face nearly made me leave. Cole, however, patted the now empty space next to him. “What are you waiting for?” he asked, the warmth returning to his face with a beam. Swallowing my nerves, I forced myself to sit down.
Chapter 4
The rest of the day passed in a whirlwind of new classes and unfamiliar faces. It was actually a relief to see the Walters’ rickety house when the truck pulled into the driveway after school.
“We’re home, Aunt Kathy!” Lee shouted as soon as he walked through the door. “What’s for dinner?”
Danny, Lee, and I had to step over a pile of boxes in the front hall. We were the only ones who actually left school at three o’clock. Alex had baseball practice; Cole caught a bus to his job at a local auto-repair shop; Nathan stayed in the music room; and Isaac never showed, which apparently was normal because we left after only a five-minute wait. I planned to join a few after-school clubs, but I decided it could wait until next week when, hopefully, I didn’t feel so weary.
“Hello to you too,” I heard Katherine call from the kitchen. The smell of something amazing was drifting down the hall. We found her standing at the counter cutting open a huge pile of buns.
“Hell, yeah,” Lee said when he lifted the top of the slow cooker. “I love me some sloppy joe.”
“What’s sloppy joe?” Whatever it was, it sounded disgusting.
Katherine, Lee, and Danny all stared at me like I was speaking an alien language.
“You’re never had a sloppy joe before? What kind of crazy planet are you from?” Lee asked.
“Lee, be nice,” Katherine scolded, pointing the serrated knife she was using to cut buns in Lee’s direction. “A sloppy joe is a ground-beef sandwich,” she explained to me. “We’re having them for dinner and you can try one then. The rest of your things arrived today, so in the meantime, why don’t you work on moving into your room? I cleared out all of the art supplies, and Danny can help you bring the boxes up and unpack.”
“Why can’t Lee help?” Danny asked.
“Because he’s going to help Parker with her math homework.”
“I am?”
“Would you rather carry boxes up to Jackie’s room?”
“Right. Two plus two. I’m all over that shit,” Lee said and left the kitchen before Katherine could change her mind.
“All right, you two,” Katherine said, picking up another bun. “Why don’t you get started? I want those boxes out of the front hall by the time everyone else gets home.”
Twenty minutes of tense silence passed as we moved my things to my room. While we worked, we hurried by each other on the stairs, trying to avoid bumping into one another or making awkward eye contact. Finally, I collapsed on my bed feeling sore and sweaty as Danny set the last box on the floor.
“Thanks a bunch for your help. This would have taken forever without you.”
Danny nodded his head and quickly turned to leave without a word, but my room was now a maze of cardboard towers. His foot connected with one of the piles, and the box teetering on the top crashed to the floor. My Shakespeare collection spilled out, and Danny dropped down to pick it up.
“Sorry,” he mumbled and scooped the books back into the box.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, jumping off my bed. “I can take care of it.” I spotted A Midsummer Night’s Dream and wanted to grab it for Alex. By knocking over the books, Danny actually did me a favor because I wouldn’t have to search through all the boxes to find them. I plucked the play off the floor, and Danny stopped to examine what was in his hands.
“ Romeo and Juliet ?” he asked, reading out the title. The rise in his voice revealed his surprise. “You like drama?”
“Of course, I’m a New Yorker! I’ve been attending all types of different performances since I was little. I have a personal soft spot for Shakespeare, but I also admire Shaw and Miller’s work.” When I responded, Danny clamped his mouth shut as if he
Chapter 4
The rest of the day passed in a whirlwind of new classes and unfamiliar faces. It was actually a relief to see the Walters’ rickety house when the truck pulled into the driveway after school.
“We’re home, Aunt Kathy!” Lee shouted as soon as he walked through the door. “What’s for dinner?”
Danny, Lee, and I had to step over a pile of boxes in the front hall. We were the only ones who actually left school at three o’clock. Alex had baseball practice; Cole caught a bus to his job at a local auto-repair shop; Nathan stayed in the music room; and Isaac never showed, which apparently was normal because we left after only a five-minute wait. I planned to join a few after-school clubs, but I decided it could wait until next week when, hopefully, I didn’t feel so weary.
“Hello to you too,” I heard Katherine call from the kitchen. The smell of something amazing was drifting down the hall. We found her standing at the counter cutting open a huge pile of buns.
“Hell, yeah,” Lee said when he lifted the top of the slow cooker. “I love me some sloppy joe.”
“What’s sloppy joe?” Whatever it was, it sounded disgusting.
Katherine, Lee, and Danny all stared at me like I was speaking an alien language.
“You’re never had a sloppy joe before? What kind of crazy planet are you from?” Lee asked.
“Lee, be nice,” Katherine scolded, pointing the serrated knife she was using to cut buns in Lee’s direction. “A sloppy joe is a ground-beef sandwich,” she explained to me. “We’re having them for dinner and you can try one then. The rest of your things arrived today, so in the meantime, why don’t you work on moving into your room? I cleared out all of the art supplies, and Danny can help you bring the boxes up and unpack.”
“Why can’t Lee help?” Danny asked.
“Because he’s going to help Parker with her math homework.”
“I am?”
“Would you rather carry boxes up to Jackie’s room?”
“Right. Two plus two. I’m all over that shit,” Lee said and left the kitchen before Katherine could change her mind.
“All right, you two,” Katherine said, picking up another bun. “Why don’t you get started? I want those boxes out of the front hall by the time everyone else gets home.”
Twenty minutes of tense silence passed as we moved my things to my room. While we worked, we hurried by each other on the stairs, trying to avoid bumping into one another or making awkward eye contact. Finally, I collapsed on my bed feeling sore and sweaty as Danny set the last box on the floor.
“Thanks a bunch for your help. This would have taken forever without you.”
Danny nodded his head and quickly turned to leave without a word, but my room was now a maze of cardboard towers. His foot connected with one of the piles, and the box teetering on the top crashed to the floor. My Shakespeare collection spilled out, and Danny dropped down to pick it up.
“Sorry,” he mumbled and scooped the books back into the box.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, jumping off my bed. “I can take care of it.” I spotted A Midsummer Night’s Dream and wanted to grab it for Alex. By knocking over the books, Danny actually did me a favor because I wouldn’t have to search through all the boxes to find them. I plucked the play off the floor, and Danny stopped to examine what was in his hands.
“ Romeo and Juliet ?” he asked, reading out the title. The rise in his voice revealed his surprise. “You like drama?”
“Of course, I’m a New Yorker! I’ve been attending all types of different performances since I was little. I have a personal soft spot for Shakespeare, but I also admire Shaw and Miller’s work.” When I responded, Danny clamped his mouth shut as if he
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