White is for Virgins

Chapter 32

For the duration of February vacation, Fox and I spent lots of time together; we had a weeklong pajama party. Just about every day he would come over and pick me up. At his house we would bury ourselves in blankets and fluffy pillows on his heavenly couch and watch hours of mindless television. Because my father was still unemployed, we always went to Fox's house so as to not create pointless awkward moments. While we were recuperating, we would make quick visits to the center to see how Nina was holding up. Secretly though, we were hoping to catch Carlos stopping by.

As the days passed, we slowly got the hint that he was going to take his sweet time coming back to the center. As weeks went by, and the shortest month in the year quickly merged into March, we slowly began to accept that he might not ever come back. Nina was getting bigger and bigger, but she was still sad as ever. School was a drag with last minute projects before upcoming graduation in May. Nick and Lily were still continuing their awkward friendship, if one could call it that. I had spoken to Lily about it, and she explained that after they had talked they simply decided to spend time with each other. There was no kissing, or handholding... I could only imagine the thoughts running through their heads when they were together.

My parents were, as far as I could assume, good – better than before, for sure. Dad gave up his residence on the couch and the house was definitely much quieter. They seemed to have nicer things to say to each other. I sighed with relief; it was one less stress on my shoulders.

"Honey," my mom said, knocking on the doorway of my bedroom one evening. I looked up from the computer screen with my fingers hovering over the keys. I was rushing to finish a very important essay. "Your father and I have been talking," she continued when she had my attention.

"I've noticed," I said, smiling knowingly at her. She actually blushed.

"We have decided that it's time for you to get a car," she said.

"Oh?" That caught my interest. My fingers went from the keyboard to my lap as I turned in my chair to face her completely.

"You're going off to college soon, and we need to make sure you're fully prepared." I pondered this. I'd had my permit since I was 16, but because of our moves and the money shortages and the fact that it wasn't mandatory to obtain my license, I held off on completing the process.

"To get you a car," she continued, and I held my breath at her wary tone, "we're considering a move."

"What?" My voice came out harsh. I was caught off guard with that last statement. "But we just moved here."

"Baby we need to seriously cut back with you moving out on your own. We want to be able to fully support you and help you with whatever you need." She looked hopeful, but a little sad. I could tell she had been looking to stay in this house permanently, just as I was.

"I don't even know what to say right now." I was expressionless.

"All we need is a kitchen, a bathroom, a place to sleep, and access to electricity," she said in a light tone. "All your father needs is a TV," she smirked. She offered me a smile, hoping I would take to the possibility and smile back. I did.

"Alright, so I scheduled a road test for you on the thirtieth," she said, "You should do fine."

My jaw almost dropped. "Mom! You do realize I haven't been behind the wheel of a car in over a year, right?"

"Honey, you use to do fine with your permit. Twelve minutes of keeping your hands on the wheel and following all the rules of the road – you'll pass, piece of cake."

"But Mom–"

"Why don't you ask your attractive friend to help you prepare," she said, cutting me off in anticipation of my protests. That suggestion appealed to me; my heart certainly seemed excited at the thought.