Beneath the Surface (On Hold)

Chapter 8

Lexi...

We left the cafe a few minutes after Drew had left. As we walked Jacob asked me the one question that I knew was coming eventually.

"So, how's life being adopted?" He asked me, kind of awkwardly, as we slowed our pace down the silent and deserted street.

"Different," Was the first word I said, "It's definitely going to take some getting used to." I added.

"What are their kids like? other than Drew, of course." Jacob asked me.

Whey have two little girls. Cara is two years old and Kayla is five. They are so sweet, and cute." I said with a smile.

"That's great. I'm truly happy for you." Jacob said smiling at me.

We talked as we walked back to school. He's really funny. I was a little sad when we reached the school because that meant that the day was almost over and Jacob and we would have to part ways soon... Wait and minute. Stop. Slow down. Hold the phone.

What on earth am I thinking? I didn't like Jacob in that way. No, definitely not. Or did I? Sometimes, he would just pop into my head at random moments in the day and I would smile while thinking about him... No Lexi. Stop.

You can't think of him in that way. Not now. He doesn't think of you in that way. Or does he? No. Stop thinking about this now!

I had to stop thinking about the possibilities of Jacob having a crush on me and find the day that we would give Mr. Pierce a visit. Now that I think back on it, I wish that I had kept on thinking about Jacob and completely forgotten about Reginald Pierce.

...

So for the two weeks before Christmas vacation Drew, Jacob, and I tried to figure out a day to visit Mr. Pierce.

And everyday, without fail, people would see me and Jacob talk to each other, whisper to one another, and then run off giggling, leaving me and Jacob wondering what exactly they had just said.

And it didn't hellp the fact that Jacob and I had all of the same classes together. So our so called "friends" convinced the teachers to move our seats so that me and Jacob ended up next to each other in every single class.

"Lex, I'm seriously getting sick of this." Jacob said to me one day, about a week until Christmas vacation, as we were walking to history class.

"So am I, but we can't really do anything about it." I said with a shrug as we swam our way through the people in the hallway and walked into the classroom.

"But, on the brightside, I have some news about you-know-who with you-know-what." I said as we sat down in our newly assigned seats. There weren't any other students in the class so we didn't have to worry about being overheard considering the teacher wasn't even there yet either.

"What did you find out?" He asked me excitedly.

"Well, I did some research and found out that Mr. Pierce has the week of Christmas off. But the only days he won't at all be on call is Christmas day and the 26th." I said just as the teacher and students decided to pour into the room.

"So what does that mean?" He whispered to me and we began taking our notebooks out to copy down notes as the teacher talked.

"I'll tell you later." I whispered back and began writing things down as the teacher talked.

Jacob...

I couldn't help myself but smile when I looked over at Lexi in history class. She was taking notes, her hand moving at lightning speed, but still managing to copy down the words neatly.Which was probably why so many people wanted to copy her notes for this class. And all of her classes, really. Her head was tilted to the side, and her bright green eyes moving quickly back and forth from the board to her notebook. Her hair fell over her shoulder, creating a curtain around her face... No, stop it. I thought to myself, looking away from her.

You can't think of her like that. She can only be a friend. Even though I would never admit it out loud, I'd had a small crush on her ever since he had arrived at the orphanage. And lately, I had started liking her even more than normal. But, she didn't think of me like that, there was no way. So I wouldn't make a move on her.

She had brushed the hair out of her face and pushed it behind her ear. Like usual, she was wearing her makeup, but honestly, I didn't think she really needed it. She was really pretty... No, stop it.. You need to stop thinking like that. There was no way that she would ever go for me when she had her pick of practically the entire grade. There were a lot of guys that liked her, he knew that. So really, I should've been happy when people started saying that Lexi and I were dating. But I wanted it to be real.

Lexi caught me staring and smiled. I smiled back and continued to take my notes even though I had no idea what was going on. I would have to copy Lexi's notes later.

When class ended, after I had put my stuff in my locker, Lexi and I walked to her locker together, "So like I was saying earlier, he's off the 25th and the 26th." She said to me.

I was going to ask how she found all of this information out all of the time but thought better of it and instead asked her what I had been thinking, "I thought you said he was off the entire week?"

"Yes, but he's still on call for most of the week, except for the 25th and 26th." She answered me as she pulled out her lunchbox.

"So I'd say that we go on the 26th seeing that the only other day available is Christmas Day. I know I wouldn't like it if someone showed up on my doorstep asking random questions about something that happened years ago on Christmas Day." I said and Lexi nodded.

"That's what I was thinking." She said nodding as we walked down to the cafeteria.

"So, I was thinking about going to visit the orphanage after school today." She said quietly as we walked slowly.

"Really?" I asked her, surprised but happy she said that.

"Yeah. It's been a couple of weeks and I really miss everyone so I'm going to check in." She said as we reached the stairs that would lead down to the cafeteria.

"Well we can walk there after school." I said as we sat down at our usual table with Lexi's friends, Casey and Cameron, and my friends Sean and Marshall.

"I do have one question." I said quietly.

She was eating grapes and looking through the window to the courtyard but she acknowledged that she heard me by nodding her head.

"What are we going to tell Drew? You said that we'd tell him enough, but not everything." I said and she thought for a second.

"Well I checked and Drew has to go to work with his dad on the 26th since it's the family business." She whispered, leaning in closer to me as everyone sat down at the table and began eating their lunches. I wasn't surprised to see that she was smiling.

"What does Donald do, anyways?" I asked her.

"I have absolutely no idea. He told me once but I was zoning out the entire time. But I'll tell Drew that we're going on the 26th and we'll give him an update when we get back." She said.

I smiled and nodded, "Perfect." I said as we went back to our lunch, talking , laughing, and joking around with everyone at the table.

Lexi...

Lunch was going really well. Until he showed up. Why don't I explain further?

I was sitting next to Jacob and Cameron and the table was having a debate on whether or not you could actually 'eat your pants'. It got really heated between the guys and ended up involving my grapes everywhere, milk spilled all over the table, and the teachers having to break it up because Cameron and Sean got in a near fistfight. Me and Casey, the only girls of the group just sat and watched everything go down with amusement. After the teachers broke it up we decided not to discuss the topic anymore.

I was taking a sip of my water when a voice that I knew all too well rang out from behind me.

"Do you mind if I sit down?" The boy with the black hair and blue eyes asked from above me, a smirk plastered onto his face.