Something Else: Chapter Ten

I woke up early the next morning in nervous anticipation for the end of the day. I had everything laid out: my school clothes, backpack, and duffel bag for the trip.

Unfortunately, it would be another hour before my alarm forced me out of bed, so I just laid there and pondered life's questions that I'd been avoiding lately... In other words: What am I going to tell Morgan?

No spectacularly perfect lies came to mind, but I'd need to think of one soon enough when Morgan returned from her trip.

And what about school? What would my parents give as an excuse to miss two weeks--or more--of school?

To whom it may concern, I thought sarcastically, Aubrey's come down with a terrible case of my-family-is-insane-ititis and won't be returning until it's resolved.

I had considered telling her, Morgan. She is, after all, my best friend... but I'd have to talk to Mom and Dad about that. I didn't want her to find out only to be carted off by some secret agency made to keep their world a secret. An uncomfortable idea made its way into my head: Aaron was a... Memory Changer, or whatever... did that mean he'd have to make her forget if I did tell her?

I hadn't realized I'd fallen asleep until the beeping of my alarm startled me awake.
Well, I thought unhappily, the day is starting, whether I want it to or not.

When I came upstairs from my shower, Dad was in the kitchen making bacon-waffles. He had this thing where he sprinkled a bunch of  bacon crumbs into the waffle batter before cooking them, resulting in a mouth-watering breakfast.

"Morning," he said with a secret smile. He knew bacon-waffles would brighten even the worst day of my life, which, coincidentally, could very well have been that day.

I grunted at him thankfully, trudged into the dining room, and sunk into one of the chairs. He came over, wearing his goofy 'Kiss the Cook' apron, and set a plate of bacon-waffles in front of me. He leaned down and kissed the top of my head, then mussed my still-damp hair.

"Meh," I said in protest and smoothed it back down. He just grinned.

"Milk, OJ, or tea?" he asked as he turned and went back into the kitchen.

"Tea," I said through a huge yawn, "Moroccan Mint, if we have it."

With the help of my most favorite breakfast, I slowly woke up.

"Mornin' sunshine," a groggy voice called from the kitchen. I looked up to see Mom, her orange hair sticking up every which-a-way in a bad case of bed-head. She was still in her old, paint-smeared pajamas.

"Hey," I replied suspiciously. Mom was rarely up before nine in the morning, a result of staying up odd hours to work on various paintings. Most likely, she was just up to see me off... We wouldn't be seeing each other for two weeks or more.

She nodded sleepily and took the chair next to me.

"Here ya go, babe," Dad set a hot cup of coffee next to her and gave her a good-morning kiss.
"Not at the table," I teased quietly, earning me a pus
h from Dad before he sat at the head of the table, with me and Mom on either side of him.
"So," he started brightly, "Today's the big day."

I groaned. "As if I could forget." I only had around eight hours left before Aaron and whoever else picked me up. Who knows what we'd do after that. Probably head straight to the airport.

"You'll be fine," he assured me, but looked a little unsure. "However," he said as he checked his watch, "you might be late for the bus if you don't leave now."

"Which means you're almost late, too," I reminded him teasingly.

He shook his head. "I have the day off, but I go back in tomorrow."

I frowned. I thought I had his schedule memorized. Huh.

"Do you want a ride?" Dad asked hopefully. "I could go grab a shower right quick and get some clothes on."

"No thanks," I replied, knowing if I agreed he would unintentionally make me late, "I wanna be early." I shouldered my backpack and duffel bag and started out the door.

"Woah, now," Dad said and grabbed the strap. "Where do ya think you're going with that?" Before I could reply, he continued, "You're picking it up after school."

"Oh," I said with a frown. "Well, good. I was kind of worried people would ask why I was carrying a duffle bag around."

He smiled, but it was more of an I-thought-you-said-you-were-smart look than a genuine grin. "Well, see ya in a few hours," he said as he gave me a bear-hug.

Mom stepped forward and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Bye, baby."



After I got off of the bus, I stopped by the lunchroom and grabbed an orange juice. Half-way to first period, I started to notice there were less and less people in the hallway.

"Rapidamente, Aubrey," Señor Juarez warned as I passed him, "No quieres estar tarde!"

I picked up the pace and rushed down the hall. If I'd been even a few seconds later, I would've been late. Thankfully, the bell rang just as I stepped in and Mrs. Hall let me go to my seat without hassle.

She eyed my orange juice suspiciously. In her room, there was a strict no-food, no-drink policy, but because I was one of her best students, she let it slide every once in a while.

It being Friday, we had a chapter test. Mrs. Hall told us all to log onto the math website and begin. Before I started, though, I checked my E-mail. There wasn't anything new from Morgan.

Hope she's having fun, I thought as I opened my drink and took a few gulps.

I closed E-mail and opened the test. The first question read, Graph the quadratic: x^2 + 7x - 34

I sighed. Even though it was relatively easy material, my mind was refusing to concentrate. I took a mouthful of drink and held it in my mouth, savoring the tangy sweetness.

My gaze drifted over to Aaron's desk in the back of the room. He was working, just like every other day he'd ever been at school. I almost choked on my orange juice when he turned his head around, winked, then resumed his usual position.

I looked around, sure that someone would've see what he'd done. Not a single person was gaping or staring, so it was safe to assume that nobody else saw.

Reluctantly, I turned back to the test and forced myself to concentrate.

By lunch, I just wanted to go home. I was alone at my table because Morgan was gone, Dalton was sick, and everyone else had gone on the tenth-grade field trip. The only thing I had to look forward to was band, but even that wouldn't be as fun without Morgan to make faces with.

"Hey "

I looked up. It was Jessie. "Hey," I replied with a giddy smile. It was amazing how quickly he could brighten my day.

"What's up?" he asked casually as he sat down across from me.

I shrugged. "Not much. You?"

"Nothing. Just messing with you." He raised an eyebrow and smiled. "You can sit with me, ya know? Don't have to sit all by your lonesome."

I smiled and cast a glance back at his table. It was teeming with football players. "No room," I replied with the beginning of a blush.

He shrugged. "Guess I'll be sitting here, then." He propped his head up with his elbows.

I upgraded to a full-blown blush. "I'm fine on my own," I reassured him, only lying a little bit. "I like the quiet. Better for reading." I picked up my book and waved it as proof. I noticed the title, Ransom My Heart, and quickly slid it into my backpack.
Great… One of the few times I read straight-up romance and I get caught.

Jessie gasped theatrically. "Did Aubrey finally get a date?"

God, I wish I wasn't a freaking red-head, I thought angrily. All this freaking blushing...

"Oh yeah," I answered coyly. "A hot date."

"With whom, if I may ask?" he inquired in a posh accent.

I bit my lip, tempted to say Aaron. "My dad," I finally said with a shrug. "We're going... shopping. For carpenter supplies," I added quickly.

"Oh," he said with a smile. "Good. Didn't want to whoop anyone's ass today."

I blushed again. That is, if I ever stopped blushing around him.

A ridiculous pouty-face drew my attention back to him. "Are you sure you can't make it?" he asked again. "Does he really need your help? Or could you just put it off an hour?"

"Unfortunately, no," I muttered and twirled my fork in my chicken Alfredo. "Oh my God," I exclaimed in irritation, "these freaking short noodles!"

"Anger issues much?" he teased and cocked an eyebrow.

"It's just... they're so freaking hard to get wrapped around the fork." I smiled reluctantly as the they slid off right before I got them in my mouth.

He chuckled, patting my hand in faux sympathy. "You'll get it, don't worry."

I sighed as I picked the fallen noodles off of my pants and grabbed my napkin. "It's a good thing I got Alfredo instead of red sauce, huh?"

"Yup. And speaking of Alfredo..." Jessie sighed, "I've got to meet Mr. Alfie. I promised him I'd help set up for the pep rally today."

My spirits sank. "Well, I guess I'll see you later, then."

Jessie's smile grew a fraction. "If you eat quickly, you could join us." He stood and added, "If you want."

"Okay," I said with renewed energy. "I'll be there in a sec."

He laughed as he walked away. "If you can get those noodles to behave!"

I grinned and turned to my food with determination.