Noble (Watty Awards 2012)

Chapter 3

Picture on the right is of Blaire. :)

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I spray my curled hair, gagging when the foul taste enters my mouth. Just as I am applying my brown eyeliner, the doorbell rings, causing my hand to slip. I groan and lick my finger, wiping the make-up off. A quick glance at the clock on the wall tells me it's 6:32. Blaire shouldn't be here until 7 o' clock.

"Coming!" I holler, popping a mint into my mouth. I sneak a final look at myself in the full length mirror on my door before advancing to the hallway. Ugh, Blaire, why do you have to be here so early? My hair looks great, and personally, I think my outfit does, also. It accentuates my best features, the pop of green on my tight camisole making my eyes stand out. I wear light washed skinny jeans, and golden Toms that in a way match my hair. But I hadn't even started on my make-up when he rang, and my face banes the entire look. The doorbell rings again and I hurry to answer it.

I unlock the white door and crack it open just a smidge. To my complete and utter surprise, it's not Blaire at the door, but Mike. I let him in and he instantly makes a beeline to my refrigerator. He holds up an empty carton. "You're out of milk," he says without turning, shaking it. I toss it in the trash bin as he picks out a Hot Pocket and sticks it in the microwave, setting it on High for 2 minutes. He finally turns to face me, and sets a large, black bag onto the kitchen counter. "What's that?" I inquire of him, pointing at the bag.

He aimlessly pulls out a roll of toilet paper. I freeze.

I forgot that we were supposed to go tp'ing tonight.

Just as I open my mouth to speak, there's a knock at the door and my ears start to ring.

Or is just that the microwave going off?

Dizzy, I balance myself against the counter. Mike candidly gallops towards the door, swinging it wide open. I put my head in my hands, not daring to look. "Oh, hey, Blaire... What are you doing here?"

"Just picking up Trinity from her aunt's house...Is she here?"

I look up. "Her aunt's house, huh?" He says, chuckling to himself. He smiles but I can clearly see from this angle that his fists are clenched. I try to furtively sneak behind Mike and Blaire to quickly throw on some make-up in my room, but Mike stops me short. "Here she is now," he says, without even turning around. He knows me that well. "Come on in, Blaire."

Blaire steps in and I give him a sheepish expression. He looks around, eyeing the place. "Blaire," I say, shooting Mike a disheveled look. "Could you wait here for a sec? I have to fetch my purse."

He smiles at me, and the load I carry on my back no longer seems so heavy. But once I'm in my room, my head snaps back into reality. I can't believe I forgot about tp'ing with Mike tonight! He's going to hate me! He may even force me to sleep on the trampoline. He's done it only once before, when we had gotten into this grand argument and I broke his favourite action figure. I had no where else to go that night, my mom (I was 7 at the time) was on a business trip that weekend. I remember, although Mike was beyond angry with me, he had eventually ended up sleeping with me on the trampoline because I was scared. What am I doing on memory lane? I'm wasting time!

I briskly put on some foundation and eye makeup, snatch my purse and race into the main room. I find Mike and Blaire still there, facing each other, there arms crossed. Puzzled, I ask them what's up. Mike clears his throat. "It's nothing, Trinity. Go have fun..." he drops his voice. "You owe me big time."

"Why do you owe him?" Blaire asks as he opens my door for me. I step into his car. "He--" I say once he's buckled in. I hesitate. I don't want to lie to Blaire, again, but I don't want to put a damper on his mood, either. "We were studying when you rang. We weren't done so I asked him if he could maybe finish up my homework." Blaire cocks an eyebrow. "Huh. That's...different."