Thirteen #2
Andrew hastily crammed several Oreos into his mouth, muttering quietly.
The conversation quickly shifted from one topic to the next with their words filtering through my ears, in one and out the other.
My gaze was trained on the tray of untouched food in front of me.
My stomach churned, but I couldn’t bring myself to eat anything.
I was far too focused on why Elliot wanted to study for AP Lit tonight.
It was just so out of character for him.
Did his friends do something to piss him off?
Was it simply an excuse to hang out with me?
Did he actually just want to study?
After the whole ‘ date night ’ thing at the Honeycomb Café, the boundaries in our relationship were beginning to blur.
But I did not have a crush on Elliot Keller.
I gnawed at my inner cheek.
Sure, he was objectively attractive, annoyingly funny, and occasionally charming, but there was no way I’d ever fall for him. But, then why did the thought of us hanging out cause my stomach to do cartwheels?
My leg seemed to have a mind of its own as it began to bounce uncontrollably, causing Elliot to place his palm on my thigh, caressing the denim with his thumb.
His eyes were still locked onto Dani’s, but despite that, he still somehow noticed my discomfort.
Thank God he couldn’t read my mind, though.
If only I could read his.
I glanced up at him, watching as he spoke incoherently with a smile on his face.
For the rest of lunch, I mostly sat in silence, listening to discussions about video games and how Dani almost won the Fortnite championship.
Just another game I knew nothing about, and I was counting my lucky stars that Andrew didn’t hound me with a million questions about battle royales or dropping from the bus… whatever the hell that meant .
Even after lunch, my mind was still stuck on Elliot.
The day slowly trudged along, and by the time I reached art class, it felt even slower.
I no longer sat with Meredith or Kendra meaning I was now forced to be sandwiched between the bodies of two strangers as my brain was plagued with an immeasurable number of thoughts, all things ranging from the book I just read, to the winter pep rally, and then circling back around to none other than Elliot Keller.
It was complete agony to be trapped in my own mind with not even a book to dull my hyper-fixations, but it wasn’t like I could whip out a three-hundred-page novel in art class.
So, instead, I painted a still life portrait of a bowl of fruit.
After what seemed like a decade of aimless tangents and never-ending rants, the school day came to a close.
When I finally made it home, I stared at the clock, counting down the minutes until Elliot arrived.
As I waited, I couldn’t shake the feeling that tonight would be different from any other tutoring session we’d ever had.
And the anticipation was killing me.
I didn’t know what to do with myself. Eventually, I grew tired of watching the clock and decided to sift through an old box of books from the attic.
It had been a while since I had donated any books to the local Summerville Library, and now seemed as good a time as any.
Dust wafted through the room as I unpacked each novel.
My lungs expelled the contaminated particles back into the air while I sorted the books into two piles—keep and donate.
As I thumbed through the stack, I stumbled upon a book I hadn’t thought about in a long time: The Intelligence Trap by David Robson.
My sister bought it for me after I made the horrible mistake of accidentally submitting an essay titled “The Rise and Fall of JFK” for our Black History Month assignment instead of the essay on Thurgood Marshall.
The teacher refused to let me resubmit. I stayed in my room for a solid week straight, mortified at my own stupidity.
I brushed off some of the dust that had settled on the jacket cover with my hands.
Reading this book helped me realize that even smart people have dumb moments.
Words can hold so much power, but even more so when those words paralleled with one’s own personal story.
I moved it to the ‘keep’ pile and pulled out the next: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.
Salinger. I smiled as I held the book in my hands.
An idea came to mind just as the ding of the doorbell rang out. Hopping off the floor, I raced down the stairs and greeted Elliot.
“Hey.” He waved with his elbow propped on the doorframe, backpack slung over his shoulder.
I grinned with a smug look on my face. “Do you always do that?”
“Do what?”
“The whole model thing you always got going on?”
“Model thing?”
“That pose.” I motioned at him with my hands.
“Only when it feels necessary.”
I shook my head at him and waved him inside.
Two steps into the foyer, Elliot stopped dead in his tracks as Cleo strutted up right next to him and sprawled out on the floor, stretching her legs.
“Uh, are you afraid of cats?”
“No!” he exclaimed defensively. “I’m…no. Why would I be afraid of a tiny cat?”
I huffed out a sigh and tugged at his arm, forcing his feet to move.
“I have something to show you.”
“Uh, okay?”
I pulled him into the library and instructed him to stay there as I quickly dashed out of the room, returning only a few minutes later.
To my surprise, while I was gone, Elliot had arranged a few textbooks along with a printed version of the study guide Mrs. Hawthorne had given us.
I temporarily shrugged off his sudden fascination with AP Lit as I held my hands behind my back.
“What’s behind your back? It’s not a weapon, right?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” I rolled my eyes. “It’s a gift. For you.”
“A gift? Why?”
“Just ‘cause. Think of it as an early Christmas present.”
“But, I didn’t get you anything.”
“Just shut up and close your eyes, Abercrombie.”
He let out a sigh and squeezed his eyes shut as I placed the book into his hands. When he opened his eyes, his face contorted in disbelief as he stared down at his palms.
“A book?”
“Yeah.” I rubbed my forearm awkwardly. “It’s about this kid who gets expelled and tries to figure out his place in the world while protecting his sister. It just reminds me of you a little.”
“Oh.”
I bit my lip, the heat rising to my face. Reaching for the book, my fingertips grazed the cover as I spoke.
“If you don’t want it—”
“No, I do!” He yanked the book away from me. “I just…I wasn’t expecting this. None of my friends have given me presents before.”
“It’s nothing, really.”
“But, it is. Thank you.”
My cheeks felt as if they were being kissed by the devil, deepening my blush. “So, ready to study?”
“Uh, yeah.”
I settled into my usual seat, bringing one of the textbooks closer.
Elliot paused briefly before stowing the book in his backpack and taking a seat next to me. I could tell there was something weighing on his mind, but he remained quiet and left the words to linger on the tip of his tongue.
“Any reason why you wanted to study instead of playing video games? Kinda out of character for you.”
He gave me a smile as I snapped him out of his trance, rescuing him from the thoughts that were consuming him.
“For my sister.”