on her stool.
“Mason just asked me if he could help me wash my hair Friday.” She looked at me.
“Maybe he likes you?” I giggled.
“Wel , yeah, look at me! What’s not to like?” She shook her head no in disbelief. A few boys turned their heads and looked at her nodding their approval, which made us giggle more.
“Seriously, do you like him?” I asked.
“It’s Mason, I mean, come on. It’s Mason. He and Travis are high on the crush list for girls and he can have his pick of whoever he wants. He’s Mason,” she repeated, as if that explained everything. She looked off in the distance as if she were stil trying to wrap her mind around it.
“Yes, we’ve established that it’s Mason we’re talking about.” I went over to retrieve the projects we were working on. I set them down and began shading. Our teacher walked around the class, keeping her eyes on us. Still on her radar, I thought.
“It’s not unbelievable that he would like you. Do you like him?” I asked again.
“I’ve never been liked. Wel , I mean as a friend I have, but never liked.” She looked nervous as if this were uncharted territory.
“Wel , then, give him your number and see if he cal s.” I smiled encouragingly.
“He has my number.” She began chewing on her fingernail. I looked at her questioningly. “I tutor a lot of the footbal team.” She shrugged.
“Then maybe you should give him the nudge that it’s OK to cal you even if it’s not just for tutoring.” I winked at her. She stil looked unsure.
I didn’t know how I made it through my final class, but I managed. I went to my locker and got the books I needed for homework. A note fel to the floor. I picked it up and put it in my bag. I was off to The Green Monster. That truck real y scared me; it was so big. I real y hated driving it, but it was better than walking. I made it home and went inside and put my bag down at the table.
“Oliver?” I cal ed out, as I climbed the stairs to get my laptop. There was no answer. I brought it down and turned it on. While I waited for it to load, I grabbed myself some ice water and returned. It was up and connected to the Wi-Fi. Poor Alex had to go the first week with no internet. It had taken Oliver a week to get it instal ed. I was sure he hadn’t thought this whole thing through. There were expenses to raising children and the lifestyle we’d become accustomed to. I didn’t feel sorry for him in the slightest. I opened my email. I had three new messages: one from Gracie, another from Melissa, and the third from Mitchel . I opened his first.
Gia,
Thank you for the email. You haven’t called yet. I hope to hear from you soon. Are you getting settled in? Alex told me his first game is Friday. I wish I could be there. Just know that I will be there in spirit and hope to get all the details.
It’s hard being in this house without all of you here. I expect to come home and find your mother making her jambalaya. But she isn’t here; neither are you and your brother. This house feels so big and empty. That is why I’ve decided to put it up for sale. It will be on the market by the end of the week. I felt that I should let you know before I did it. I miss you two. Call me.
Love
Mitchell
It made me sad to know that he missed us so much. We missed him, too. I could have written him that a hundred times. But I didn’t like the idea of him putting my mother’s house up for sale. She was barely gone a month, yet he was so ready to move on. Those were our memories that he was walking away from. I knew Alex wouldn’t be happy either.
I read Gracie’s anecdotal email about the first day of school. Then I read Melissa’s actual account of their first day. I wrote them both back one email. I told them about my new school. I had to tel them about Chiz; I had a feeling Gracie would have thought he was cute. And I told them about Travis a little. I knew there would be more questions. I told them about Abby’s hair because
“Mason just asked me if he could help me wash my hair Friday.” She looked at me.
“Maybe he likes you?” I giggled.
“Wel , yeah, look at me! What’s not to like?” She shook her head no in disbelief. A few boys turned their heads and looked at her nodding their approval, which made us giggle more.
“Seriously, do you like him?” I asked.
“It’s Mason, I mean, come on. It’s Mason. He and Travis are high on the crush list for girls and he can have his pick of whoever he wants. He’s Mason,” she repeated, as if that explained everything. She looked off in the distance as if she were stil trying to wrap her mind around it.
“Yes, we’ve established that it’s Mason we’re talking about.” I went over to retrieve the projects we were working on. I set them down and began shading. Our teacher walked around the class, keeping her eyes on us. Still on her radar, I thought.
“It’s not unbelievable that he would like you. Do you like him?” I asked again.
“I’ve never been liked. Wel , I mean as a friend I have, but never liked.” She looked nervous as if this were uncharted territory.
“Wel , then, give him your number and see if he cal s.” I smiled encouragingly.
“He has my number.” She began chewing on her fingernail. I looked at her questioningly. “I tutor a lot of the footbal team.” She shrugged.
“Then maybe you should give him the nudge that it’s OK to cal you even if it’s not just for tutoring.” I winked at her. She stil looked unsure.
I didn’t know how I made it through my final class, but I managed. I went to my locker and got the books I needed for homework. A note fel to the floor. I picked it up and put it in my bag. I was off to The Green Monster. That truck real y scared me; it was so big. I real y hated driving it, but it was better than walking. I made it home and went inside and put my bag down at the table.
“Oliver?” I cal ed out, as I climbed the stairs to get my laptop. There was no answer. I brought it down and turned it on. While I waited for it to load, I grabbed myself some ice water and returned. It was up and connected to the Wi-Fi. Poor Alex had to go the first week with no internet. It had taken Oliver a week to get it instal ed. I was sure he hadn’t thought this whole thing through. There were expenses to raising children and the lifestyle we’d become accustomed to. I didn’t feel sorry for him in the slightest. I opened my email. I had three new messages: one from Gracie, another from Melissa, and the third from Mitchel . I opened his first.
Gia,
Thank you for the email. You haven’t called yet. I hope to hear from you soon. Are you getting settled in? Alex told me his first game is Friday. I wish I could be there. Just know that I will be there in spirit and hope to get all the details.
It’s hard being in this house without all of you here. I expect to come home and find your mother making her jambalaya. But she isn’t here; neither are you and your brother. This house feels so big and empty. That is why I’ve decided to put it up for sale. It will be on the market by the end of the week. I felt that I should let you know before I did it. I miss you two. Call me.
Love
Mitchell
It made me sad to know that he missed us so much. We missed him, too. I could have written him that a hundred times. But I didn’t like the idea of him putting my mother’s house up for sale. She was barely gone a month, yet he was so ready to move on. Those were our memories that he was walking away from. I knew Alex wouldn’t be happy either.
I read Gracie’s anecdotal email about the first day of school. Then I read Melissa’s actual account of their first day. I wrote them both back one email. I told them about my new school. I had to tel them about Chiz; I had a feeling Gracie would have thought he was cute. And I told them about Travis a little. I knew there would be more questions. I told them about Abby’s hair because
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