The Quiet One

Three

Ding-dong! The doorbell of Kimberly's house rang on Friday at exactly 7:00 PM.

"I'll get it," yelled Kimberly as she promptly ran out of her room. She definitely didn't want her mom to answer the door; it would be too weird. At least she didn't have to worry about her dad embarrassing her with that protective father stereotype. If he was around, would he have even cared enough to meet him? She pushed the thought out of her mind.

After traveling down the stairs, she made it to the front door where Noah was waiting. She quickly smoothed out her wavy, silky hair and prepared a smile. She wanted the night to be perfect. She felt confident in her white t-shirt paired with a dark blue pair of skinny jeans and zig-zag patterned white and navy blue infinity scarf. She wore navy blue sneakers with white laces that never acquired dirt. If it got chilly, she also had a black Northface jacket to keep her warm and cozy. After evaluating her outfit, she opened the door and warmly invited Noah to come in.

"Hi, Noah. I'd like you to come in and meet my mom," she said. She knew her mom was dying for her to bring home a boy someday.

Hearing the sentence was like her mom's cue to come into the living room where she and Noah were. Her mom dressed decently, but casual, wearing a sweater hoodie with a pair of capris. She definitely passed her looks down to Kimberly; their hair color was identical, as was their skin tone. Her eyes were light brown, though. She didn't have as many freckles as Kimberly, but she had similar dimples. They both had similar builds and facial features. Nonetheless, both were beautiful. "Hi, Noah. I'm Melanie, Kimberly's mom. But you can call me Mel. Thank you for coming." She smiled.

Noah held out his hand to shake hers, "Nice to meet you, Mel. This is a very nice home."

"Thank you," Mel beamed. Kimberly's mom took her pride and joy in her house. "It's an old one. Built in 1887. It's of course been fixed up a time or two."

"Same thing with our house," Noah chuckled, "except our house is only 25 years old!"

Kimberly and Mel laughed at the comment. They all chatted for about five more minutes, and then Kimberly and Noah decided to leave.

"Good meeting you!" Noah waved goodbye to Kimberly's mom as they left.

When they got in the car, Kimberly smiled. "Looks like you made a good impression on my mom."

He smiled back. "Sure hope so. She's really nice. Fascinating, too. But I guess that's not surprising, because she's the one who raised you so she must be who you got your traits from."

"Yeah," she blushed. "I mean, there's my dad, too, but he only influenced me until I was six. After that he abandoned my mother and I. I guess she saw it coming, but I didn't. It was a total shock. It's been so long since I've seen him, I probably wouldn't even know him. But hey, that's life, right?"

"I'm sorry," he said, sympathetic for her situation. "I'm assuming your mom has been very good to you, though."

Kimberly beamed. "Very good. Couldn't ask for a better mom."

There was silence for a while. Kimberly broke it. "What are your parents like?"

He chuckled. "Selfish. Conceited. They're not very good people."

"Really?" Kimberly was surprised. "I heard your parents made huge donations to charities and fundraise for them."

"Sure," he said, "they do good deeds like that. But it's all in vain. They don't do it because they actually care about the charities. They do it because it makes them look like selfless, humble people, when they are actually just the opposite."

"Maybe you think that because you live with them. I mean, I don't always see the best in my mom, either. You learn the core of people when you live with them," she said.

"I agree. But that's how my parents are- conceited to the core. Your mom isn't. She was real genuine. My parents aren't...they're fake." He explained. "Everyone thinks it's great to be the smart, rich kid, but my home life isn't great. Sure I can enjoy luxuries, but I'm sure the most luxurious thing in the whole world is a genuine, caring family."

She nodded in agreement with the last statement. His thinking and logic was so deep. It gave her chills.

Finally, Noah changed the subject. "So do you go to many parties?"

"Oh, no," Kimberly laughed. She didn't know what made him think she was the party type. "I'm a senior in high school, and this is my first one. And I wasn't even invited personally by the host, but I'll take it anyway."

"Of course you were," he smiled. "If the invite was to everyone, it was to you, too."

"I guess you could look at it that way," she shrugged. "Actually, I was really nervous for tonight. I'm really relieved that you're going to be there with me. I'm always afraid of being by myself in a crowd of many. Every time it happens it makes me feel awful."

"When does it happen?" He asked.

"Mostly school. Even used to when I went to youth group, but I don't anymore for that reason. A church should be more inviting, more outreaching. I guess that one was just cliquey. I think I get ignored because I'm quiet. I'm not sure if people just forget about me, or if they just don't know how to take me," she elaborated.

"They probably don't know how to take you," he assumed. "I mean, here you are with me, very pleasant and easy to talk to." At this compliment she blushed. "My sister, Naomi, left for college a couple of years ago, but I remember she had that problem throughout middle and high school. She was really quiet and never felt like she could speak. She felt like her words weren't valued and people didn't pay her much attention because I think they thought she just didn't want to talk. In college she has opened up a lot more, though, and has a much better experience."

"Is that why you asked me out?" She asked, wondering if it was the parallel between her and his sister. Maybe he just missed his sister a lot and wanted to be around someone like her.

"No," he chuckled. "I wouldn't ever date anyone like my sister. The girl can definitely get on my nerves! I know it goes both ways. Deep down, we both of course love each other. But I mean, you're beautiful and you're a genuine person. It's only natural to want to go out with you."

"You're so kind," she smiled. If anyone was a gentleman, it was him. She felt like Cinderella tonight and felt amazing as they finally approached Jared and Jamie's house for the party.