Chapter 13
As the class went on I wondered more and more why I could do that, more importantly why did I do it. I rack up all the things that I can think of and come up with a blank. I slowly and sadly start to function and get out l of my math stuff. Mr. Wolf is coming around to check the homework and I'm coping down the weekly assignments. He comes up to me and holds up my homework. "Hmmm, very good Joshua." I hate it when h uses my real name, but the complement was nice so it evened things out. I shrug and keep on going trying not to get distracted. My hands starts to throb so I throw my pencil down and get a quick look at Rose. She's shaking, and sniffling. I swear you could hear my heart break from across the school. I put a arm around her and whispers in her ear, "hey, I told you not to worry. What's wrong?" She looks at me and says "nothing is wrong don't worry." She then goes and looks back down at her assignments. I take a peek and she that she is doing well, so that can't be it. The rest of the class I was distracted, all thinking about what was wrong with Rose. The bell rings and we all flood out into the hall. I catch Rose and pull her to the side. "Rose, there is something wrong and I know it. It doesn't help anyone when you say your fine but you are obviously not." I didn't mean to sound angry and stern, but apparently I was or she was just super emotional. She bursts into tears right in front of me. On the inside I'm freaking out. Alarms are going off, red alerts, fire warnings all that great stuff. I move in closer and hug her tight. She ceases the sobbing and squeezes me back. *Nice move there* that voice goes. I put a arm around her shoulder and walk her to her next class. By then she has wiped the tears away and is looking better. "Thanks Josh." She smiles and that alone just made the overcast seem a little but brighter. The rest of the day I wonder what has happened to her, what could have made this strong girl burst into tears. As seventh period rolls around I find myself anxious. Looking around hurriedly and darting my eyes around hoping to spot her. She's walking over with her group of friends. One of them tells a apparently hilarious joke and they all burst into laughter. Even Rose cracks a smile. She says bye and walks over to me. "So-" I start. "Josh, before you say anything I'm sorry about what happened." I get a confused look on my face. "Why should you be sorry? It happens to everybody sometime." She opens her mouth to reply but the bell rings and we hurry in to our seats. Mrs. Wiedinger starts to openly explain what our next cooking assignment will be. From the start I know it's going to be a challenging one. Everybody groans as she announces what it will be. "Pastries!" I do a secret victory dance because I know I can get some help and tips from my mom. "But here is the catch," she continues. "I have chosen you all partners and you will work with them for this. It is a home activity, you have a week to bring in some kind of pastry the tastes..... Decent." She fumbled for the right word there and that surprised me. She usually knew exactly what she was going to say it and when. Today seemed full of surprises. She heads over to her desk and starts to read out the names. I don't really pay attention to them only when she says "Rose Beck and..." There's a big pause after that. "And Josh. Um honey how do you pronounce your last name?" She asked. To excited to me infuriated, I quickly tell her the right way to pronounce it. "You have till the end of class to talk with you partner about what your going to make." As everybody stands up and moves to find their partner, I single out Rose and walk to her. I tap her on the shoulder lightly. "Hey, what are the odds." I start of cheerfully. She turns with a smile on her face. "Yes that's good but there is one thing..... I'm horrible at cooking." I almost throw my head back and laugh. "You don't need to worry about a thing, my moms probably the best pastry cool ever!" I exclaim excitedly. We spend the rest of the time talking about what we are going to do and when. The bell rings and I get my stuff packed up and the voice goes, *you should totally ask her out!* I shrug. It's not a bad idea, but now isn't the time. So instead of asking her I just talk about school stuff we get to the drop off zone. I see my moms car ahead, so I say my goodbyes to Rose. "I gotta go, see ya soon." I say with a smile. Instead of answering she hugs me and then runs off to her group of friends. I sigh and almost dream walk to the car. I see my moms quizzical look and I know this is going to be a long car ride home.
