The Exchange

Chapter 5- The First Supper

After the brief and awkward conversation with Julien, Sasha had run upstairs and thrown herself onto her bed screaming into the pillow which muffled the sound.

She didn't feel as though she could face the beautiful boy downstairs ever again and when she thought of how long he would be staying in the house the tips of her ears went red and she wanted to scream.

How was she going to survive? Julien was dazzling but he acted so indifferent, as though nothing bothered him. And everything bothered her way too much.

Even a glance in her direction and she would become shaky and breathless and wouldn't be able to focus. Sasha cursed herself for seeming so weak and inexperienced. She felt like a little child, hiding out, afraid of something irrational and ridiculous.

He had laughed at her and this also made her angry, a fury that surged through her body making her feel powerful for a couple of moments before crashing back down again into complete humiliation.

There was no way in hell that the next couple of months would run smoothly. Sasha could taste the change, it was acrid on her tongue, so the best chance that she had to happily endure his visit would be to stay out of his way.

An abrupt knock came suddenly at her door and Annette appeared in the entrance of the room dressed for work. Her hair was pinned tightly back in a bun and she was fashioning pearl earrings and heels.

"Good morning sweetheart", she cooed, sitting at the end of the bed, "Felt like I barely saw you yesterday! Did you have fun at the party?"

Sasha nodded, "Yes, it was a lot of fun. Just needed to sleep it off".

Annette's lips curled into a knowing smile and she patted the top of her daughters head. She didn't adopt a strict parenting regime which meant hangovers were generally not chastised and instead took a more understanding and laid back approach.

When Sasha's father had still lived with them it had been very different with many more rules implemented and discipline practised at all times. But since her parents divorce her mother had decided it was best for the children to make their own decisions and mistakes. She was caring and considerate but allowed them space.

Annette often liked to joke that she too had been 'wild' back in the day and had infamously climbed the 'cursed' water tower in her home village to win a bet made at a party. Sasha couldn't imagine her mother raving in the 90's but she liked to hear the stories.

"By the way, Julien, the french exchange is here", Annette informed, "I went to pick him up last night. I'm taking him to meet his class now before work. Neither of us will be back until later today. I was wondering if you and Ben would be able to help out a bit? Hang the washing? Make dinner? That sort of thing".

Sasha nodded again, "Of course, no worries. Have a nice day!"

"You too", her mother replied before leaving the room.

-----

Ben leaned over the pan with a spoon in his hand, gingerly dipping it into the sauce before blowing on it and placing it in his mouth.

Sasha watched him carefully, "So what do you think? Is it disgusting or have we done a decent job?" 

Her and Ben had been in the kitchen for the last hour attempting to make dinner. They'd left the windows open and a cool, early evening breeze seeped into the room breaking through the heavy steam that had accumulated. It had been a sweltering hot day and both welcomed the refreshing gentle wind.

The radio was on full blast playing random funky tunes to assist them while they cooked. Ben had been banging the pots and pans in time to the music on occasion before Sasha told him to get back to chopping the vegetables.