C J Zane Love

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.Remember, I start back subbing next week, and then I'll actually have time to cook.And I'll probably have the closing shift most weekends.""Jokes on you.I like your cooking.""Not sure if that was a back-handed compliment or a failed insult.Either way, I'll take it.I'm going to change out of my work duds.Dish up dinner and choose which one you want.I assure you I'm happy with either choice."He nodded, and she left.He put first the BBQ burger and fries on a plate, and then did the same with the bacon-wrapped dog and fries.He started to move the burger to his place, but stopped.What if she'd rather have that, despite what she said? He wanted the burger, but he'd enjoy the hot dog, too, especially with the jalapenos.Instead he put both in the center of the table so she could choose.When she walked back in, she rolled her eyes at him and grabbed the hot dog.They sat down and dug in.As always when she brought home unwanted orders, it tasted fine despite sitting under a warmer longer than necessary.He hoped tomorrow, though, that she'd ask him what he wanted because he'd love to have a chili-cheese dog.Not that he'd mention it, but if she brought it up."So," she said after they took a few bites."School.Good?""Yeah.Looks like it'll be a fun year.Calc and Physics are going to be a lot of work, but they should be good challenges.And Comic Book Pop Culture will be great.""Is your teacher going to sit back and set you and Kareem loose?""No," he said with a snort."But Kareem would like that.He's already planning on writing up a list of things Mr.Yong should cover this year.""Ooh, I'm sure Mr.Yong will appreciate that.""Sarcasm thicker than a vat of honey left out on a cold winter morning," he said, chuckling."Now you're getting it.But, seriously, tell Kareem not to do that unless he's specifically asked.Or, if you won't, I will.""I will." He wouldn't, but he doubted Kareem would do it anyway.Mr.Yong's syllabus looked pretty complete.Or at least as complete as they could hope."So school's good academically, but what about the girl situation? Any cute ones in your classes?"Any cute girls? Only the most beautiful, perfect girl in the history of ever."Yeah, I guess.But it's not like I'm going to ask any of them out."She sighed and shook her head."I'm sure plenty of girls would love to go on a date with you.Believe it or not, they're not going to bite your head off.The worst that'll happen is they'll say no.""Actually, they could say 'Hell no,' call me an idiot, and get the whole school to laugh at me." Not that he actually believed that, but it was better than admitting the truth, which was that no one at school could ever match up to Mandy."You know that's not going to happen, right?""Maybe it wouldn't have in your day.""Yeah, way back in my day, the magical late 80s and early 90s, where everyone wore neon spandex and acid wash jean jackets and did the moonwalk to school while banging their head to grunge music."Wyatt barked out a laugh."Wait, I knew about the neon spandex, grunge music, and the moon walking, but acid wash jean jackets?""Oh, you poor, innocent soul.I've sheltered you too much.Besides, today, your day, you'd only get cyber bullied.""Great pep-talk, Mom.That makes me feel so much better.""What? Like that's a big deal for you.You can use your computer wizard skills to stop them.""You mean like blocking and unfriending them?""There you go.See? More than I would have known to do.""Whatever.""All I'm saying is you should enjoy your senior year.Why not get a girlfriend? You haven't had one since you and Mandy Blake were so close in elementary school."Wyatt's face felt like it burst into flames.Maybe Mom wouldn't notice, but there was probably no way she didn't.Heck, the Wilsons across the street probably felt the heat."What? No, she wasn't my girlfriend.She was just a … girl … who was my friend.Same as Luci Velarde.""Sorry, kid, but I remember with probably much more clarity than you.Luci was your friend who was a girl, but Mandy was your girlfriend, even if you were too young to think about it in those terms."He stuffed a few fries into his mouth so he didn't have to say anything for the moment.His mind flashed back to that afternoon when he was eight years old, and Mandy not only said she wanted to marry him some day, but had kissed him.Silly, innocent stuff, but a memory he'd always cherish.How pathetic was that?"Anyway," Mom said, "I won't say any more about it.Just thought you might want a date before high school ended.""I'll keep it in mind."She rolled her eyes."Finish your dinner."They talked more about each other's day while they polished off their meals.After he rinsed the dishes and placed them in the dishwasher, he headed back to his room to finish his homework.His mind flashed back to the day he kissed Mandy.Not because of that, but because of Dad.That was the first time he'd fully realized something was wrong with his parents' relationship.A few months later, they were officially divorced, and less than a year after that, Dad was gone, a victim of a single-person, one-car crash.Well, victim was sort of silly to say.Wyatt doubted it was on purpose, but Dad was fully to blame, as heavily dosed with booze as he was.Everyone was lucky he'd been the only one involved.He took a deep breath and reached for his laptop.He hated thinking about Dad, and did it as little as possible.There were plenty of great memories, but the most vivid ones were from that last year when he'd been drunk more than sober.He clicked on Netflix and pulled up a Buffy episode.That would bury the bad memories for the moment.CHAPTER FIVEMANDYMandy walked towards the school library about fifteen minutes after school ended.The three of them decided to conduct their study sessions every Tuesday and Thursday, starting today.She informed Wyatt and Kareem that she'd be a bit late this afternoon since it was a running day in Sports Conditioning, and she'd have to take a quick shower.It was too hot not to.Kareem said, "Good idea," while Wyatt mumbled something about how it was probably impossible for her to stink.She giggled and told him she had stuff that would make her smell nice, but she'd feel all sweaty and icky, so they could wait.Wyatt had blushed, as he often did around her, which was adorable.She guessed he blushed around most girls.She showered quickly, was done not long after school officially ended, but took a little too much time getting ready.She wanted to look perfect, but not appear like she took any time to make herself that way.Which was stupid since Alex wouldn't be seeing her [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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