Judged

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Declan," I say to myself aloud in the car, testing how the name sounds. It suits him well. It sounds Irish, maybe? I made a mental note to look up the meaning of his name later on. Irish names almost always have meanings. 

I'd never met a boy like Declan before. He's so upfront, so serious, but at the same time he's playful and adventurous. Then again, I've only known him for about 20 minutes now. People are always different once you get to know them.  

I think back to his note, and smile like an idiot. No wonder he went to the register by himself. That's when he wrote the note on the inside. This boy is smart. No doubt he knew I would be foolish enough to not ask his name or his number. 

Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. Never once have I been approached out of the blue by a boy like that. And definitely not one as attractive as Declan. 

As I was driving home, this had me wondering what made Declan approach me in the first place. Maybe I was being set up. Maybe Kaley or Gabby are paying him to take interest in me, and then I'l just end up being publicly humiliated. 

Declan didn't seem like that type of guy, but like I said, people are different once you get to know them. I tried to shake the thought away that I was being toyed with. I don't think I could handle it. 

A truck's horn honked loudly behind me three times. I jumped, glared at them in the rear view mirror, and I looked ahead and saw that the red light I had stopped at was now green. Shit. I stepped on the gas pedal, and accelerated. 

The truck that had honked at me switched lanes to pass me. A man that looked to be about 40 driving a beat up Ford truck flipped me off as he drove by. 

"Yeah, fuck you too," I said out loud even though I knew he couldn't hear me. Nobody is gunna squash my good mood. I continued to drive, wishing I was home already so I could start reading 'I Am Number Four.' 

I mean, who wouldn't be in a hurry to read a book knowing they'd get to talk to a total hottie afterwards?

*******

"Harper, is that you?" My dad calls from the living room, just as I'm walking through the front door. 

"Yeah," I answer halfheartedly. I had hoped I could sneak into the house unnoticed and just head for my room. No such luck. 

"Come into the living room please?" 

"Coming." I slip my shoes off by the door, hang my jacket up, and make my way down the hall to the living room. My mom and dad are sitting together on our black leather love seat when I enter. Mom is sipping coffee. Dad smiles when he see's the Barnes and Noble bag in my hand. 

"Take a seat," my mom says, not bothering to look up from her cup of coffee. 

I sit on the bigger black leather couch, and turn my body to face my parents. This must be the school discussion my dad mentioned. Greeeat.

"So, you obviously don't want to go back to your current school," my mom begins. 

"Obviously," I interject, putting emphasis on the word. 

My dad picks up where mom left off, "We've come up with a solution." 

"Really?" I wonder, getting excited. 

"Online school sound okay?" My dad asks, smiling. 

"Okay? It sounds amazing!" I jump up from the couch, and hug both of my parents tightly, whispering "thank you, thank you, thank you!" I release them from my embrace.