Meet You There

Meet You There - Chapter 5

Chapter FIVE 

I considering trying to walk a different way home, to avoid walking passed the coffee shop again, but I didn't want to get lost. I walked the usual way, but Bennett wasn't outside, waiting for me. Thank god. I didn't know what his deal was but I was in no place to befriend a random guy. My plan was still to keep my head down and get through the school year without causing any drama.

   It only took ten minutes to get back to the condo, and as I approached and walked up the steps, I heard people talking loudly to my right. I glanced away, trying to trying to act like I didn't see them. A guy and a girl were talking, or possibly fighting. I continued on, but just as I swiped my card to get in to the building, someone called out.

   "Hey! You..."

   I wanted to keep going, pretend I didn't hear. Now I knew who it was, so I turned around slowly.

   "Hi," I said, shaking my head.

   "Please tell me you live here," Bennett said, looking hopeful. He had this dark mop of hair and bright blue eyes, a strange combination. He looked glad to see me, which also was strange.

   "I do."

   "Holy shit. This is crazy. I live here." He grinned, waiting for me to act as excited as he was.

   I had no idea what to say to this, so I was glad when the girl he was with spoke up.

   "Ben, please. We were discussing -"

   Bennett turned back to her. "The party that is not happening here, tomorrow night."

   I stepped back, almost inside. I just wanted to get away.

   "Ben! You know what this means for me. If Alex and I throw the party -"

   "Let Alex find a location for the party," Bennett said seriously.

   I was really trying to leave, but I was interested in the conversation. None of this made sense to me yet. Bennett glanced at me, noticing I was still there. And a moment later I snuck inside.

   I made some pasta and garlic bread and waited for Caleb to get home, to eat. He was surprised, to say the least.

   "You didn't tell me you could cook," he smiled, across the table from me.

   "Well, I had to learn in California. My Dad is so great, but he is the worst cook. I got sick of take out, so I started cooking," I explained.

   Caleb nodded, then sighed. "How's he doing? Your Dad?"

   In over two weeks, Caleb and I hadn't talked much about anything real. We avoided talking about my Mom and her new husband and her twin babies. We didn't talk about my year in California, at all. I knew these conversations would be as awkward for him and they would be for me.

   "He's good. He loves it out there," I smiled before taking a bite of pasta.

   "Good. Maybe one day he and I can reconnect." Caleb seemed uncomfortable talking about this, too, but he and my dad were pretty close, once upon a time. 

   "Definitely," I told him. "I mean, he's like a totally different person now. He's really happy."

   "I'm glad to hear that."

   As I was washing the dishes, Caleb came back into the kitchen. It had been awhile since dinner, since our conversation, but he was determined to start it right back up again, it seemed.

   "So, I talked to your Dad."

   "What?" I asked, confused, dropping the dish towel onto the counter.

   "Just before you got here. He called me."

   "Okay..." My mind was racing. What was he about to say?

   "He just wanted me to know some things, and he had some questions for me."

   I went back to drying the dishes. I didn't want to seem too interested in what he was saying.

   "He mentioned that you had been really social, you went to parties, had lots of friends, a boyfriend..."

   "So?" I snapped, my back still turned to him.

   "He suggested I set a curfew for you, make sure you know that I'm the boss, not your friend-"

   "Oh my God. Are you serious?" Now I spun around again.

   "Iris, I just wanted to tell you that I won't be doing that. You're seventeen. You can make your own rules. Just check in with me, okay?" Caleb's face was unsure.

   "Really?" I asked.

   "I'm not your parent, Iris. I know I'm in charge of your well being while you're here, but I've never even had a dog. I've been on my own since I was nineteen. I take care of myself, that's what I'm used to."

   "I won't cause you any trouble. I don't plan on being the person that I was last year. I just want to graduate and get into college..."

   Caleb smiled, finally. "College, huh? Where do you want to go?"

   I was drying off my hands now. "I'm still deciding. But I think New York. I have no idea if I'll get in to NYU or Columbia-"

   "Wow, are you serious?" Caleb looked surprised, which annoyed me.

   "I'm not joking."

   "That's amazing, Iris. You need to get a meeting with your guidance counsellor, to help with your applications, right away," he explained.

   "I do?"

   He let out a laugh. "You don't know where I studied, do you?" I shook my head. "Julliard. I did four years, vocal performance and composition."

   "What? Really?"

   He nodded. "I was twenty when I moved up there, after taking a year off. I got accepted at twenty-one, the second time applying. New York is so... different. It's like you're on a different planet."

   I smiled at him. "I bet that was amazing."

   "It really was. I met Fox there. We dated off and on, took classes together, performed together. Her family was so mad when she moved down here with me, after we graduated."

   "Oh, what happened?" I wanted to know.

   "She sort of got cut out of the family. But she didn't care, she wasn't like them. They thought she would be a concert pianist, but she ended up a keyboard player slash backup singer in Wolfcub. That's our band." He let out an awkward laugh. "She's playing with another band, who needed a keyboard player for the road. Our tour is on delay."

   "So, you two have been together a long time?" I asked.

   "You have a lot of questions."

   "Sorry."

   "No, it's fine. Yes, we actually celebrated six years, this past May."

   "Wow."

   "Anyway, back to you," he cleared his throat. "Guidance councillor appointment Monday, okay?"

  I nodded. "Okay."

   I guess a had plan, after all.