Problems (EDITING)

Ruben - #4 Secrets

I get home from another long day of school. John isn't home yet, and mom is cleaning the house. I wave to her as I jog up the stairs to my room. Switching backpacks from my school one to my other one, I head downstairs and walk into the living room, and hug mom. 

"Hey mom. You almost done?" I ask. 

She nods. "Almost done. I just have to clean the rest of the living room before he gets home." 

"Okay. text me if ANYTHING happens, alright?" I tell her. She nods. "I'm going to go to Jacob's house to hang with the guys." I head out of the house, hating lying to mom, but I can't be at home when he gets there today, and I don't feel like hanging with the guys today, They're too loud, and I can't just sit there and think about things. 

Grabbing my skateboard from under the bush in front of the house, I head towards the woods that are just outside of town. I get there, hop off my skateboard, and store it between two trees. and start walking. My feet automatically find their way to my usual spot. 

When I get there, I close my eyes and take a deep breath.  Opening my eyes, I look around, already feeling better than before. The trees are turning colors with the changing seasons. There's a stream running through the trees, and where it drops down, it creates a small waterfall. The water runs slow and clear, with the leaves from the trees being carried along with it. 

I lay against a flat rock, and start pulling things out of my backpack. Laying my sketchbook in my lap, digging out my pencils. 

*Wibbily Wobbly Timey Skippy*

I'm walking back home, skateboard in hand and completely absorbed in my own thoughts, when I bump into someone. " Ah shit! Sorry. I wasn't paying attention." I bend down to help pick up the person's things, which had gone everywhere when we bumped into each other. 

"No, it's okay. I should have been paying attention to where I was walking." I smile, picking up a textbook. It's Alma. After we finish picking up everything, I hand her her stuff back. "I better walk you home. A pretty girl like you shouldn't be walking all alone in the dark." I say, smirking. 

"I'm fine." She says, but I walk with her anyways. 

"Hey, I don't really understand anything in Chem class. I was wondering if you could possibly help?" I ask, grinning. We stop underneath a streetlight, and look on her face is just laughable.

"Um, I'm no good at Chem. I'm trying as hard as I can, and I'm barley getting a B." I know she's lying, so I just glare at her. "Fine, I'm awesome at chem, but I think you're just using that as a pick-up line." Well shit, she caught me.

"Okay, you caught me. I was using it as a pickup line. But I am honestly horrible, and since we ARE in the same class, would you be willing to tutor me?" I say, truthfully this time. Mom's been complaining about my grades, but how we can't afford a tutor because of all the alcohol that her husband buys. "I truly do need one."

"Fine, give me your number and I'll text you with the times later. I'm busy though, I have a babysitting job, so I might have to cancel." We stop in front of her house, where we trade digits. We say bye, and I walk home, happy for the first time in a while.

I get home, and it's as peaceful as it ever could be here. Popping my head into the living room, I see that John is passed out in the recliner with a blanket over him, which mom must have put over him. 

I sneak up to my room after making myself a sandwich, and start on my homework, which is still sitting in my backpack. I pull it out, and see that we have chem homework, so I decide to text Alma

Hey, it's Ruben. I text. I'm working on the chem hmwrk. I need help. Not expecting a reply right away, I plug in my phone and pull out the assignment from English and start working on it. A couple minutes into writing my rough draft for this essay we have to do, I hear my phone buzz.

What part ~a  reads the text, and I stifle a laugh. She has a signature, that's adorable.

um, all of it? lol I type back, getting an answer almost immediately.

you're not serious... are you?  ~a

yes. i told you i didn't understand anything in that class.

okay well I thought you were kidding about that ~a

well i wasn't....

alright. i'm calling you ~a

She does indeed call me, and she helps me with the homework. Okay, its more like she gives me all the answers, but I get the homework done, so I guess it doesn't really matter. I then tell her that I have other homework to do, but that I'll text her after I'm done.

*yes... another time skip*

I text Alma, letting her know that I am, indeed, done with my homework and keeping my promise. She answers back, even though I hadn't expected her to. Asking her what she wants to talk about, she says she doesn't know. 

Thinking about it, I suggest playing a form of twenty questions.

 ok, but you're going first. ~a  She tells me.

I don't know what to ask first, so I settle on the simplest one. Where are you from? Are you British?

Yep, I moved here during my Junior year because my mom got a job offer over here, it was higher paying than the one in Britain ~a

Okay, cool. I'm chill with that. I type back

Lolz. Anyway, my turn... Do you always act like a player ~a

I laugh. So she did notice that I was being a player. I respond with a no, and she calls me a liar. We continue texting like this until 12:00 comes around. I tell her that I need to sleep, and that I'll talk to her tomorrow at school.