Into the Flames [Watty Awards 2012]

Chapter 28

My smile stayed stuck to my face throughout the day as I prepared the house for the interview “party”.  It had been a while since I had given the house a thorough clean, so it took me all day to get just the main rooms clean. But by the time that the first knock sounded, I had the floors scrubbed, the counters and tables wiped down, and the entire house dusted. The first person to come was Jared, but he had come early to help me prepare some food. When he had come, he brought more flowers, some food his mother had baked, and a few supplies that I had needed to bake what I was baking. By the time Trout and he father had come, the food was baking and Jared and I were covered from head to foot in flower. I pulled him to the back of the house and rummaged through my father’s drawers. I still hadn’t gotten rid of any of his things, I just couldn’t. I pulled out a shirt and pants and handed them to Jared. “Here’s some clean clothes you can change in here, I’ll meet you in the living room.

“Thanks,” Jared smiled and waited for me to leave. I retreated to my room and pulled on a clean set of clothes. My purple shirt was still nice, but the pants had multiple patches on them.  When I got out of my room, Jared was leaning against the wall right by my room.

I jumped back, “Jared!”

He laughed a bit, “What? Did I scare you?”

I stuck my tongue out at him and walked out to the kitchen to check on the food.  The oven beeped as soon as I go to it. I pulled the pan out and set it on the counter to let it cool. Jared sat on the couch next to Trout and Mr. Fisher. Jared scooted over making room for me beside him and Trout. I squeezed in next to them. Trout scooted over a bit, but I didn’t move. She gave me an odd look; she was obviously still remembering when she saw us together last. I gave her a little smile. We sat in silence for a couple minutes until I got up to set the food out.

As I set the food on the table, the last knock came. A few people from school joined us in the living room. I turned on the TV, so we could watch the pre-news before the interviews. I couldn’t help but think about the interview, what would Waterlily say? How would she explain her leadership in the district without breaking the secret of the rebellion?