Chapter 5 #2
Milo cracks his knuckles and repositions on the seat. He leans over the page, dragging his finger over the numbers and letters in the equation. Wow, his nails are really neat. Kai’s are always dirty and chipped, and his hands are calloused. Milo’s appear smooth and probably feel really nice.
“Oh, man. You’re drifting again.”
I blink hard, averting my eyes from Milo’s hands. “What, no. Sorry, I got distracted. Try again. Please?”
Milo huffs and goes back to his explanation.
I plant both elbows on the table, positioning my hands on the sides of my head.
Come on, Jamie, focus on his words, not his hands.
Why are you even fantasizing about Milo’s hands?
It’s Milo, for goodness’ sake! Ah, stop talking to yourself, and just listen.
“Got it?” Milo asks, bracing himself with wariness.
I’m so blank I may as well be drooling. “One more time?”
A quirk of annoyance changes his face for a split second. His finger underlines the equation.
-4X + 7 = 15
“We need to find the variable. In this case, X. So we need to move the constants, as in the actual numbers, to one side. In this case, that’s seven. Seven is behind a plus sign, so we need to subtract it from this side and move it to the other side.” Milo draws it out before my brain cracks in two.
-4X + 7 - 7 = 15 - 7
“See how they’re now balanced because minus seven is on both sides? We subtract seven on both sides to move onto the next step.”
-4X = 8
I stare at the now smaller equation. “Is that it? I was moving around so many numbers and was making it so complicated.”
A whisper of a laugh slips out of Milo. “We’re not done.”
My shoulders slump. “Oh.”
“We need to find X, remember?” He taps the page. “There’s still a minus four in front of it.”
“Yeah. It does look messed up. You know, this explanation is still not exciting.”
Milo smirks. “At least you’re actually listening now instead of becoming a glazed donut. I think it's an improvement.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that.”
“So, what would you do now if you got down to this step?”
I stare at the equation, and it distorts into three different layers. “Umm?”
He taps the line above. “What did we do before?”
“Umm. Subtract seven?”
“From?”
My palms lift upwards. “From both sides.”
“Yes!” Milo cheers.
He sits back with a laugh as I peer around us, noting David turning our way and smiling.
“Sorry,” Milo says, stifling his laugh. “I’m just so happy you’re following along. Okay, so what does that tell you to do now?”
I stare at the -4X and my heartbeat thumps loudly in my ears.
He taps the space I'm focused on. “You need to get that number away from the X.”
I look up at him. “I minus four from each side?”
He winces, giving a slight head shake.
I look back down at the messed-up number. Why not? We minused the seven. Why the heck is there a minus near the four? It always confuses me when they stick minus in front of numbers. What does that mean?
I tap the -4X. “Add four to each side?”
Milo chews his lip, waiting for me to try again.
I scrunch a hand into my hair. “Help me.”
He circles the -4X. “When a number is attached to the variable, it means…”
“Oh,” I draw out the word as it dawns on me. “They’re multiplied.”
An elated grin expands on Milo’s face. “Yeah, Jamie, you’re right.”
I take my pen and fill out the next line before Milo does. I need to divide. “Therefore, X equals minus two.”
“Woo. You got it,” Milo cheers, lifting his hand across the table.
A flutter of happiness bursts into my chest. I feel totally lame for feeling so giddy over a stupid math problem, but look at how happy it made him. I give in and connect with his hand in a high five.
“Sounds like things are going well,” Aunt Maddy says, approaching the booth with nervous enthusiasm.
“She solved the equation on her own,” Milo replies.
“No way, Milo did most of the work,” I say.
“But you got there in the end,” Milo says, still grinning.
I smile back and turn to Aunt Maddy. “It does feel really good to actually understand what I did.”
Aunt Maddy smooths my ponytail. “I’m so proud of you, baby.”
“Usually, I just copy what Mr. Pritchard wrote on the board and call it a day. But maybe I can actually get this stuff.”
“Of course you can,” Maddy cheers. “It’ll just take some time. I just need to mop and then we’ll go. Maybe you guys will have time to work on more problems?”
Milo nods. “Kai’s not here yet, so I’m in no hurry.”
“Excellent,” Aunt Maddy says and walks away from the table.
Milo leans forward. “You should feel proud of yourself. You’re gonna get this stuff.”
I nod. “Thanks, Milo.”
Even though I struggled a lot with the next two problems, at least I didn’t have to help clean up the cafe with Aunt Maddy.
“When did you want to work on your coordination?” I ask while Maddy mops away from our area.
Milo turns a slight shade of green as he packs his bag. “Any time there aren’t other people around the fields.”
“I also need to make sure Coach Anders isn’t around. I promised him I wouldn’t touch a soccer ball outside of team practices.”
Milo frowns. “I’m not getting you into trouble, am I?”
I slide out of the booth. “Chill. When I’m helping out my tutor, I’m sure he’ll be cool with it. I just don’t want to chance it.”
Milo slides out of the booth and pulls on his backpack. “Ask for forgiveness, not permission. Right?”
“Yeah. That’s what Kai always says.”
Milo nods. “I know. I hear him say it all the time.” Milo turns toward the door. “He’s wrong, you know.”
I frown and shake my head.
Milo waves to Aunt Maddy. “See you next time. And nice to meet you, David.”
“Bye, Milo,” Maddy says as she and David wave back. “Thanks so much for helping Jamie today. Are you alright to get home?”
Milo nods. “Kai will be driving past soon. Bye, Jamie.”
I give a mediocre wave. “See ya.”
His words tumble around my head.
Is Kai wrong? No. Kai is never wrong.
I shake out of the ludicrous thoughts and pack up my stuff so Maddy can finish mopping my station.
“So, what do you ladies want for dinner?” David asks as I help Aunt Maddy pack away the last of the supplies. “Pizza? Chinese food?”
“We had pizza on Friday night,” Aunt Maddy says, patting her stomach. “Even though I love it, my body won’t love me afterwards.”
“Oh, hush,” David says, leaning over the counter as his eyes turn to goo. “You look fantastic every day.”
Barf.
Aunt Maddy giggles. “Thanks, honey. But it’s not just how I look. It’s the feeling an hour later that doesn’t leave until the next day.”
“Okay, no problem,” David says, backing off. “We can have something else.”
I grit my teeth. I don’t like to go for something he suggests, but I can already taste the beef and broccoli in plum sauce mixed with thick rice noodles. “Umm, I’d love Chinese food.”
“Done,” David cheers. “I’ll pick it up and bring it to your place. Give you ladies some time to decompress from work and school.”
I keep my face flat even though it sounds like the ideal situation.
Maddy walks over to David and plants a kiss on his lips while flexing her fingers into his hair. “Thanks, honey,” she whispers, staying close to his mouth. “You’re a prince.”
David grins, pulling away. “Anything for you.” He flicks his eyes to me and then back to Maddy, falling deeper into lovesick puppy mode. “And your niece, of course.”
I head out the door first, followed by Maddy, who waits for David to exit before locking the front doors. I look around our area as the sky grows darker and then I double-take at a nearby bench. “Milo?”
Milo sits on the bench with his phone to his ear. He talks in a low tone to the person on the phone and then ends the call. He stands, lifting his bag from the bench. “Hi, I’m just on my way home.”
“Where’s Kai?” I ask. “I thought he’d be here by now.”
“Me too,” Milo replies. “But he’s not answering his phone. I’m heading to the bus stop.”
“The bus?” Maddy chimes in. “Your parents aren’t around?”
“Mom’s still on her way back from the city, and dad works late on Monday nights,” Milo says, hiking his bag on his shoulder. “It’s cool. There’ll be a bus coming by soon.”
“Don’t be silly,” Maddy says, beckoning him over. “Your Mom will drive past our neighborhood on her way back into town. Why don’t you come with us for Chinese food and text your mom to pick you up from our place?”
Milo’s eyes dart from Maddy, to me, and back. “Are you sure? I’m really fine to go home alone.”
Maddy tilts her head as she replies, “And what? Eat a frozen meal? Come with us. It’ll give you an opportunity to help Jamie with the last of her math homework.”
I huff, rolling my eyes. “Oh, yay.”
Milo’s Adam’s apple bobs as he looks at me. “Is that okay?”
I look away and wave him over. “Yes, because we all know I won’t finish it without you looking over my shoulder.”
Aunt Maddy links an arm with me and asks Milo, “Are you okay with helping her out more? I know it’s over the hour we discussed, but she’s behind in everything.”
“It’s fine,” Milo replies. “I need to finish my homework anyway, and I won’t say no to Chinese food.”
“What will you have?” David pipes in. “I’m ordering while Maddy and Jamie head home.”
“Kung Pao chicken,” Milo replies. “Thanks.”
David mumbles a laugh. “Same as Maddy’s usual.”
“I can’t get enough of it,” Maddy gushes.
“Aunt Maddy, can we go home?” I whine. “I need to get out of this uniform.”
Maddy giggles and holds my arm tighter. “Okay, let’s go. Milo, hop in the car with us. David, we’ll see you soon.”
The three of us move toward Aunt Maddy’s car. I take the front passenger seat as Milo moves to the back without comment.
“I can’t believe Kai didn’t show up,” Maddy says, pulling out of her parking space. “That kid is such a scatterbrain.”
“Maybe he’d show up if he were picking up Jamie,” Milo says, leaning forward in the backseat. “But I’m not surprised he forgot about me.”
Maddy nudges me as she waits at the parking lot exit for a safe moment to pull out. “Have you heard from him? I want to know what his excuse is.”
I lift my phone and check if there are any texts from Kai.
“Maybe he’s out with his girlfriend,” Milo jokes.
I lower the phone, turn between mine and Maddy’s seats, and glare at him.
Milo’s eyes widen behind his frames, and he sits back in his seat.
As Milo fidgets and stares out the window, I face the front and check my phone.
There’s nothing. Clamminess builds between my palms and the phone.
He said he was meeting up with Parker, but what if Tabitha was there?
Is he only with her, or has Tabitha taken my place and hanging with all the boys?
Could they replace me like that? Would they all prefer a hot girl who doesn’t stammer her words around anyone?
I drop my phone to my lap and rest my elbow against the car door with a groan.
Maddy laughs to herself. “Duh. He’s sixteen with a brand-new license and your parents aren’t home yet. He’s out on a joyride.”
“Without me,” I grumble.
“Don’t pout about it,” Maddy says as we drive through Main Street. “You need to focus and concentrate on schoolwork, not your social life.”
“So I can be as interesting as Milo?” I jab.
“Jamie,” Aunt Maddy scolds. “You should count yourself lucky to be anything like Milo. He’ll do great things with his life.”
My ears prick to Milo’s uncomfortable shifting behind us.
“And, what? I’m going to be a lifelong waitress who barely passed high school?”
“If you finish high school, you’d already have a better education than I got,” Aunt Maddy replies. “And I don’t want you aiming to be a waitress. You should be thinking about co-owning our expanding catering business.”
I sigh. “We don’t need catering. The town likes our cafe just fine.”
“We made bank on those catering jobs. This town has a lot of stuffed shirts who throw big functions. There’s so much money up for grabs if we take this opportunity and run with it.”
“Yeah, yeah, okay. Whatever.”
Maddy huffs, shaking her head as she makes the turn toward our neighborhood. “You need to care more about the things that matter.”
“Aunt Maddy, you’re the one with the brain to make the business better. It’s not me.”
She looks at me for a beat. “But it can be.”
I’m not appreciating the pep talks everyone’s throwing my way.
I quickly unlock my phone and text Kai. “Where the heck are you? Your dorky brother is on the way to my house!”