Just Try It

Chapter 9- Who is That?

Sunday, February 12 3:00pm

Stairwell at the Swisher Street Apartments

Moe lounged on the stairs. For a couple of hours now, he had been listening to music and doing homework in the hall. Coach Riley had let him know Sondra was out with her mom, but she hadn't known when Sondra would be back. Doing his schoolwork on the steps had actually worked better than in the apartment. He loved his family, but sometimes it was hard to concentrate with everybody around.

It had taken some time, but he had finished as much of his homework as he could on his own. Some of it still didn't make any sense. He could ask Danica for help later, but she never knew how to explain it to him. After she tried pounding the information into his head for an hour or so, she would just give him the answers and tell him to pay more attention in class. He felt bad about copying, but it wouldn't change his grade much anyway. These teachers weighted tests and homework differently than the ones in the past. If he didn't find a way to do better on the tests, he would fail the classes. If only chemistry and history were like math and reading. He had been behind in those when he came, but after Sondra had drilled the basics into him, it had been easy to catch up. Now, those were A's and B's, but Chemistry and American History were different.

When the outer door slammed downstairs, Moe gladly put his books to the side and looked up hoping Sondra was back. The clip of high heels sounded up the stairs, and Moe wondered which neighbor it could be. When the black high heels and long legs started up his flight of stairs, Moe smiled in appreciation and waited for the rest of the person to appear. In surprised recognition, Moe sat up suddenly as the rest of the person came into view. He heard himself blurt out, "You went outside like that?" and almost beat his head against the wall.

If there was one thing he had learned since last summer, it was what not to say to a girl. Flirting had come naturally to him since he liked to make people feel good. However, whenever he was around Sondra, he always seemed to say the wrong thing. He just hoped that he would do a little better with his apology, and he hadn't ticked her off too much already.

Sondra looked at him warily, but Moe's anxiety eased when Sondra didn't snap at him. Instead of telling him off, she gave a cocky grin and answered, "Yes, I went out in this. It is just a dress... and some heels that are killing me." She gave a little groan as she kicked off high heels.

Moe couldn't help but grin back at her as he patted the step beside him and said, "I was hoping to talk to you."

Suddenly looking wary, Sondra paused and said awkwardly, "If this is about last night..." as she began to edge toward her apartment door.

From the blush coloring her cheeks, he knew she would be gone if he didn't talk fast. He hastily interrupted, "Let's pretend that last night never happened. This is about something else."

He didn't think he would be able to really banish the image from his mind, but he was good at pretending. When Sondra sighed in relief and sank onto the step next to Moe, he was pretty sure he had finally said the right thing. After a moment or two of silence, she looked at him curiously, but gradually relaxed as she absently rubbed the arches of her feet. She scowled at the shoes and muttered, "Torture devices that had to have been created by sadistic men."

Moe grinned and offered, "Foot rub?"

Without another word, Sondra swung around and leaned against the rail as she offered her feet.

Once he rested her feet just above his knees, he began pressing his thumbs into the bottoms of her feet. As thoughts of how the 'torture devices' had made her legs look even longer and curvier, a small smile appeared. Besides, they had given him a chance to touch her. If men had created heels he was pretty sure that they were geniuses. When his gaze slid up her bare legs, he admitted to himself that he was a sick, sick person, but he quickly adverted his eyes.

Being caught staring at her legs would not help his case, he sternly told himself. When Moe cautiously glanced at her face, he saw that she had her eyes closed and head tipped back. Only then did he notice that her make-up made her look years older. If she started going out like that, he would have to worry about her attracting college guys in addition to the ones in their school. He forced the frown away, and reminded himself that he was supposed to be fixing things. Too bad that he didn't know how to start. Being around Sondra, joking with her, and even being able to touch her was wonderful. He didn't want to wreck it.

The silence lengthened over several minutes. Even thought she kept her eyes shut Sondra finally asked, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

She deserved an apology, Moe reminded himself. Struggling to find the words, he looked away as he explained, "Jamie and Korbin told me about the DHS worker coming. They are worrying about what the worker will think about her suspension."

At his words, Sondra's eyes opened and she frowned. Moe could easily read the guilt on her face as she replied, "I know. I should never have let her talk me into blaming her for the making out session with Korbin."

After a small hesitation, Moe admitted, "I didn't know that she had asked you to do that until this morning."

At first, Sondra blinked at him in confusion, so Moe gave her time to process what he had just said. After a couple of moments she asked blankly, "Then why did you think I blamed Jamie?"

With a shrug, Moe replied, "I didn't know. That was why I was confused."

Sondra straightened up as her frown deepened, and Moe could practically see her mind whirling. After a moment she said softly, "You thought that I would hurt a friend like that for no reason? She swallowed hard and tried to pull away as she added bitterly, "This is like with Aaron. You didn't trust me enough to talk to me then either."

Moe held her feet firmly. He had been prepared for her anger, but instead of righteous fury, she looked like he had taken her favorite toy. To Moe, that look was a hundred times worse. Why couldn't she just have screamed at him instead?

I know I said she would have some fun, but wanted to show what type of thing she found the most hurtful. However, since I wanted get to the part that might be considered fun, so I'm posting an extra chapter this week. Enjoy, but remember... feedback is always appreciated. Hope to hear your thoughts. If not, please consider tapping that little star if you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reading.