Only Time Will Tell

Someone to Talk to

The ride home from Justin's was smooth, no traffic at all. We got into the car and drove at the time just after everyone had returned home from work. It was good timing, therefore, the ride went quickly. We got to my house five minutes later. I said goodbye to Tyler and opened the door. Before I walked into my house, he closed our door and came up behind me. He placed his hand on my shoulder and I turned around slowly. We gazed into each other's eyes before he kissed me. This time I kissed back, and I felt my cheeks heating up.

"Wow," He said afterward, and I giggled. "That was the best kiss I'd ever had."
"Well that's not saying much," I said jokingly.
"Hey, I've had my fair share," Tyler said defensively.

"With blow-up dolls,"

"And real girls."
"So you actually did with dolls?"
"That's beside the point," Tyler's face was turning red but he smiled.

"And your point is?" I asked.

"I've kissed real girls before, plenty," He commented.

"So you've had a lot of practice."

"Do you want me to give you another example?" He leaned in and kissed me once more.

"JADE!" My mom screeched from her bedroom window, "Come in here and do your homework!"
"Coming!" I told her, then turned back to Tyler. "That's my que,"

"I wish it had come later,"
"At least she didn't demand my presence while we were at Justin's."

We both hugged each other then Tyler returned to the driver's seat. He drove a rusty black pickup truck with a dirty windshield. He honked his old horn and it sounded like there was dust on the wheel. I waved goodbye then walked up to the front door to confront my angry mother. She opened the door and waited for me to come into the kitchen.
"You're welcome." She said as she opened the fridge and grabbed an orange Vitamin Water.

Confusion eased into my head as I tried to figure out what she meant.
"I'm sorry what?" I asked as I shot her a questioning glance.

"I thought you didn't want to date Tyler, so I got him away from you,"
"Oh, mom he's fine," I said, relieved that I didn't have some secret homework assignment she just found on the GHHS web.

"Oh, so you like him now?" My mom took a long sip.

"I don't know anymore," I said as I left her to ponder in the kitchen and headed for my bedroom.

It turned out I did have uncompleted homework to worry about, a few unfinished word problems Ms. Madrozein passed out that I didn't finish in class. I couldn't focus on numbers though, I could only think about my own problems. I still had no clue whether or not I actually had feelings for Tyler, or if Jake was ever going to be my "right-hand man" again. All I knew was that I enjoyed Tyler's presence, and missed Jake's. I needed someone to talk to about this other than my mother. I quickly took out my phone and called Mia. No reply. I tried again and only heard breathing from the other line.

"Hello?" I called aimlessly. Still no answer. "Hello, Mia?!" I yelled through the phone.
"OH! Who is this?" A confused voice asked.
"Jade, couldn't you see my name on the top of your screen?"
"Yeah, but I didn't look at it before, my pocket must've answered your call. But don't you have homework to complete?"
"No, I finished early."

"Ugh, I need help with Madrozein."

Mia was in the lower class, and I was always happy to help because the problems were easy and I was doing something good. The truth is, I actually like math, but not the challenging problems. But I would rather check Instagram any day. That's why none of my friends spot me doing random multiplication worksheets or word problems for sixth graders. Mia could be my source of entertainment in the math world at times, and I was glad she needed assistance but said she didn't understand the class.

"The answer is 5.7796," I said over the line.

"Why can't you just round it to 6?" she asked.

"Because it doesn't say "round" in the directions," I pointed out.

"Valid point," She said as I chuckled. "Now, what did you really want to talk about?"

I explained to Mia the source of my problems, and as she followed along, I realized my stress level was lowering. I guess I really did just need someone to talk to. Her solution was simple and very obvious, so obvious I was mad at myself for not figuring it out.

"Well, tell Jake you want to be friends again. I think he's been giving you the cold shoulder not because of Emily because he thinks you're mad at him. If you tell him you want him, then he'll probably come back."
"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah, he has no grudges to hold on you, and surely he won't let Emily keep you away much longer."
"Thanks, M, this is all a real help,"
"No problem, now please leave me in peace while I complete my book,"

The phone fell silent once more, and I was left in tranquility to decide what to do next. Mia was right, Jake wasn't really mad at me, and I have been ignoring him lately. If I just told him, then I'm sure everything would return back to normal, just plus Emily. It couldn't be that bad, right?