Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
“How was school, Geni?” Mom asks when I walk through the front door a couple of hours later.
I know she wanted me to make an effort into meeting people and making friends, and in a way I did.
But the only friend that ever mattered to me is the one that wants nothing to do with me.
I force a small smile onto my lips as I walk into the living room.
“Um, it was good,” I begin slowly.
“Did you meet anyone?” she presses.
“A group of girls asked me to sit with them at lunch.”
“How nice!” she exclaims happily as she gets to her feet. “Help me start dinner, Geni. We can talk about it while we do that.”
I follow her dutifully.
I don’t know how she’s going to react to me running into Lake here, but I have to tell her about it.
Mom hands me a large ceramic bowl and all of the fixings to make a Caesar Salad.
“I met someone else too,” I tell her as I begin to slice the radishes.
“Oh?” she asks as she glances at me.
“Yeah, um. Mom?” I stop slicing the vegetables. “I ran into Lake. He goes to Eastwood Hills Tech too.”
Mom looks at me with soft eyes, “And how did that make you feel, Gen?”
I shrug as I set the large knife down on the counter. “Honestly, it hit me a little harder than I thought it would if I ever saw him again.”
“Well, it’s been about ten years,,” she tells me gently. “I’m sure you both look a lot different than you used to.”
I nod as I return to my chore. It makes sense; he has changed a lot physically since I last remember and I’m sure I have too.
“Can I invite him over for dinner sometime?” I ask.
“I’ll talk to your father about it, okay?”
I nod as I put the radishes aside.
“Hey,” Mom says when she notices that I’m not listening to anything she’s saying to me.
I glance over at her dejectedly but when I see the mischievous smile start to curve her lips, I feel … hopeful.
“And if he says no, we can invite Lake out to dinner at the fanciest restaurant in town,” she assures me.
“Thanks, Mom.”
She nods as she retrieves a package of chicken breasts from the refrigerator and walks over to the sink.
___
I’ve just finished pulling my cami over my head when the phone next to my bed rings. I know I didn’t give anyone in school my phone number today so it’s more than likely a wrong number.
“Hello?”
“Hey!”
Kaylee.
“How’d you get my number?” I ask her.
“I have my ways,” she replies with a laugh. “I wanted to ask you something.”
“Shoot.”
“I heard from Jessa that you had a fight with Lake in the hallway after Algebra,” she says.
From who?
“I didn’t have a fight with anyone today,” I tell her firmly.
“I guess they lied then,” she muses.
“Looks like,” I reply.
“You’re not mad that Fia took him up on his offer are you?”
“No,” I bark. I roll my eyes at the ceiling as I lay down on the bed. “I’m not an ‘offer’ kind of girl,” I state pointedly.
“You’ll change your mind. He’s really good at what he can do,” she replies smugly.
The line clicks as she hangs up the phone and I toss the receiver over the side of the bed, turn onto my stomach, and let out a muffled scream into the mattress.
If they knew why Lake is acting like this, they wouldn’t do this to him.