A Stone Turned Soft

Chapter 5

Layla and Chloe surprisingly got along fine. They both were expecting this to go south but it never did. Chloe followed her mom's advice and tried her best to make her feel welcome. Layla acted on her promise and tried being nice and having an open mind about the Harrisons. Chloe was curious about Layla's past, but she was too afraid to ask. She asked about every other thing though. They got to know each other's likes and dislikes, pet peeves, favorites, etc. One night, they even stayed up late simply talking. Layla had never done such a thing and Chloe, though she loved it, realized how much she truly missed Benny. The night conversations they had resembled the ones she once had with her brother. It was a really bittersweet feeling for her.

Perhaps even more bittersweet for her was the play she was doing for acting. Ever since she accepted her teacher's offer of directing, she couldn't stop thinking of Benny. She would imagine him being the main character and going on the same adventures as his fictional counterpart. Most of the time, it was funny to think of such things. However, there was a scene hey had to write that she as the director - and more importantly, his sister - she was dreading: the scene where the main character dies. Normally, she would be jumping on ideas from the other students or coming up with some of her own, but with this scene, she stayed quiet. Layla noticed this. She came up with an idea then prompted, "What do you think, Chloe?" she had a faraway look in her eyes. "Chloe?"

She snapped out of it. "Yeah. Yeah. Sounds good. We could do that."

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Sorry. I just zoned out for a bit. What did you say?" she said trying to change the subject

"You've been 'zoning out' almost the entire class period. Seriously, Chloe. What's up?"

"Nothing. Honestly. Listen the bell is about to ring. Um good job today guys."

"We have time. You're not usually so quiet. Whyー"

"Just... please Layla. Not now," she snapped as the bell rang. She put her stuff in her bag, put earbuds in, and rushed outside.

Layla was caught off guard. She felt bad. She knew she took it too far. But why was she acting like that?

She knew she needed time so she didn't mention it. But on the car ride home, there was a tension in the air that she didn't like. Zoe noticed this, so she tried asking how school was. They answered in one sentence then went back to sitting in silence. At the dinner table, things turned from bad to worse. Anthony was talking about how he was going to already start training and bulking up for next year's football tryouts. "I'm still a Freshman so I'm too young, but I can still start training now. So no sweets, more gym time, and more protein in my diet. The recruiter will see my record in high school so I know they're probably going to let me in. Once I do, I'll have weekly practices and games so I'll be home late those nights. And Davis has this tradition that whenever they win, they go out to some diner and I'm planning to go to that too. I'll still have plenty of time to study so my grades won't slip. Even if they do, I have a 4.0 so I can afford to mess up a few tests. It won't hurt me that much."

Chloe was biting her tongue and stabbing her fork into her salad. But the part about his academic life, it was too much. Before she could stop herself, she snapped, "Well not everyone is as perfect as you, Anthony."

Time stood still. Everyone stared at her. She kept her hardened gaze. After a few tense moments, Chloe muttered, "Excuse me," as she took her food into her room, her family's gaze following her.

As soon as her door closed, they snapped out of it. Anthony asked in a hushed voice, "What was that about?!"

"I'll talk to her," Zoe offered, getting up from the table.