"What the fudge, dad?!" I screamed into the payphone. "I'm sorry Claire, I just forgot. No big deal." my dad sighed. "No big deal?! You think this is no big deal? Dad, forgetting to pay the bills can put my life at stake!" I was fuming at the way my dad was playing it cool. "How am I supposed to charge my phone...and shower in cold water? What food am I supposed to eat? Whyyy-" I rambled on, but was cut off by my dad. "I'm sorry, I don't have time for this. I'll see to it as soon as I can. Bye." he ended the call.
You're probably wondering what's going on... it's my dad. He completely forgot to pay the water and electricity bills and now I'm stuck with useless appliances and cold showers for the rest of the week until my dad comes back. No, I can't ask the neighbours. They barely like me because of all our previous encounters. I remember when they kindly asked me to turn down the music which was blasting through the speakers in the living room so that they could take a nap. I laughed in their face and told them: "No! Napping is for babies!" Yeah, I didn't have the greatest comebacks back then...but it seemed to have helped. And the other time when their little boy was jumping on the trampoline and every time he was in the air, he would look into our garden. So I used the hosepipe to spray him with water. The salesman said that it's a handy tool at getting rid of annoying pests...I guess he was talking about actual bugs. Turns out the little fellow broke his arm when he fell back down onto the ground. Well yeah, the neighbours were out of the story, so I walked to the closest payphone before school started.
"What you doing here?" a voice asked from behind. I turned around to see Dean and groaned. "I could ask the same for you." I grunted. "No need to be all witty. I just asked a simple question." He chuckled. "It doesn't matter." I rolled my eyes. "Well, you coming?" He asked me. I shook my head. "How are you getting to school then? There's nobody here." I looked around hopelessly and started walking. Stupid boy, does he really think I'd want to get into the car with him?
A few minutes later, I heard a car driving slowly next to me and I looked to my right to see Dean's window rolled down. "Need a lift?" he asked. I reluctantly got in the car and we drove off to school.
"So, what do you have first period?" I asked Dean. "Gym class." he said with a bored expression. "Me too!" I said enthusiastically. "Why are you so excited?" He asked. "Rock climbing!" I squealed. "Wh-what?" His voice hitched in his throat. "We're doing rock climbing today! It's my favourite!"
He looked troubled, almost like he was nervous. His hands seemed to have found its way to the hem of his shirt to fidget with it. "Claire, can you keep a secret?" Dean asked quietly. I decided to be completely honest with him. "No." I said casually. He gave me a look, so I quickly changed my words. "I mean yeah...this time I can." I said sheepishly. "Well...I I've never told anyone this before, but I-I'm afraid of hights." He stammered. I was completely shocked. "There's a lot you don't know about me Claire." He noticed my state of shock. "You do know that you can't sign up for any first teams if you have an incomplete P.E. mark..." I raised a brow. "I know, that's what I'm scared of. I absolutely love basketball and how am I supposed to make the first team if I'm too afraid to face my fears?" I stayed silent. "Promise me that you'll be next to me when I climb the wall." He stared me in the eye. "I promise." I whispered wrapping my pinky around his.
