Chapter 4

I woke up the next morning, and realized with a start that it was Thursday. That meant only one class for me, and it was later on that morning, so I could actually spend time at home before heading to school after breakfast. I got up and padded down to the kitchen while still dressed in my pajamas. I had time to get ready later. I began making french toast, filling the space with a smell of cinnamon. "Wow, Re..." I turned and saw my father standing there smelling the rich aroma and looking somewhat sad. "Is something the matter, Daddy?" I was instantly alarmed that he looked so sad, but then he just smiled wistfully at me. "Nothing, Re. It's just....well, you reminded me of your mother. She used to get up early on the weekends and make french toast in her pajamas..." I felt a slight stab in my heart when he said that. It's true, I had hoped to make my father happy and wanted him to find somebody for when I was gone...but just then I realized how much he missed my mother. "Dad? I miss her," I said softly. "I do too, Re. I do too." I went over to him and gave him a hug, and we just stayed that way for a few minutes. When we separated, my father laughed about me not burning the food. That made me smile, and everything went back to normal. We sat at the table eating, and he asked me what I had planned that day. "Well, I only have one class. Organic Chemistry lab. It's at ten, and I'm sure we wont have to stay long." "Ah, so what do you plan to do after?" "Grab some lunch in the cafeteria, I suppose. Then I figured I'd just come home and start on some laundry and cleaning." Dad stopped with his fork halfway to his mouth and glared at me, "Re....what about our deal?" I looked up at him from my plate, "Today?" "Rena Isabelle Montgomery, you know you have your end to uphold. I helped with dishes last night, and so you have to have fun this afternoon. Maybe that guy you mentioned yesterday would be willing to hang out..." I swallowed and looked pleadingly at him, "But Dad....I might not see Adam today." "So Adam's his name, huh? That's no excuse, you are having fun today, young lady." I sighed, defeated, "Yes, Dad." I had hoped to not have to start my deal until later, but there's a reason my father was one of the best lawyers in the nation. And as much I didn't like it, I knew I'd have to oblige.

 

My father helped me with dishes again, gave me a kiss on the cheek, and was off to work...but not before he called from the door: "I'm going to be working late tonight and I'll get dinner out. Don't stay out too late, I want you home by no later than 1am. Have a nice day!" I sighed as I climbed the stairs back up to my room. My own father wants me to stay out. 'Have fun', he said. Well I don't know how to have fun! Well, I do, but not with people my own age. And who knows, maybe Adam wont even have class today. And if he does, I might not see him. What if yesterday was a fluke? What if by declining his invitation he wont ask again? A steaming hot shower helped soothe some of my tension, but I felt so strange. I had never had so many thoughts over another person who wasn't myself or my father before. I put on a pair of black jeans and reached for my grey/purple/white striped shirt, because it was light enough for the warm weather, but had 3/4 sleeves for lab. I brushed my hair until it laid straight down my back, and put on a grey headband to keep it out of the way. As I was adding some purple eyeshadow to my eyelids, a strange thought struck me...Would Adam like this? Wait a minute...did I seriously just have a girly thought? What was wrong with me? Sigh, I should just calm down. Maybe nothing will happen today... For some reason, that made me really sad.

 

I drove on to class, and walked in with still twenty minutes to spare. Good, I need this time to calm down... I plugged into my iPod and listened to a few songs to help with my mood. During one of my favorite songs, I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Ah!" I squeaked as I jumped a few inches...I wasn't used to people other than my family touching me. I undid my headphones and looked up to see Adam. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to say hi." "Oh, um, hi. It's fine. I was just in my little world. I'm sorry." "No it's ok, really. I shouldn't have bothered you." We continued back and forth until we finally started laughing. "Are you always this jumpy, or is it just me?" "Not always, but sometimes. Are you usually this sneaky?" "My friends say so sometimes." We started laughing again, and for some reason it felt good. I can't believe it. I'm actually laughing and enjoying someone else's company. Adam's cute...Wait, no more girly talk woman!"  He sat down next to me when everyone started to come in, and we kept chatting until the professor came in. "Today, we're just going to assign partners and work stations. Once I call your name, I'll assign you to a station and a partner, hand you a slip for the two of you to fill out, and then you may leave. Kim Anthony?' And so he went down the list. Me and Adam kept making comments about the people who were paired up. "I feel like it's a matchmaker's show," said Adam. I laughed, "It's more like Noah's ark, see how people resemble animals? Those two are like lions, then those are like parrots." Adam laughed at first, but then grew thoughtful. "Rena Montgomery?" I looked up, "Here." The professor looked at his list and then at me, "You have work station thirty-two. And your partner is...uh...ah, yes. Adam Wade." We both stared at her, could this really be happening? We got up, got the sheet of paper, and then we made our way to our station. "That's funny. Thirty-two is my favorite number." "Really?" I asked, surprised, "That's cool." We started looking at our equipment and kept talking. "So, are we animals in this Noah's Ark?" Adam asked, I presumed being funny, but his eyes were slightly serious. "Yes, I guess you could say so." "What animal are we?" I took a moment to think, and then looked at him, "Wolves." He looked shocked, and then put his head down to finish working. In no time at all, we were done checking off stuff on our sheet and it was time to go. We were talking like we were great friends...well, I guess we are...but still, what now?  We walked out of the class room, and immediately I felt nervous. I think Adam was feeling the same way, because he was quiet. Then he looked up at me, "So, um...do you have to rush off again? You know, for your, um, dad?"  I sighed, "Well, honestly, no. My dad wants me to get out more." Adam seemed to brighten at that. "Well then, do you want to hang out? I'm going to meet my friends for lunch. Then they all have classes but me." I smiled, "Um, sure. I'd like that. Would your friends mind?" He started laughing, "They'd love to meet you."

 

 

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As we walked to the cafeteria, I couldn't believe my good fortune! First, I make it to class and find Rena already there. Then, after a bit of a mix-up, everything was going great. We even were assigned as partners! Lord and Lady, this has to be a sign. Thank you! I wont let you down. We continued on our way, and I stole several glances at Rena. Her hair was down her back, and the way it caught the light was amazing. I could tell the eyeshadow was the only makeup she wore, and she was gorgeous. I liked everything about her. Then I had a scary thought...Does she like the way I look? Wearing just jeans and a blue shirt. I should have taken more time getting ready...at least I shaved... I started to panic over what she'd think of my friends. Would she like them? I was about to find out.

 

We entered the cafeteria, and Josué was the first to see us. "Hey Adam. Everybody is at the table already. Oh hi," he said when he saw Rena. She blushed and looked down, "Hi." "Let's head to the table, shall we?" I said, ready to move things along. We made it to the table, were Tyre' and Jaq were already arguing over something. Great...she's gonna think that  we're all like that... But when we sat down, they shut up. "What was that all about?" asked Josué, getting ready to bite his sandwich. "Well, Jaq over there was telling me to pick just one person to be with, boy or girl, and not have both. He doesn't understand me," ranted Tyre'. Then Jaq jumped in, "But, just because you're bi doesn't mean you're allowed to date two people at once. Just pick one." I stayed out of the whole thing, and looked apologetically over at Rena, but she had a smirk on her lips. What's up with that? Then they noticed her. "Hey Adam, is that the new girl?" I glared at them but they just smiled. "I'm Rena," she introduced herself. "I'm Tyre', I'm a junior Architectural Engineer, and the bane of these guys' existence," said Tyre' with her signature grin. I wanted to smack my forehead, but Rena seemed fine. Next came Jaq. "I'm Jaq, also a junior. My major is Computer Engineering, I'm on the Deans List, and I'm Adam's cousin." "That was my annoying older twin brother," started Josué, "and I'm the good one. I'm Josué, also Adam's cousin. I'm a junior Creative Writing major. Also, just like you heard Tyre' is bi, I'm gay." Rena smiled, "It's a pleasure to meet all of you. I've never had friends before." "Well, hun," Tyre' said, "any friend of Adam is a friend of ours. Even though you're way too cute for him." Rena blushed brightly and ducked her head...and as much as I glared at Tyre', I couldn't get over how cute Rena was and how right Tyre' had been. 

 

Everyone chatted easily, Rena falling into the group like she had always been there...like she belonged already. I admit I was quieter than usual, but I was just so impressed. It turned out she could identify with all of us. She was just as smart as , if not smarter than, Jaq, which really impressed and annoyed him. She had a cousin who was bi, so Tyre' asked for a hook up. She even could connect to Josué more than even I could. She wrote stories when she got stressed, and was comparing styles with him. I couldn't believe it. She was a part of us already...and she had only just met them! After lunch, everybody but me and Rena had class and so they rushed off. We walked out of the cafeteria, my mind racing and heart pumping, when she looked over at me. "You're friends are amazing. I felt like I actually belonged for once. That was new for me." I looked at her surprised, "Are you serious? I don't understand. You should have lots of friends. You're smart, funny, pretty...I mean, uh, you have a pretty personality...." She blushed and didn't talk for a while, but it was an easy silence. We made our way around campus, coming to rest by this huge oak tree. We sat down in it's shade. Finally, she started to speak again. "I've always been a loner. When I was little, it was because people didn't understand my mother, being that she was a witch. When she died...people just left us alone. I started caring more and more about my father's well being and forgot about my own. By the time I was in college, I was so focused with classes and him that I didn't bother with other people." She said it with such a wistfulness that I took a chance. "How did your mom die?' Rena closed her eyes, remembering. "I was four at the time. She was fixing dinner for us, since my father had to work late that night. It was raining, and I was used to always having her sing a lullaby and fix me hot chocolate while we waited for him to come home. But we were out of hot chocolate mix. I started crying, because I felt that unless we followed routine, daddy wouldn't make it home safely. Mom tried to soothe me, but I was scared that something bad would happen unless we had hot chocolate. So she went out to get it..." At this point, Rena stopped and put her head down, tears sliding out from the corners of her closed eyes. "I was supposed to go with her, but she told me to stay home, the store was right down the street. She'd run and be back in five minutes. She kissed me and said she loved me, but I told her to hurry. She...she was on the way back when...out of nowhere...a drunk driver came and hit her and just left her on the sidewalk like she was nothing! And it was my fault!" She started to cry, and I placed a hand on her to comfort her. But Rena put her head on my chest, and I naturally wrapped my arms around her, to keep her safe. She blames herself just like I blamed myself for my family's death. I vow now to never let anything bad happen to her ever again. I love her, and I promise to keep her safe... After a while, she quieted and looked at me. "I'm sorry. I normally don't do that." "It's fine..really. I know how you feel. I blame myself for my family's death." "What happened?" And I told her everything, the gas leak, the fact I lit a candle, all my guilt and fears and anger. And when I began to cry, she held me in return. I'd never been comforted like that before...and for a moment....I felt the wolf in me calm down...