Play Me a Song

Chp.5 - Black and White

I'm woken up from my nap earlier than expected by my cell phone tone. I fumble with the covers to find it causing it to fall on the ground with a thud. The annoying music seems to get louder by the second and when I finally manage to stretch myself enough to get the electronic without getting out of the bed, I am blinded by Cora's picture on the screen casting light on the dark room.

"Hello." I mumble groggily.

"Hey! Just to let you know that I'm dropping by, okay?"

"Okay?" I stumble towards the light switch.

"Great! See ya." She ends the call before I can answer.

I hurry to get my hair brush but I don't have time before there's a knock on the door. This time, Cora waits for me to open it.

"When you said you were coming, I thought it would take you longer than that." I say as greeting.

She gets in and closes the door behind her.

"I don't know why you thought that, I live just down the corridor. Besides, I've smelled your stinky feet before, it's not your bed hair that is going to make me run away." She points to my hair brush.

"Wow, thanks."

"Sure, boo. This thing here," she puts her hands on her hair, "takes a lot to get beautiful like this." She goes to my wardrobe and opens the door examining the contents inside.

"What are you doing?" I come beside her.

"Do you mind if I help you pick your outfit?"

"I thought we didn't need to dress up to Cascavel." I put my hand on my underwear drawer to keep Cora's wandering hands away.

She puts her hands on her waist and faces me with her eyebrows raised and a tight smile.

"I know Meyer invited you."

"Yes, it was very nice of him since you didn't mention anything." I cross my arms at her.

"Because I went to ask him if you could tag along, and he said he had already invited." She says it like I did something wrong, or maybe it was Aeson. She goes back to wandering through my clothes.

"So? What does that have to do with my clothing?"

She stops at a simple white shirt. "Oh, my sweet Em, you are so clueless."

"Your comments are so flattering today."

At my tone she takes her eyes from the shirt and turns to me.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry! I love you, you know that, right?" I just stare at her. She drops the shirt on my bed and throws herself in me, hugging me tight. "Sorry, Em! Please don't be mad."

"I'm not."

"I'm serious. It's just the way I talk, I didn't mean to offend you."

"I'm serious too. I'm not mad."

She releases me to look deep on my eyes. I think she gets satisfied with what she sees there because in a second she is back to my wardrobe.

"You know," she looks at my dresses (I only brought two), "I have the perfect skirt to go with that shirt. I can borrow you."

"I'm guessing you are going to insist."

"You know me," she shrugs forcing a sweet smile, "and I know Meyer, and he looks interested in a friend of mine." She pointedly looks at me.

I roll my eyes. "I knew there was a reason for all of this. You can keep your skirt, Aeson is not interested in me."

What I really wanted to say was: "Why? Did he say something?" But it sounded too desperate even inside my mind. I trust Cora, but she has been friends with Aeson longer than she has with me, and I think she would tell him if I sounded too eager to know about him.