashes at him and made a clueless face.A smile rippled across his face and in response I smiled as well. We drove into town like that, picking and laughing at each other. I wouldn't sat that I enjoyed talking with him, but it was pleasant.

Instead of going straight past the hill to the road that led to the house, he turned left and began driving up the hill. " Where are we going," I asked after we made it up and were heading past a rather large home sitting in the middle of a small clearing.

" To the store, figured we could get something to drink and snack on, then I'll take you home." Of course, I was skeptical of his plans but I didn't say anything else. Do you really think I would argue with free food? I think not.

It took us about fifteen minutes to get home, but I was beyond excited when we did. " I'll be here to pick you up the same time tomorrow, alright? "

" Alright, Cooper," I threw over my shoulder as I let myself out. " Thanks." I, sort of, slamed the door behind me and trotted up the porch. I heard Cooper swear at me about his door before he peeled off, sending a cloud of dirt after him as he made his way down the graveled road. 

I rapped the knocker about four times, since I didn't have my key yet. I knew my mother would hear it, she always heard everything. And sure enough, she answered the door shortly. 

" Oh, Calla how was school?" She steppd aside to let me in,but I didn't reply to her. Instead, I marched to my room to deposit all of the papers, and then made my way to the kitchen to put away the soda and chips that Cooper had bought.As soon as I rounded the corner into the den, I spotted a man sitting on the couch.Okay, well he wasn't a man but I wasn't sure if it would be right to call him a boy.

He was much,much, taller than me and had eyes the color of mint. He had a mane full of curled, midnight hair and a face you'd only expect to see in a magazine. He wore a button up blue shirt that hang loosely over nice blue jeans, complete with cute cowboy boots.Understand that never a day in my life had I been boy crazy, but the sight of him was enough to make me giddy. Well, ish.

" I see you two have stumbled into each other," my mother said cheerfully. "Calla, this is Marcus. He's a neighbor of ours who wanted to introduce himself."  I found it quite funny that we lived, practically, in the middle of the woods yet we seemed to have neighbors everywhere.

" Nice to meet you," I said rather politely ( for a change ) and continued on into the kitchen. He nodded his head curtly in my direction and shifted in his seat.

" Same to you," he mumbled. I tried not to take note in how velvety his voice was since I figured it would be too typical of myself. Instead, I focused on pouring myself a glass of juice and pulling an apple out of the fridge. 

My mother came and sat in an armchair across from the couch. She picked up a mug that had been sitting on thecoffee table and held it close to her mouth. " I've invited him to dinner," she said as if it was a surprise. For whatever reasons, I found it amusing that my mother acted like everything she did was brand new. Whenever we had new neighbors, she invited them to dinner. It was traditional, and rather annoying.

" Sounds good," I said as I bit into my apple. Most girls would be catious of eating around a guy but, quite frankly, I was hungry and I just didn't give a damn ( but I didn't pig out on it). My mother's eyes found mine as soon as she heard the crunch and narrowed them. I didn't give a damn about that either. My mother placed her mug down and smiled at Marcus.

" Well, I'll start dinner shortly. Calla," I looked up from my apple reluctantly and tried to give her my attention, " why dont you put on a movie and entertain our guest while I cook." I nodded slowly and finished off my apple. Neatly, of course.

When I was finished, I got off of the stool and went to the den. I wasn't sure where the movies were, so I flipped on the flat screen and handed him the remote on the coffee table. " You can watch what you want," I said as I slid into the chair my mother had occupied. He nodded and flipped through the channels for a while before he let it rest on Cartoon Network.

" Cartoons? " I laughed openly at Ed,Edd, And Eddy. You wouldn't think that someone so handsome would watch something so childish. " How old are you anyways? " A smile spread across his face but I think it was from watching the show.

" Nineteen." And he had his own house? Impressive. " How old are you?"

" Seventeen." He nodded at me and payed closer attention to the show. I sighed and tried to watch the cartoon as well. I figured, there had to be something good about the show.