here without you

14

Since Nate has to go to detention after school, we can't drive home together. This means that for the rest of the week I have to get to school with my own car.

Today my parents were still at home when I got up. They were fighting with each other, which made me leave the house earlier than I was planning to. Right now I might be regretting this decision.

I'm sitting in the car, and I don't want to get out of it. Nate is always late, so if I left my car, I wouldn't know who to talk to, or what to do. The clock in my car tells me that I still have fifteen minutes to figure it out.

I consider just staying in my car until school starts, when someone knocks at the car window on the other side. I look out of it and see Jade, smiling and waving. Before I can stop her, she opens the door and gets into my car.

"Uhm... What are you doing?"

I have decided to try to be more friendly to her, but that doesn't mean I want her to be my best friend. I'm not even sure you can call us friends at all - yet she just got in my car as if we've been friends forever.

"Sitting down, obviously." She laughs at the look of confusion on my face. "Well, I was actually waiting for you to get out of your car, but for some reason you never did."

I don't try to explain it to her. Pointing out the fact that I don't have any friends - apart from Nate - seems pretty pathetic. It's not like she doesn't know already, but still.

"So I looked like I don't want to leave my car, and you just... what? Decided it'd be a good idea to come in? Haven't you ever heard of a thing called 'manners'?"

The sarcasm in why voice couldn't be any clearer. Just as I expected Jade isn't intimidated at all. She rubs her chin, pretending to be thinking.

"No... I don't think I have. I guess it must be a British thing," she says.

I try not to grin and reply, "We're not even that polite. Or at least I am not."

"Yeah, I've kinda noticed that." This time I can't help but laugh, and she does too. "So tell me, Roze, why exactly are you sitting in your car all alone?" Her voice sounds curious, but not in a bad way.

If I tell her, she'll think I'm a loner. But I guess I am, and she probably already thinks I am since it's not exactly hard to tell. So I don't think about it too much and just tell her. The minute the words are out, I realise how strange I must sound to her. Who stays in their car to avoid human contact?

"...I know... I guess you think I'm a weirdo now." I look at her, hoping she doesn't think I'm a complete freak.

"One time," Jade says, "I sat in my car for a whole hour just because I didn't want to go to French class. I still think you're kinda weird, but..." She shrugs and lets out her infectious laugh that I like so much. "Maybe I like weird."

I don't know know what to say, so I just start talking about French class.

"French class really is shit, to be fair. Or my French is shit, I guess... I don't feel like going at all."

"How about we skip it then?"

I look at her, and she looks back at me. There's a smile on her lips, and I can see her dimples. I don't often skip classes, but I hate French class and apparently Jade does too. And to be honest, the thought of spending time with her doesn't seem too bad - certainly better than spending it with Madame Laurent.

"Why not? Sounds good to me."