It's Complicated

Chapter 8

Eight o'clock came and brought Larry. He was waiting to take me home in his car. I was grateful to be leaving. Working may be necessary, but that didn't mean I had to like working long hours when I had better things to do. Like homework. Or a root canal.

Larry asked a couple of questions about my day, but he soon fell silent when I gave him one-word answers. At home, while I ate dinner, I was peppered by what felt like a hundred questions from Dad and Aunt Millie. I wanted to just plaster a sign about my day to my forehead by the time I got upstairs.

I was getting ready to settle down with the book I had to do a report on when there was a knock on my door. I sighed. "Come in," I said as I sat on my bed, leaning back on the headboard. Larry slipped in and sat in my office chair once he'd closed my door behind him. "What?"

He sat his homework on my desk and began working on it. "I wanted company."

While he worked, I read. The book was pretty good, but it wasn't something I would have chosen on my own. As it is, I'm not a huge fan of reading. I'm more of an artist. Larry was sort of an athlete. He'd been on some sports team for as long as I could remember, though he was never one of the best players on it. He's played every sport, I think, except maybe hockey. I don't remember him playing it if he did.

Anyway, we were pretty different. Every day at school I could only think about how everyone seems to be trying to squeeze us into this mold, one where we had to have after-school jobs and join clubs and be a cheerleader or on some team. I mean, I know people have to work for things to run, but kids aren't meant to help out. I would have preferred getting a job when I graduated and go to Los Angeles with George. That was my idea of the right thing.

Now, as for what we would do once we got there, I didn't have a clue. I'd never been there and had no idea of what waited for us there, even though that was pretty much the idea behind going there. Larry didn't go anywhere unless he planned everything out to the minutest detail. I could barely get him to not do the whole itinerary thing. I almost hated traveling with him.

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I was grateful for the peaceful night and morning. Once the questions had stopped and I could just be, that is. That feeling only grew as the day went on and I realized how unprepared for it I was.

I was humming as I put books in my locker. George chose that moment to come up to me. "How was the first day?"

My book slipped from my hands and made a loud smack when it hit the floor. The sound echoed down the hallway as George picked it up. "It was fine. Normal, you know? I have to go back right after school. Thanks," I said as I took my book from him.

George nodded as he checked his watch. "Three-thirty?"

"Yep." I stuffed my book into my bag and closed my locker.

"When do you get off?" We began walking slowly down the hallway.

"Eight. That's when they close."

"That late?" I nodded. We drew to a stop in front of my first class. He peeked inside. "Where is he?"

"Who?"

"Mario."

"Oh." I thought a few seconds. "No idea. Maybe dentist or something."

George watched me for a long moment. "Okay." He briefly looked like he might kiss me, but before he could, the bell rang, and we went our separate ways. I sat through four classes and lunch before Mario finally showed up with Dan. Mario walked into class, handed the teacher a couple of slips of paper, sat at his desk, and didn't say a word to me for the rest of the day. All our conversations went like this: