Chapter Seven - Promise

Carla hesitates.

June 8th, 2016


                 Before Carla knew it, June had arrived. There were only a couple weeks until the school year ended, and Carla could tell that the whole student population knew it. Garbage and recycling bins were full to the brim with old binders, folders, and papers, and the library was in a similar situation, but instead full to the brim with students desperately studying for their final exams. Mallory, with her ridiculously full coarse load, was one of the many students who was in that situation. Her absence during the lunch breaks was upsetting to Carla, but she enjoyed the company of the rest of the friend group, all of whom were just as indifferent about exams as Carla.

The friend group had mostly stayed the same since middle school; the mischievous and playful Lauren, the tall and awkward Jake, Olivia who was always so polite and kind, and of course, the chatty and curious Jesse. Sunflower Shores was a small town, so most friend groups apparently stayed the same throughout the years. However, there were a couple new additions to the friend group once high school had started, but Carla had not yet gotten many opportunities to get to know them. There was Allen, who was friendly and pretty funny too, but he tended to stick to Olivia, much like how Carla was mainly at Mallory's side. There was Kimmy as well, who was fairly nice, but only showed up at the friend group every few days or so. Carla hadn't really seen her enough for the girl to make an impression on her yet. All she knew was that she had moved to Sunflower Shores from somewhere across the ocean, and that she had a quiet voice with a bit of an accent that Carla couldn't place. She wanted to get to know Kimmy more, as they had both come from Sunflower Shores from different places, but the dark haired girl was oddly hard to approach. 

It was Wednesday when Carla waited outside the school for Mallory so that they could walk home together. But after twenty minutes of waiting and wondering where the blonde was, she was surprised to see Jesse leave the school instead, and head in Carla's direction.

"Hey!" The freckled girl called, waving at Carla.

"Hey." Carla replied, raising her hand slightly in greeting.

"Mallory wanted me to tell you that you can leave without her," Jesse explained, pausing at Carla's side. "She's gonna study a bit more in the library."

Carla deflated. "Oh," She said, trying not to let her disappointment show. "Okay, thanks for letting me know."

"Wanna walk with me instead?"

Carla raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have a bus to catch?"

Jesse shrugged. "I missed it. At this point, I think it'd just be easier to walk."

Carla knew it was a lie. Jesse's house was a forty-five minute walk away and it was only a twenty minute wait for the next bus. But she didn't protest; she liked Jesse's company. She simply nodded in understanding. "Sure thing. Let's get going, then!"

The two left the schoolgrounds silently, and couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt at the thought of Mallory walking home alone. Jesse seemed to notice her glancing back at the school with a sad look, and the freckled girl let out a laugh.

"You two sure are close, aren't you?" Jesse asked with a grin. Carla snapped her gaze over to her, and simply shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess we are."

"Hey, Carla?"

Oh, no. That was Jesse's infamous interrogation voice. "Yeah?"

"Do you like Mallory?"

Immediately, Carla's face heated up. "O-of course!" She stuttered, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice. "She's my best friend! I like her a lot!" Jesse burst out laughing, and Carla scowled at her. "What? What's so funny?"

"Carla, you goof, that's not what I meant!" Jesse giggled. "I meant, do you have a crush on her?"

If Carla's face wasn't completely red already, it sure was now. Leave it to Jesse to ask such a personal question so easily. "I-I, uh, I...?" She stumbled to find her words. 

Jesse let out another laugh. "C'mon, Carla, it's kinda obvious!" She shot Carla grin. "You've been tailing behind her for what, three years now?" When are you gonna finally ask her out?"

Carla's mouth gaped open, and without thinking, she hastily adjusted her backpack straps and bolted. "Just remembered I had to do something!! See you tomorrow!!" She called back at Jesse. "Buh-bye!!"

She could hear Jesse laughing. "C'mon Carla, I was joking!" Carla didn't look back. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow! Good luck!"

"Good luck with what?!" Carla hissed under her breath as she marched down the street, now out of Jesse's sight. As soon as she arrived home she instantly stomped up the stairs, ignored a questioning stare from her father in the living room, and faceplanted onto her bed.

It's not like Jesse was wrong. Carla did like Mallory. Like, a lot. Like, like like. From the moment she had met her on the beach on that warm summer evening all those years ago, Carla's affection towards Mallory had only grown as time went by. Mallory was beautiful and kind, and felt like the sun, even on the grayest winter days. She was talented and friends with everybody, had top grades, and in Carla's mind, she was perfect.

Carla let out a drawn out sigh and slowly sat up on her bed, staring down her reflection in her bedroom's mirror. 'She deserves better than me.' She thought to herself for the hundredth time. She stared intently at herself. Messy, boyish dark hair. Eyes tired and lazy, with deep, dark circled beneath them that just wouldn't go away. Chapped lips, a nose that looked out of place, like someone had tried messily gluing it to her face. She took a deep breath; and that was just her appearance. 'She's way out of my league,' Carla let out another sigh and groaned, falling back onto her pillow. It was a hopeless crush, and she knew it. but she also knew that her love for Mallory would only get bigger every day. She covered her face with her pillow.

What a mess. "I'm such a mess," She grumbled, voice muffled by the pillow.

#

On Thursday, it rained. Carla had slept in that morning, and in her rush to get to school on time, she had forgotten to grab an umbrella. And so, when the school bells rang at the end of the day, Carla was left waiting for Mallory at the gates with the rain soaking through her sweater. She knew that Mallory was going to be late studying again, but this time Carla wanted to wait. With a sneeze, she lifted a sleeve to cover her phone as she checked the time. It had been half an hour; the library must have closed by now.

"Carla!" 

She perked up at the sound of Mallory's voice, and turned to see the blonde rush towards her with an umbrella in hand. 

"Did you forget an umbrella?" She laughed.

"Yeah," Carla huffed sheepishly. "I was in a rush this morning and forgot to grab it."

"Well, good thing I remembered mine!" Mallory exclaimed. "Here, get under mine. Let's go home."

The world around the girls was gray and Carla could feel water soaking into her shoes as she carelessly stepped in the puddles in her path. They had once again slipped into that silence that Carla loved, and for a while, Carla focused on nothing but the sound of rain pattering against Mallory's umbrella.

As the girls passed by the old playground, Mallory finally glanced over at Carla. "You didn't have to wait for me, you dummy." Mallory said, guilt evident in her voice. 

"I know," Carla replied, "But walking alone in this kind of weather is just plain depressing."

Mallory let out another laugh. It was a beautiful sound. "Yeah, you've got a point."

The rest of the walk carried on in silence. The two walked close together under the cover of the umbrella, and as they walked down the now-muddy dirt path, Carla glanced down at Mallory's free hand. She noticed that her hand was so close to Mallory's hand.

'I could hold her hand,' She thought absently, her face immediately heating up at the sudden thought. She forced herself to stare back at the ground, and stuffed her hand back into her pocket.

She remembered Jesse's words. 'When are you finally gonna ask her out?'

'You two sure are close, aren't you?'

'Do you have a crush on her?'

Carla took a deep breath. She could tell Mallory right now, get it off her chest. After all, what's the worst that could happen? 'She could reject you. Be shocked that you think of her like that. Ruin your friendship.' She took a deep breath, desperately pushing those thoughts away. She could feel butterflies in her stomach as she lifted her chin up, and stopped.

"Hey, Mallory?" She asked quietly. Mallory stopped and turned to Carla, confusion on her face. Above them, the streetlight flickered on, almost like a spotlight. 'How overdramatic.'

"What's wrong?" Mallory asked, concern in her face. Carla stared intently at her friend, and was silent. The words just wouldn't come. She couldn't say it.

"I..." She cleared her throat. "I just. I just, remembered that my dad wanted me to come home early." She could feel her heart sinking. She couldn't do it. 'What a mess.'

"Oh!" Mallory gasped. "Well, you better get running!" She laughed. "Do you want my umbrella?"

"No, no, I'm good." Carla replied hurriedly. "But...hey, can you promise me something?"

Mallory laughed. "Depends on what it is!"

"Tomorrow, will you hang out with me? At lunch?" Carla asked hesitantly. 

"Sure! I might forget though, usually I'm in a bit of a zone after I leave chemistry." She hummed. "I'll tie a string around my finger, though! Then I definitely won't forget!"

"Sounds good!" Carla replied with a small smile. "Then, uh, I guess I'll see you tomorrow!" She called as she turned and started to run down the street.

She glanced over her shoulder to see Mallory standing where Carla had left her. She was still standing in the light of the streetlight, one hand gripping the handle of the umbrella that rested lazily on her shoulder. Her other hand was raised slightly, giving Carla wave goodbye. Carla simply raised her hand in the air back, and carried on. She could feel tears in her eyes as the cold raindrops hit her face. She just couldn't do it. But, she assured herself, maybe she could confess another day, with all the right words and no butterflies to make her jittery and nervous. 


But that day never came.