Hi everyone,
Sorry for the delayed posting. I've been busy at my job and that has caused me to have less time to work on the story. A few of you have actually taken the time to message me asking about when the next chapter will come out and while I appreciate you guys contacting me I honestly shrugged because I didn't have a good answer. Believe me when I say I've been counting the days after the two-week period hit and now that it's almost hitting the two month period, it's really become a constant reminder for me that I really need to get the next chapter(s) out ASAP.
I've been debating with myself back and forth now on whether or not I should just keep writing this current chapter as is or split it up into separate chapters. I admit I was really leaning towards the one huge chapter but I now see that that's probably not the best plan right now as I don't have that many opportunities to just put all my attention and focus on this story. And so with that I've decided that I'm going to just split up the current chapter into three parts so you guys have something to read during my writing drought.
Below is the status of the three parts:
Part one is finished and is the part you all will soon read.
Part two is currently being written, although it's still only in the beginning.
Part three has not been started on.
If you have any questions for me or if you would like to drop a comment about this story, go ahead and drop me message anytime. I really do appreciate the feedback that you guys have about the story and the characters. Well enough of my ranting. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I can't wait to hear from you guys.
Chapter 16: In My Blood
Remember when I said that I'd have time to do the rest of my homework after my time with Carver? I lied. Well actually I forgot. We both forgot, my mom included. She dropped us both off at Carver's so that she and Paul could continue their date. With Carver's grandparents still being out, let's just say he finally got that release he's been edging to blow since that way too awkward encounter. We spent the rest of the night just talking in his bed, well I was talking. He was just blissfully staring into my eyes and rubbing my arm the whole time. It was getting incredibly late and I thought it was a sign that I was going to sleep in his arms but right when I was about ready to close my eyes, my mom called saying that she was outside.
So I'm supposed to be meeting Lulu here in an hour but I don't think it's humanly possible for me to type out four pages on a book report that I don't even remember reading in class. All I've been doing is splitting my time between looking blankly at my screen and admiring the black Christmas tree on my dresser. Also what happened to everything being about Shakespeare? My mind is buzzing with knowledge about his work and the book we apparently read at the start of the year was Lord of the Flies. I guess I could always bullshit my way through it but now that Paul and I are, in some weird turn of events, friends or at least on out of school speaking terms, he'd frown upon that and probably wouldn't even take pity on me.
Why can't I remember what it's about? Oh right, it's all because of him. My body may have been present but all my attention went to him. I'm surprised Paul even put up with us for so long. I can't believe I'm even calling Mr. Lane by his first name. I always thought it was weird to call teachers by their first name. It's all thanks to my mom. The second half of this year has been really weird, but a good weird.
As I continued to stare blankly at the screen hoping that the words would somehow come out of me, I heard a sudden tap on my window. Well it wasn't so much of a tap but more like something small and hard hit my window. I can't imagine anyone tapping my window as my room is directly above the garage. So what could it be? Dear god I hope it's not that awful smelling ghost or whatever it was. Please tell me it's not that damn creepy ghost.
As my mind began to imagine that foul smelling ghost lingering just outside my window, possibly even the face would be right behind the blinds. I shuddered at the thought that I would be haunted by yet another spirit. My right hand trembled as I reached for the pulley. Shakily I pulled down on the pulley watching the blinds slowly rise away from the base of the window. I fully expected for the ghost to be staring back at me but no, nothing but snow. But again there was a tap on my window but this time I noticed that someone had chucked a small rock against my window. Pulling the away at the latch with my right hand, I then lifted my window up. When I stuck my head out the window, my face was met with an ice cold snowball.
"Took you long enough! Let's go already!" Lulu yelled from below me tossing another snowball back and forth between her gloved hands. She was dressed in a dark blue gray quilted coat with the dark brown faux fur trim hood over her head. She had dark blue jeans with black suede boots. For someone who's lived here all her life, she sure as hell could never handle the cold.
"I-I can't," I said wiping the now partially melted snow off of my face. "I'm still under house arrest."
"You couldn't have texted me this before I walked here? You know I hate the cold!"
"Sorry! I thought that I'd have everything done before you got here but I'm stuck."
She let out a loud exaggerated groan as she knocked her head back causing her hood to slip off revealing a floral silk scarf wrapped around the top of her head. She looked me directly in the eyes and asked me, "How much do you have left?"
"I just have a paper but I don't remember reading the book in class and I can't figure out how to bullshit my way through it."
"Well how about you open the door for me and we'll go from there. Sound good?" she said as she pulled her hood back up and walked up the stone steps.
I quickly shut the window and rushed over to the front door letting her in. As soon as the door opened, she quickly latched onto me.
"Wh-What are you doing?"
"I'm cold. Mind if I leech off your warmth for a second?" she asked as she shivered into me. "And close the door! You're letting all the heat out!"
I rolled my eyes and reached for the door. It was a little awkward with Lulu on me restricting the mobility of my limbs. I basically had to wiggle to the door as I had a little parasite on me. As soon as I closed the door she released her hold on me and walked herself to my room. I followed her back to my room and as soon as we walked through the door, she situated herself at my desk.
"So what is it exactly that you're stuck on?" she asked as she spun herself around while seated.
"Uhh Lord of the Flies," I answered sitting at the edge of my bed.
"Lord of the Flies? Fang that's so easy! That's like a two hour read. How are you stuck?" she asked shocked.
"Well I don't remember reading it. It was back in September too. Anyway I don't have the book so I'm stuck on figuring out how to write this paper when I have no recollection of it whatsoever," I said defensively.
"What about cliff notes? Did you even try to google anything about the book?"
"Cliff notes?"
"You don't know what that is, do you?"
"No. I think I've heard the term before but I've never used whatever they are."
Lulu pushed her first two fingers of both hands into her temples as she stared at the ground. She sighed and then said, "God where did I go wrong with you? Look why don't I just do your paper for you? I can get it done in half an hour, an hour tops."
"You're gonna do my homework for me? Doesn't this go against your code of ethics? I thought you hated it when people do other people's work."
"It does and I do but I'm not about to walk my ass back home when I know damn well that they'll just put me back to work. So just for today, I'll look past my code and do this. Don't worry I'll make sure to make it sound like you wrote it. You know, excessively using a lot of small words to fill up a page. I promise you'll get an A though," she said as she started typing away. "Hey, I'm starving. Got anything to eat?"
"Uh sure. You know I think I have the perfect thing in mind. I'll be right back," I said as I hopped off the bed, walked out the door, and walked straight into the kitchen.
I wasn't really sure how hungry Lulu was but I hope she was okay with what I was thinking. Opening the fridge door, I grabbed the brown paper bag, closed the door, and walked back to my room.
"That was fast," she said keeping her eyes on the screen.
Reaching into the partially crumpled bag, I pulled out a sandwich bag and pulled apart at the seam. Tossing the brown bag onto my bed I began to tear the sandwich in two and as soon as I offered her the other half I already had one end of the sandwich in my room. Mmm so good. As I was savoring the first bite, I looked back at her with her disappointed expression.
"What?" I asked with my mouth full.
"Peanut butter banana again?"
"Yeah, and? What's wrong with that?" I asked finally swallowing the first bite.
"Look, I know you love him and everything but do you really have to have his weird sandwich everyday? What happened to the blueberry lemon muffins? Let's go back to that," she said handing me back the other half. "What's your mom doing? Do you think you could ask her to make those for us?"
"She's not home," I said hopping up onto my bed and taking another bite. "Paul decided to take her out on some outdoor excursion into the woods. I don't know why though. There's not really anything out there besides the river stream. I guess if they go deep enough they'd reach the lake but it probably froze over by now."
"Wait, she's not even here? Why am I even typing this right now? Let's just go!" she said as she turned the chair facing me.
"We can't."
"Why not? Who's stopping you?"
"My mom. She had me share my location with her before she left. Even though she's not here, she can monitor my every move."
"Just leave your phone."
"Okay but what if she calls? What do you think's gonna happen if I don't answer? I'm trying to undo the shackles, not add more weight to these chains."
"Ugh fine!" she groaned. "Well is there anything else to eat here besides that thing you call a sandwich?"
"Uh there is but it would require me to cook and last time I checked, I don't know how to cook."
"I find that very hard to believe. It's in your blood. Think about it. Your mom knows how to bake and the bitch who shall not be named knew how to cook. Oh man, I miss her egg rolls so much. I'm literally salivating just thinking about them. But don't ever tell her," she said wagging her pointer finger at me. "Can't give that bitch anymore power."
"And by that logic, you should also know how to cook. I mean your grandma owns her own restaurant and you work there. But last time I checked you can't even make toast."
"Okay that happened one time! Are you always going to bring that up? Why don't you just try and make something? You owe me. I am doing your homework."
"Ugh fine! But if you die, you're not allowed to haunt me. I have enough trouble with lingering spirits as is," I said as I placed my half eaten sandwich half and the other half on the crumpled brown bag.
As soon as I walked out of my room, I wish I had taken my sandwich with me. It's not like Lulu's gonna eat it anyway. She didn't have to turn her nose up at it either though. She could have just said no. And what does she mean by "again?" Okay fine, I do have this sandwich everyday for lunch but it's not because I miss him or anything; I genuinely like it, well love would be a better word for it. I probably wouldn't have ever thought of the combination of banana and peanut butter had it not been for him though and I appreciate him for sharing me his childhood dish with me. It's become a staple for me. I guess I would call it my favorite thing to eat now. Lulu would probably call it an addiction though. But so what? It's damn good.
As I continued to think about that sandwich, I found myself pacing back and forth in the kitchen.
"Okay what am I gonna make?" I said to myself. "Lulu mentioned those blueberry lemon muffins my mom use to make all the time so maybe I could make that? Wait no that's too hard and will take way too long and I don't even know how to make it. I guess I could always text her and ask how to make it. Nah I can't bother her right now. Don't want to be a cock block again. Okay if I'm not making muffins what can I make that would be considered breakfast and would be really quick? Think Fang! Oh I can make pancakes! Those are easy right? Okay YouTube work your magic!"
Pulling my phone out of my pajama pocket, I quickly looked for a basic pancake recipe. I could always add my own flare later. There were so many videos on how to make pancakes. I didn't know which one to pick, so I went with the one that had the most views. It had to be good with all those views right? It was a pretty short video so I had to watch it a few times. They went pretty fast but it looked pretty straight forward. Just mix, pour, and cook. I could do that. That's easy. Once I got the recipe, I checked around the pantry and the fridge to make sure we had all the necessary ingredients and we do. Thank god mom's a baker.
"Okay I can do this right? I just have to do what everyone always tells me to do, to believe in myself. Let's hope Lulu's right and cooking is somehow in my blood," I said to myself again but this time pushing the tops of my fingers against my palms. This is what people do when they pump themselves up right? Cracking knuckles is a thing, right? I. Got. This.
Skimming over the video again just to make sure I remember everything correctly, I started on making the batter. I couldn't for the life of me find the measuring cups or spoons so I eyeballed everything and that only upped my current level of anxiety. Somehow while I was pouring out the flour into my bowl, it shot back up and dusted not only me but also the counter. There was flour everywhere and when I say everywhere I mean everywhere. Maybe this is why people wear aprons so they don't make a mess like I am right now. I don't know why but I was suddenly reminded of when Al gave me a makeover for homecoming. Eating raw flour reminded me of eating whatever powder he used on me that day.
Once I got my mountain of flour in the bowl I added the rest of the ingredients into the bowl. If it weren't for the egg, it'd just be a bowl full of white powder in a small white puddle. With a whisk in hand, I began to whisk all the ingredients together until they were all incorporated. I'm not sure how thick the batter is supposed to be but it was somewhere in the middle, not too thick but not too thin. Why do I suddenly sound like Goldilocks? They didn't show it in the video so I guess I'll have to carry on with what I have. With my batter done, I squatted down to open one of the cabinets with all the pans in it. I grabbed a long rectangular pan like the one I saw in the video. I placed that on the stovetop with a pad of butter on low heat since I don't want anything to burn knowing me, I could easily burn the house down if I'm not too careful.
With the pan on the burner, I tried to find something that I could use to scoop the batter out and into the pan. As I was pulling out each and every drawer in the kitchen, I eventually stumbled upon the measuring cups and spoons. Why didn't I do this earlier? Ugh. I grabbed the 1/2 cup and scooped as much batter that could fit and then poured it into the pan trying to keep it in somewhat of a circular shape. I continued to do this three more times so I had four in the pan. I instantly jumped back each time thinking that the now melted butter would spit back at me but it didn't. So I squealed like a wimp for nothing. Thank god no one was here to witness any of that.
"Now comes the hard part. When am I supposed to flip this?" I asked myself.
Biting down at my bottom lip and tapping my right foot, I anxiously watched the batter sizzle in the pan as I tried to think about flipping strategy. I went back to the video and again they didn't show this step. I'm beginning to think I chose the wrong video and this is going to end up really bad. I decided to just flip them now since they seemed okay. Although I have no real basis for my thought process on this. I went ahead and tried to flip each one but ended up with all of them still very raw, barely cooked on the bottom. I couldn't even flip them properly. They all just pushed aside when I tried to flip them.
"Crap," I huffed. Grabbing one of the kitchen towels I wiped away the failed first attempts, starting anew. I turned the temperature up to high and threw down yet another pad of butter. It melted quickly and it bubbled about the surface. I poured out another set of four. Each time I poured out some batter, I could hear the sizzling of the pan. That had to be a good sign. I stepped aside for a second to around the fridge for some syrup when I could smell this sooty scent. When I looked back from the fridge there was smoke accumulating from the pan. When I went to flip them, they were burnt on the bottom.
"Oh god!" I whined. Lulu was wrong this is turning out to be a shit show. "Fuuuuuuck I failed again! Why is this so hard?"
Pacing back and forth, I tried to figure out if I wanted to even pursue this anymore but in the back of my mind I could hear him, hear Carver, encouraging me. So I let out a heavy sigh and turned the pan to medium. Well third time's the charm right?
"Okay, let's try this again," I said as I began to pour the batter out again. "This has to work. There's nothing left now. Universe if you're listening, I could really use a miracle right now."
There was a sizzle again but not as heavy as the last. It was a softer sizzle. Instead of stepping away, I watched intently as I didn't want to have another burnt batch. As I watched the pancakes, I could see these bubbles form on the top of each pancake. Well they weren't so much bubbles but more like popped air pockets. I grabbed the spatula and slid it under one of the pancake with ease. That had to be a good sign since it didn't stick to the pan or look burnt on the bottom so I just kinda nudged it over and found that golden brown color that all the chefs on Food Network talk about.
"Thank god it's not burnt. One crisis averted," I said as I let out a sigh of relief. I stepped back into the fridge to look for the syrup again only to find out that we had none. "Crap, now what am I going to do?"
I sighed again but this time it was because I added yet another task to my plate. I can't just serve them plain without any syrup. Fuck! Wait maybe I can make one of those fruity sauce things that I see on those cooking competition shows. Is it a jam? No. Jel--no not that either. Crap let's just call it a fruit sauce for now. I can figure out the actual name for it later. Wait how do you make one? It looked so easy on the shows. Maybe I should look that up too. No, I've gotta believe in myself. I got this. I'll wing it. This is where I'm gonna bring my own flare to it.
Digging through the fridge again, I found a carton of blueberries and then it hit me, I could make my mom's muffins but in these pancakes. It probably won't taste the same but I can make my own version of it. I grabbed a handful of lemons and then ripped off a couple sprigs of fresh mint from my mom's herb garden that sat upon the window sill above the kitchen sink.
Squatting down again, I grabbed a small saucepan and dumped half of the remaining blueberries in there, squeezed some lemon juice, threw in two spoonfuls of sugar, the zest of one lemon for that extra lemony kick, and the leaves of the mint. I hope this will have an essence of my mom's muffin recipe. I placed that on the burner next to the pan and put it on the trusty medium heat. Again I waited for things to bubble, although somewhat different this time around. With a rubber spatula, I started to stir everything together as the berries started to macerate in a mix of both the lemon juice and through their own juice as some of the berries had burst under the heat.
Switching heat to low, I started plating the pancakes. Just as I started placing each pancake on top of each other on a plate Lulu came into the kitchen loudly sniffing the air.
"It smells so good in here but I can smell something else, something faint. Did you burn something in here?" She asked as she continued to sniff around like bloodhound. She came up behind me as her eyes locked onto the pancakes. Quickly, she snatched the plate out of my hands walking straight out of the kitchen while saying, "I'll take that!"
I quickly sent her back a dirty look as I watched her breathe in and salivate over the tower of pancakes right in front of her. Maybe I should have saved a couple of the burnt ones so she wouldn't be so eager to take them away from me.
"Don't eat it yet! It's not finished!" I yelled as I shifted my focus onto the sauce.
"Well hurry up then! I sent in your paper already and you're still not done."
"Well sorry, I didn't know that there was a time limit. I'm literally pulling this out of my ass right now," I said as I came around the corner and scooped a generous amount of the sauce on top of the pancakes. I went back into the kitchen to grab a knife and fork for her which I then placed on the table in front of her.
"Wait this is all from scratch?" she asked surprised even though she was the one who told me earlier that this sort of skill was somehow imbued into my blood.
"Well I looked up a recipe for the pancakes, but the sauce I winged. But remember I don't cook so if you die, no haunting. We made a deal already."
"Don't be so dramatic. There's no way I'm going to die from pancakes," she said rolling her eyes as she began to cut into it.
"Careful it's still hot," I warned her.
"Don't worry. I've burned my tongue so many times back at the restaurant that I'm pretty sure I'll be fine. But just to safe," she said as she blew onto the first cut then shoved the first bite into her mouth. As soon as the fork slid off of her lips, she had this look of intense bliss as she tilted her head back and her eyes rolled back. "Oh my god!"
"Judging by your look, I'm assuming it's good?" I asked trying to get confirmation as I awkwardly scratched the back of my head.
"Pancakes? Mmm they're...okay, but this sauce here, it's so good. It reminds me of your mom's but elevated, but don't tell her that. I still want her to make those muffins whenever she gets the chance. Don't you think so? What did you think about the sauce?"
"Thank you?" I said as it didn't seem like a compliment. "Uh I don't know, I didn't taste it or well anything. Was I supposed to?"
"Yes! You should always taste your food when you're cooking," she said as she scooped up as much of the sauce onto her fork and then shoved it straight into my mouth. At first I was mildly annoyed that she just did that but as I let the sauce just sit on my tongue I began to understand her stance on it. It was like a flavor bomb went off in my mouth.
"Oh my god!" I cried as I finally swallowed the entirety of the saucy goodness and wiping away at the remnants that I'm sure were oozing out from my lips. "I can't believe I made this."
"You know Grams has been looking for an apprentice. She'll get a good kick out of this when I tell her that the person she's been looking for has been right in front of her for all these years."
"M-Me? Her apprentice? N-No way. I-I'm not good for that. You know me. I-I crumble under pressure. An-And who knows, this is probably just beginner's luck or something. And what about Dante? I thought he was going to inherit the business after he graduates."
"Trust me on this, he doesn't want it and it shows. He's been slacking lately. I don't what's going on with him but Grams is not happy with him right now. Anyways you're a way better cook than he is and this is just day one."
"But I looked up the recipe. I didn't you know--"
"I know. Like I said the pancakes are decent if I'm being perfectly honest but the sauce? That's the real star. I can see your potential in being a really great chef. Trust me, I think I know a thing or two about food. I may not know how to cook like Grams but I know good food when I taste it."
"You really think so?"
"For the millionth time, yes," she said as she stood up just to firmly grasp me at the arms. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm about to devour this whole thing."
She sat back down and as she was about to cut up her pancakes again, she paused and asked, "Where's Carver? I figured he'd be here by now."
"He's not invited."
I didn't think anything could stop her from finishing her food but after what I said she stopped and the way her mind was trying to process what I said reminded me a lot of that GIF of where that old lady is thinking and there's all these mathematical equations twirling around her. She was absolutely dumbfounded.
"What do you mean he's not invited? He's always with you."
"I know, I just figured we haven't had a day where it's just us. I don't want you to always feel like the third wheel."
"Fang, that thought has never crossed my mind, not ever. I have absolutely no animosity towards him. If you want, I'll text him myself. It's weird when it's not the three of us together. It's the three amigos or bust."
"Y-You sure?"
"Yes I'm sure, you idiot! Go call your man! Shoo! Go on!" she said as she shook her head and went back to the pancakes but then she paused and turned back to me. "Hey, did you want some of this? I can half it."
"No, it's fine. I'm just going to go back and finish my sandwich."
"You'd rather have that instead of this? Well more for me I guess."
Sighing, I walked backed into my room and hopped into bed where I had left my sandwiches. They were still where I left them and untouched. Good to know Lulu wouldn't eat something she doesn't like no matter how hungry she says she is. I took a bite into my sandwich as I swiped through my phone, tapped into my favorites list, and tapped at his number. Number one on my list for obvious reasons.
"Hey babe! I didn't expect to hear from you today. Everything okay?" he said through the phone.
"Oh y-yeah about that, um I was wondering if you're doing anything today? If you're free, wanna hang out with me and Lulu today. I know I said that you couldn't come today but well let's just forget that I ever said something that stupid."
"I wish you would have called me earlier. My grandparents sent me out on some errands and I think I won't be done until later today."
"Oh, well shit. It's not a big deal I guess. I'll see Monday then."
"Wa-Wait!"
"Huh?"
"Well don't you want to talk to me a little more? What are you two up to today?"
"Oh well I thought you were busy so I just didn't want to pull you away from it. But uh I actually don't know what we're doing today. We haven't really talked about it. She just got here not too long ago. Oh but I did find out that I'm kinda sorta decent at this cooking thing though," I said as I took another bite out of my sandwich.
"Oh yeah? What'd you make and are you going to make it for me one of these days?"
"Oh nothing fancy, just pancakes with a blueberry lemon sauce. Lulu said it's like an elevated version my mom's muffins so that was like an extra boost of confidence. But maybe she was just buttering me up."
"I haven't known her for very long but I don't think that's the kind of thing she does. She's one of the most authentic people I've ever met. So if she says it's good, it's good. My boyfriend the chef. Has a nice ring to it don't you think?"
"Hey, I'm not a chef yet," I added as his words made me blush.
"But you could be. Maybe we could reopen my grandma's place, with her approval of course, but that'll be easy peasy."
"Oh? And what are you going to do?"
"I'll be your lovely assistant of course!"
I bet he's smiling on the other end right now. I could hear it in his voice. I wish I could see it right now. Dammit why didn't I just FaceTime him.
"Oh yeah? I guess I could always use an assistant especially if they look as good as you."
"Then it's a deal. We'll open her bakery back up. You'll be the brains of the operation and I'll man the front and when you're not looking I'll be sampling everything you make. We'll be the perfect team."
All I could do was laugh. He's always putting us in these future situations that I could never see myself in. He really makes me want to never leave this place and quite frankly, I don't think I ever will now.
"Okay well I really should get back to my errands. It was really nice to hear from you. I know we hung out yesterday but I already miss hearing your voice and seeing you. You calling me really made my day."
"I feel the same way about you. I love you."
"I love you too. I'll call you once I'm finished with my errands. Maybe if you two are still hanging out later, I can show up later?"
"Yeah that sounds good, great even."
"Okay, I'll talk to you later babe. Love you."
"Love you," I said as the call ended. I set out a sigh of relief as I took the last bite of one of the halves.
"You guys done being all lovey dovey and gross?" Lulu asked leaning against the doorframe sucking what I assumed was the blueberry sauce off of her fingers.
"Oh god! How long have you been standing there?" I asked spooked and coughing from choking on my food.
"Long enough to want to gag myself. So are we meeting him or is he coming here?"
"He can't make it. He's doing some errands right now so I guess it's just you and me. He said he'll try to hang with us later though so there's that."
"What? No! Damn, know anyone else with a car?"
"Wait did you only want me to invite him so he could drive us around?"
"I mean...well how else are we going to get to the mall? I'm not walking for an hour just to have to carry all it back. Did I forget to mention that I. Hate. Winter?"
She's right. The mall is in another town over which we could get to in about twenty minutes or so by car but to walk there? We'd have to take so many detours since the best way to get there is through I-70. We'd probably have to cut through the forest again and last time I checked, that's a big no for me.
"Well what about Dante? Can't he take us?" I asked. He's the only other person I know who drives and probably wouldn't mind being used like this.
"I guess he could. He's working right now though," she said as she looked at her phone. "He usually takes his break around this time. Let me call him and see if can."
Lulu wandered off aways into the hallway to where I could no longer see her from my bed but I could still hear her although I couldn't really make out the words. What? If she can eavesdrop on my conversation, I can eavesdrop on her too. Her conversation is probably less "interesting" than mine was though. After a few moments, she came back with a wicked grin on her face.
"I'm assuming he said yes?"
"Yeah he did and we don't even have to leave because he's going to pick us up."
"Don't tell me, you're blackmailing him?"
Lulu and Dante have always been this way, even when we were kids. Dante would do something and Lulu would find a way to use it to her advantage. Either Dante doesn't learn from his mistakes or he doesn't mind being used.
"You say blackmail, I say persuaded. The way I see it, he owes me for all the times I had to cover for him when he would sneak out in the middle of the night. You know, if you weren't so oblivious and if you weren't with Carver, he'd probably sneak out to see you too."
"What? Lulu he's like a brother to me."
"And? My cousin's a hoe. And I've seen him eye fuck you more than I'd like. But what can you do when a guy thinks with what's in his pants instead of what's in his head?"
"Lulu!" I screamed throwing one of my pillows at her. "Oh god, how am I going to face him now?"
"Just shake it off, it's not a big deal," she paused. "Also I'm fucking with you," she said as she started laughing uncontrollably. So bad in fact that she even snorted right at the end. "You should have seen your face! God could you imagine if he really did like you though?" She paused again causing her demeanor to change from a playful one to a malicious, serious one. "I would kill him. Let me reiterate. I. Will. Kill. Him."
"I hate you so much right now," I groaned as I lied back onto my bed.
Lulu climbed in bed with me and laid her head on my chest. She then turned to me and said, "I'm not joking, you know. If I find out he likes you, I will kill him."
"Like that's ever going to happen," I shrugged. "If he liked me, he would have made a move by now."
"It's probably because of Carver."
"What do mean? Carver's new here and Dante's known me my whole life and he hasn't made a single peep."
"That you know of. Remember, you're a little dense when it comes to boys."
"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever but if you think about it I'm a guy. My kind is known for mistaking friendliness for attraction. So I think every guy who's nice to me likes me when that's never the case except for Carver."
"For once, I'll admit you're right. Why are guys like that?"
"I don't know but can we change the subject?"
"Okay okay fine. Hm. What are you getting me for Christmas?"
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yes!" she squealed as she rolled off of me only to lie on her belly, holding her head up on her propped up palms. "Give it to me! Wait, no! I need to be surprised."
"Good cause I wasn't gonna tell you," I said pushing myself off the bed as I heard someone pull up on the driveway. "That was fast."
"Tell Dante I'll be out in a bit. I'm going to go use the bathroom really quick," she said as she slid off the bed and walked straight to the bathroom across the hall.
I quickly changed out of my pajamas and slipped into some jeans, my boots, and my beanie. Walking out of my room, I was surprised to walk right into my mom. So I guess that's not Dante outside, but instead Mr. Lane/Paul.
"Heeeeeeey mom," I said as I awkwardly propped myself up with my elbow against the wall. "What are you doing home?"
"I came to check up on you but you look like you're dressed to go somewhere. I thought we agreed you can't go anywhere until all your homework's done?"
"About that. I actually finished my paper and got it submitted and everything."
She stood there with her arms crossed with squinted eyes. I guess she didn't believe me. She has every right to be too. Hell I wouldn't believe me right now.
"I swear it's done. You can check it yourself if you want to," I said motioning us back to my room.
"Don't mind if I do," she said as she slid past me and sat at my desk. Crap I forgot Lulu wrote it. Let's hope she did a good enough job to fool the likes of my own mother.
"What's that look for?" she asked as she looked up from the screen.
"Huh? Wh-What look?"
"You look nervous. What are you hiding from me?" she asked staring at me intensely.
Just as she asked that, the toilet flushed intensifying the fire in my mom's eyes.
"Who's in the bathroom? Is that Carver? I thought we talked about this. You can't have him over when you have homework."
"I-I promise it's not Carver," I said panicked with my hands up.
Her eyes shifted to the door as it began to open, Lulu peaked her head out saying, "So what'd I miss?"
"See, not Carver."
"Hi Lulu," my mom said softening her glare.
"Oh hi Miss Winters. How'd your date go with Mr. Lane?" she asked while moving her eyebrows up and down in that suggestive way.
"It's still on but to answer your question it's going very well. Thank you for asking. I just stopped by to check up on Fang. I wanted to make sure he actually finished his work since I know he can be easily distracted."
"I know exactly what you mean," Lulu added.
"What am I, invisible? I'm standing right here!"
My mom switched her gaze back at the screen. She continued to scan "my" work as her mouth constantly shifted side to side. At one point she looked back at me only to shake her head. Crap the illusion didn't work on her. She then stood up from the desk and again looked intensely at me.
"I wish you'd remember to proofread before you submit your work. You had a few misspellings in there. But everything checks out so I guess you're free to go. Where are you two planning on going today?"
"There's what now?" I asked glaring at Lulu.
"Oh we're going to the mall to do our Christmas shopping. My cousin Dante is on his way to come pick us up so you don't have to worry about dropping us off," Lulu said patting me on the back.
"That reminds me, I still have to get everything off my list. Maybe I'll see you two there," she said as she walked past us. Before my mom walked out the door she managed to say, "Don't forget your jacket! It's very cold out today."
Lulu walked back towards the bed and jumped in immediately going on her phone. I leaned against the doorframe on the left side of my body and continued to send telepathic daggers at Lulu.
"I forgot to proofread?" I finally let out.
"What? I said I was going to make it look like you wrote it."
"I still know how to proofread. I'm not that dumb," I said irritated.
"Who said you were dumb? I was just writing the way you write. Nothing wrong with how you write, but it's not the best," she said tapping away at her phone. "And besides I clearly did something right since your mom didn't suspect a thing."
"I guess, but couldn't you have made it look like I just wrote it without the mistakes?"
"That's what I did. I wrote it in your style but I also wrote it like you rushed the whole thing because you were tired of writing it. You can't tell me that's not how you were going to write it," she said finally sitting up and putting down her phone. "I meant no harm Fang. I just wrote it the way I thought you were going to write it. If I had written it any differently, it'd send red flags all over the place. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings but that wasn't my intention."
"You're right. Sorry. I just don't like to look dumb in front of other people especially my mom."
"Again who said you're dumb? Being dumb and rushing are two separate things. Besides when you pass the class for the semester, this whole `I'm dumb' outlook that you have will blow over," she said as she walked up to me and placed both hands on the sides of my face. "You are smart. You just have to apply yourself and not be so distracted by a certain boy we both know and love."
"Okay, you can let go of my face now!" I said as I heard tire tracks again in the driveway. This time it led with a few honks of a car horn. Instead of listening to me, she took her cues from the outside but at least she go of my face.
"That's Dante, time to go," she said running out of the house.
"Here we go again," I said to myself.