Shards of a Heart

Chapter 14

"Cam!" I call out as I walk into his warm house. An aroma of sugar and sweetness fills the air and I take a deep breath in, filling my lungs with the scent of fresh cookies. I came at a perfect time. Pounding comes from above me as Camdon makes his way not so gently down the stairs and rushes past the kitchen. He gestures for me to come in a frantic motion and I give him a confused look then take off my shoes by his front door.

I know that his family won't care, but I'm just being polite. It's been awhile since I have been here since Camdon and I sort of grew apart a little and aren't the best friends we used to be. It could be because we didn't have any classes together last year or the fact that he has tons of new friends.

Camdon sighs as a short woman with long blonde curls walks out with a smile on her face. She is donned in a pink apron that is tied so tight around her stomach that its strings disappear between rolls of fat, even though she isn't an extremely large woman.

    "Celia! I haven't seen you in a while! What brings you here!" Mrs. Donovan hugs me tight, and I am overwhelmed by the sweetness of her perfume and the smell of what she had been baking.

    When she lets me go, I smile and answer her question "I'm helping Cam with his schoolwo-"

    "Camdon Elijah!" Her smile fades and eyes go cold as she moves her attention to Camdon, and I am forgotten. "I thought you were passing all your classes with flying colors!" Camdon purses his lip and puts on an innocent look.

    "I am, we are just working on a project" He says quietly, giving me a frantic look as soon Mrs. Donovan looks at me with her intimidating eyes. I give a small smile and swallow, nodding along with Camdon's lie. In an instant, her mean demeanor goes away and she grins jocundly.

    "Well then, grab some cookies before you head up" She rushes back into the kitchen grabs a plate off the counter, running it back to us. I take one, while Camdon shrugs and takes three, then we head up the stairs together.

    "What are you going to do when you get your report card and it's not straight A's?" I ask as soon as we enter his room. The walls are a dark gray and covered in basketball posters, with white shelves lining one wall. On top of them are trophies from tournaments starting from 3rd grade,where he started. The last shelf isn't full, and if he were to move some closer together, he'll be able to more. Under the shelves are hooks on which he hangs his medals for basketball and the occasional 5k he'll run. A few of them are probably from when we decided to try track in 8th grade. I sucked, but he set multiple school records. We sit down on his small orange bed, and I sigh in relief because my feet were killing me from the walk over. I still didn't have a car, but I knew a shortcut from my town to Cam's.

    "My parents don't look at it, they just trust me. Plus, it's not like I'm failing any of my classes. I am technically passing all of them. Well except Culinary, but they don't care about that because they know I have no talent when it comes to making food. I'll probably get a scholarship for basketball anyway, so my grades don't have to be perfect."

    "What if something happens? What if you don't get a scholarship?"

    "Cee, don't worry about it. I'll figure it out" He stuff a cookie into his mouth then continues, his voice muffled by the crumbs falling out onto his bed. "Now hewlp meh."

    I swear, if Camdon asks another stupid question I will cut his head off. We've been at this for a hour and a half, and he still doesn't fully understand the first unit. I'm no genius, but I think the four year old I used to babysit would understand the concept of isolation more.

    "Yes Cee, I understand that the US didn't want to get involved, but why? Why not just take a side? We need to stand up, isolation is cowardice!"