"This is yours." Lin says, opening a door to a little room with a bed, closet, and desk.
"I put some shelfs above the desk for your book." I feel a huge smile grow on my face and turn back to him, my braid almost hitting me in the face.
"Really?"
"Um, no, you're imagining the shelfs." He jokes. I roll my eyes, letting the bag fall off my shoulder to the ground and hugging him tight. He laughs and hugs me back.
"I'm glad that you like it but we still need to get you some things." He says when we both step back.
"Like what?" I ask, genuinely confused.
"Clothes."
"I wear a school uniform five days a week."
"Well, then you can change after school."
"Why?"
"Because you might not wanna wear it all day."
"They let me at the bookstore and I think that skateboarding in a pleated skirt, pantyhose, and a blouse or sweater looks pretty badass."
"I won't argue with that. And you need to limit your hours at the bookstore or stop working there all together."
"Why?" I ask again, picking my bag up off the ground and putting it on the bed. He disappears for just a few seconds to grab a small box from the hallway.
"Because you don't need money now. You'll get some free time. You study, work, read, dance, repeat."
"Hey, I shower!" I say, fake defensively.
"I'll get you a planner. We'll figure out a time for life for you."
"Yeah, okay." I tell him just to move on from the topic. I pull out my notebooks and put them on the desk.
"You own four books. I thought you'd be able to fill those shelfs. Add it to the list. Books."
"I have a library card." I tell him, laughing as I put some pencils in the drawer.
"Nice view." I say, getting distracted and drifting towards it.
"It is, isn't it- this book is in Russian." I turn around, seeing him holding one of my books as her puts them on the shelfs.
"I study it. I almost lived there."
"Really?"
"Yeah. But I went to Walker instead and they offer Russian too. Besides, I wouldn't be able to keep up. I'm not completely fluent. Luckily my friend helped me keep up with it so I didn't forget everything from when I was tutored in it." I say as he hands me the book. I put it on the shelf. "Can I go to dance tonight?" He smiles.
"Yes, Lane. So long as it ends before eight."
"It ends exactly at eight."
"We'll have a late dinner."
"Don't you have a show?"
"Not today."
"Then okay."
-
I wake up early the next day, my mental alarm clock screaming at me. I'm not sure if I want to face the day or not but I might as well give this a try. Things may be different. I put my hair in two braids and put on a my blue sweater that's way too big for me and some jeans.
"Well aren't you an early bird." Vanessa says when I pear around the wall and into the kitchen. "Come, sit down." She says, picking up two plates and walking out and to the table.
"Sebastian is too?" I ask as she put the plates down on the table.
"This morning. Luckily he wasn't very loud. If your door hadn't had been shut then you would have probably woken up. She says, putting Sebastian in his chair. "So are you normally up early?" I nod.
"I like to walk in the morning. Or visit my brothers friends and the skateboard shop. They're kinda like my brothers." She nods, putting Seb's food down and then sitting in her seat and the end of the table but next to me. "You?"
"I like mornings. They're nice. So you're up pretty late, huh?"
"What?" I ask, lifting my fork.
"You go to bed late?" I shrug.
"I suppose. So long as it doesn't effect my grades and it's generally just hours of studying."
"I hear you're a good student."
"I hear you're a good everything." She laughs. "Wanna know a secret?"
"Sure."
"He really likes you." I sing. She laughs again.
"Yeah, he gave me a ring and everything." I take a bite of my eggs. I don't feel much like eating but I don't want to worry her. We make small talk as we eat but I enjoy it and I get to know her better. I've stayed here but I haven't interacted with her nearly as much as I have with Lin.
"I think I'm gonna go for a walk if that's okay. May I be excused."
"Yes, but I'm not sure how great Lin's feeling so take a key to get back in." She says as I stand and take my plate to the counter.
"Lin's not feeling well?" I ask, putting my plate in the sink.
"He might be sick."
"I can stop at the store if you want me to get anything?"
"Oh, would you mind?"
"Not at all."
"Okay. Let me get some money and I'll write it down." She says, standing up and I rinse my dish.
"Are you done?" I ask because she stopped eating.
"Yeah. I'll get it in a minutes."
"I've got it."
"Thanks, kiddo." I rinse that one off as well and put both in the dishwasher.
"I'll be back in a little while."
"Okay." She says, handing me a paper and some money. "Don't rush. Take you're walk. He's asleep." I put on my shoes and walk outside. The air is fresh and cold but completely bearable. I don't know this area all that well but I make my way around okay. I don't think as much as I normally would and I just pay attention to everything that I see around me until I get to the drug store.
