Jewel

Chapter 10

*10 years old still*

“Hey, Mere, can you come over after school so we can work on the English project?” Blake asks at lunchtime.

“No, I have to clean before the dinner party tonight.” I take a big bite of my sandwich.

He sighs dramatically.  “Wait, didn’t you just have a dinner party, like, two weeks ago?”

“That was a dessert party.” 

“Whatever.  What about after?” he asks.

“Lake, you know Ursula locks me in my room.” I say quietly so the other kids don’t hear. 

“Well go out the window or something.” He jokes.

I laugh off the idea at first, but then remember my drawing from a while ago about the fence of ivy and flowers leading up to my window.  “… waaait” I start to think out loud.

Blake laughs, “I was just kidding, Mere.  But that would be kinda cool.”

“Wait, I might actually be able to do that.  You know that fence against the side of the house next to the front door?” I try to jog his memory.

“Yea?”

“Kay, well that leads right to my window and I could crawl down there.”  I start to get really excited about my plan.

“Is it safe?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” I say, more determined this time.  Tonight, I’m going to sneak out of my window.  

We go through the rest of our classes together after lunch and it’s really boring.  Thankfully though, Tess has not kept up a lot of her bullying towards me.  Sometimes when I see her at lunch she still calls me a “tattle tale” and a “goody two shoes,” but I just ignore her.  I’ve gotten really good at that.  

When Mrs. Todd drops Jackson and I off at the house, I thank them but don’t say anything about going by later.  I just give Blake the look and he nods.  I head inside and change into my cleaning clothes and grab my tools.  Jackson disappears into his room claiming that he has “a lot of homework to do,” but I know it’s just cos he doesn’t want to spend time with me.  

I don’t know why he doesn’t like me though.  I’ve always been nice to him, but he just doesn’t like being around me.  Brothers are supposed to be your first friend, but he just didn’t want to be my friend.

Anyways, I tie my long hair up into a pony tail and head down stairs to start straightening up from the mess Ursula and Savanna left after breakfast.  Their bowls of dried oatmeal are still sitting on the kitchen table and half full mugs of coffee are strewn about the counter.  The cutting board, knife, and fruit peels are sitting beside the trashcan, but not in it.  I honestly don’t understand why they can’t just clean up after themselves.  

I scrape and scrub the downstairs for hours until it’s spotless.  I reorganize the pillows on the couch back in their correct order and file all the loose papers and bills in their spot in the office.  

When I’m finally done, I collapse on the couch in the family room and curl into a ball to try to sleep.  Bruno comes up to me and licks my face even though I am clearly trying to sleep.  “Bruno, stop” I whine and reach my arm out to scratch between his ears.  At my touch, he nuzzles his head on the pillow I’m laying on and sits on the floor.  

I open one eye to look at him and he looks so happy.  I love Bruno.  He was my first friend and he’s still here for me.  I look around the room to make sure no one is coming before I lean over and pick up his floppy ear to whisper, “Hey, Bruno, we’re going to Blake’s tonight during Ursula’s party okay?”