Diane Young [Camp NaNoWriMo July 2014]

Diane Young [5]

5

Neither of us owned a car, so we had to get the bus to Ellie's old house. Luckily enough, there was a bus stop situated right behind our apartment building, which meant no walking to and from a place was involved.

"Do you know what we look like?" Elijah said

I was looking intently at my nails. "Like two awkward teenagers on their way to see a recently deceased friend's mom?"

He coughed until I looked up at him. "No. We look like two intellectual teenagers on their way to see a recently deceased friend's mom. There's a difference."

"Obviously."

The bus came a few minutes later, and we sat next to each other near the middle, him on the aisle seat and me at the window. Since Elijah didn't speak of or the first ten minutes or so of the journey, I put my earphones in and started to listen to music. The song playing just so happened to be one of my favourites, and I stared out the window watching the streets go by.

I heard him clear his throat loudly next to me and turned to face a rather outraged Elijah West.

"Did you forget something?" I asked.

"Did you just put your earphones in? Am I that boring, Diane Young?"

"No, I-"

"You what?!"

"You weren't speaking so I decided to fill the air of silence around me with music. Is that bad?" He nodded firmly. "Well, I'm sorry. If you're offended, it was unintentional."

To please him, I took out my earphones and wrapped them around my phone, stuffing the parcel like creation in my jacket pocket where they waited a tangled fate. Elijah had his hand hovering over his heart and still looked outraged.

"I don't know if I'll accept that apology."

"Wasn't it sincere enough?"

"It was. But you hurt my ego. That's not an easily forgivable offense."

"Oh. I'll give you some strawberries and graham crackers?" I offered. His face changed from outrage to pure disgust.

"What?!"

"Strawberries and graham crackers... It tastes good."

Elijah grabbed my wrist with disbelief. "Is that what you live on?!"

I shrugged. "That, cereal, chicken and noodles, I guess?"

He let go of my wrist and shook his head. "Oh Lordy."

We reached the Winter's house about forty minutes later, just when the time struck twelve thirty. Elijah was talking animatedly about watermelon and Duke.

"One time, we went to a family gathering and my aunt Farrah didn't know I had a chameleon, right? So I put Dukey down on the table and asked my sister to take care of him while I went for a piss, and when I came back, he was in the watermelon punch bowl and she - as in Aunt Farrah - guess what she did!"

"Did she scoop up Dukey and almost drink him?" We were standing at the door, waiting for someone to come and answer it.

"Yep! It was like in Matilda when Ms Trunchball almost ate that gecko."

He fell about laughing, shoving me and ruffling my hair when I made no move to join him in his laughter.

"Now I can't bring Dukey to family gatherings."

"That's so sad." I heard the familiar chink of metal which told me someone was checking who was at the door.

"It is. But I do it anyway." He shot me a cheeky grin.