by Laura Ryles
Chapter 4
Next was lunch. She found Drew quickly and got in line with him. “So, how was art?” Drew raised an expectant eyebrow.
“Don’t even ask!” Tala gave Drew a look that meant that she was serious.
“Okay? Well, shop wasn’t much better. All the jocks are in there. You know they can’t stand me. Let’s just say, one of them was using a power tool as a sword and thought it would be funny to challenge me to a duel. I think I’m going to see if I can change before it’s too late.” Drew picked up his tray and moved forward to the register.
“Oh, that would be great. Take art with me. Please! That new guy is in there, and he sculpted my face in clay!”
“No way!” Drew laughed. “I told you, he was creepy.”
“Yeah, okay, whatever. Will you try to get art? Please?” They both paid for their lunch and headed towards the tables.
“‘Sup, Drew?” Brad Benson, one of the jocks, was waiting just off to the side of the lunch line. Suddenly Drew’s plate was flying through the air. Tala gasped as she watched him fall in slow motion and smack the tile floor. Brad had stuck his foot out, tripped him, and was now standing next to him laughing hysterically. Tala sat her tray down on the nearest table and helped Drew get up off the floor. Just then, Ander walked up and grabbed Brad by his shirt and lifted him completely off the ground.
“That wasn’t very nice,” Ander said loud enough for the front of the cafeteria to hear.
“Dude, it was just a joke, put me down.” Some of the other jocks made a move to come to their friends' rescue, but one look from Ander stopped them in their tracks.
”Apologize,” Ander whispered.
“Whatever!” he said as he struggled against Anders' firm grip. “Sorry!”
Ander put him down, and the entire cafeteria seemed to stifle giggles as Brad and his group of friends left like a bunch of kids that had just been scolded by their mommies. Ander turned to face Drew and Tala. “Are you all right?” he questioned Drew.
“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks, man,” Drew said as he got to his feet and reached out his hand to shake Ander’s.
”Of course. Any friend of Tala’s,” Ander replied as he smirked at the look of disbelief on Tala’s face. With that, he turned to get in line for lunch.
Tala picked up her tray again and laced her arm through Drew’s as they made their way to an empty table. “You know, maybe he’s not that bad,” Drew said as they sat down.
“Maybe,” said Tala. She watched as Ander paid for his lunch and then went to sit at a table on his own.
“Should we invite him over?” Drew said when he noticed Tala staring.
“If you like, it’s up to you.” So Drew walked over to Ander’s table and invited him to sit with them for lunch. Tala watched as he picked up his tray and followed Drew back over.
“Is it all right with you if I sit?” He directed the question toward Tala.
“Yes, of course. After all, you just defended my best friend against the biggest ding-dong in school, so...” She gestured toward an open chair in front of her. For the first time, she smiled an actual Tala Woods smile at him. Ander’s face lit up when she did, and he took in such a deep breath that Tala wondered if he had been holding his breath before that. They enjoyed having Ander at their table for lunch. He was actually pretty funny and very polite. Tala began to notice other things as they talked as well, like the deep, ice crystal, blue of his eyes, and the little dimple that he only had in one cheek. He was quite handsome, and chivalrous to boot.
Stop it, she thought to herself. You don’t like him like that. You don’t like anyone like that. He’s no different. Quit staring into his eyes like that. He probably thinks something’s wrong with you. She shook her head and sat up straight in her seat. Ander seemed to notice her internal struggle and smiled a flirty smile at her as she stiffened against the chair back. The bell rang for the next period. She and Drew had Biology next, and Ander said his schedule was sending him to Physics. Smart too, thought Tala. They said their goodbyes and headed off in separate directions. Ander one way, Drew and Tala, the other.
“What do you think of him now?’ Drew asked with a knowing gaze.
“I think we should get to class.” Tala rolled her eyes and answered, but her cheeks flushed. She couldn’t help it.
“It’s cool. I think he’s okay. Still a little weird, but hey, he’s Canadian. I think you should let him take you out if he asks again.”
“What? No. You know I don’t date, and you know why, too,” she huffed.
“Not everyone is going to die and hurt you just ‘cause your dad did. Honestly, he couldn’t help that either.”
“I know he couldn’t help it. It wasn’t his fault. That doesn’t make it any less painful,” she snapped back.
“Jeez, okay. I’m just saying think about it. He’s nice.”
Chapter 5
The rest of the day was uneventful. Tala and Drew were excited to find that they had the rest of their classes in common, and Ander was in their Economics class. After the final bell rang for dismissal, Drew and Tala walked toward the parking lot together. They had just passed through the door that led out of the building when they heard a familiar voice.
“Hey. Drew. Tala.” They turned to see Ander jogging down the hallway to catch up to them. Tala’s mouth dropped open a little at the sight. When he was only a foot or so away from them, he looked down at Tala. “Hey, so, I know I was a little forward this morning, but I’d really like to take you out.”
Tala bit her bottom lip and took a side glance at Drew, who gave his just do it look. She rocked back and forth from her heels to her toes a couple of times before looking up into Ander’s icy blue eyes. That’s all it took. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, “Okay.”
“Great!” Ander’s face burst into a smile. His eyes seemed to get all twinkly when he really smiled. “I’ll pick you up Friday at seven. Is that okay?”
“Sure, that’s fine,” she replied.
“Aw, so you’ll get to do something nice for your birthday.” Drew beamed.
“Is your birthday Friday?” Ander asked.
“No,” she said, eyeing Drew with contempt. “It’s actually Sunday, but I don’t want it to be a big deal.”
“Oh. All right. I won't mention it again then,” Ander said, looking a little puzzled.
“Good, that’s the way I’d like it,” Tala said. “So, I’ll see you Friday night at seven. Can’t wait.” She wasn’t sure if she had meant that sarcastically or not. She turned around and headed out into the sun. Did she just agree to go on a date? What had come over her? Maybe she would call and cancel in a couple of days.
Drew drove her home. Tala invited him in so that they could do their homework together.
“So, where do you think he’ll take you?” Drew asked as he plopped down on her bed.
“Who knows.”
“Well, where do you want him to take you?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been on a real date. Where should I want him to take me?”
“Ha. Right. Like I know where to take somebody on a date.” Drew laughed
“Ugh, we’re hopeless.” Tala made a frowny face at him. “I don’t even know why he wants to go out with me.”
“Please. How many times do I have to say it? You’re a total babe!”
Tala pushed his head sideways. “Whatever.”
“What? It’s true. Just ‘cause you don’t like to think about dating people, that doesn’t mean people don’t think about dating you all the time. I told you, the jocks talk about making you a conquest all the time.”
“Eew! No.”
“Okay, okay. Sorry. I’ll never say that to you again.” Drew raised two fingers to his lips, kissed them, and held them up to the air in a solemn vow.
“Good! Now let’s talk about something else. Anything else.”
“Okay. Well, what are you going to wear on your date Friday?”
“Ugh! I thought you
would move a little further away from the topic than that,” Tala exclaimed.
“Oh, come on, there’s no shame in being prepared,” Drew said as he hopped off the bed and headed over to Tala’s closet. He opened the door and started sliding the hangers over one by one to check out what was hanging from them. He pulled out a soft pink, ankle-length dress. “How about this?”
“Um, no,” Tala answered. “Dude, come on, we have homework to do.” Drew didn’t pay her any attention and kept flipping through the hangers. He stopped and pulled out a small black dress.
“How about this one?”
“No,” Tala said, shaking her head. She reached down to grab her book bag off the floor. Drew turned around and kept flipping. Next, he pulled out a blue sleeveless dress with flowers on it.
“This one then?”
“Seriously? I haven’t worn dresses since the fourth grade. They only reason I even have them is because my mom keeps buying them.”
“All the more reason.” Drew swung several hangers past his head. “Fine. This then?” He held up a light blue jumpsuit with white polka dots and spaghetti straps. “I think it would look good on you; it’s pretty.”
“Okay, if I pick what I’m going to wear, will you stop so we can get our homework done?”
“Maybe,” Drew said with a smile. Tala got up, walked into her closet, and shut the door, as Drew threw himself down on the bed again to await her return.
“All right. You ready for the big reveal?” Tala yelled from inside the closet.
“Of course,” Drew said. “Let’s see it.” Tala walked out of the closet in a pair of light blue denim skinny jeans and an old Blue October band t-shirt.
“Tala,” Drew laughed, “you look the same as you do every other day. You’re supposed to get dressed up for a date.”
“Um, excuse you, this is dressed up. Check out the ankle boots.” Tala started posing with one of her knees lifted, in order to accentuate the brown leather boots on her feet. Drew looked down at them.
“Well, one step at a time, I guess,” Drew said. “Nice boots.”
“Thanks.” Tala smiled. “Now, can we please do our homework?”
“Fine. You’re such a nerd,” Drew groaned. Tala came to sit beside him on the bed. When they finished their homework, they hung out in Tala’s room for a while listening to music and joking around before Drew said good-bye and headed home.
Chapter 6
After Drew left, Tala went back over to the closet. Taking out the blue dress, she held it up to herself. Swaying from side to side, she wondered what she would look like wearing it, but in the end, she hung it back up in her closet and looked at herself in the mirror. I look just fine. Taking off the band shirt and jeans, she folded them neatly for Friday, then she put on her pajamas and headed downstairs to find something for dinner. Tala raided the fridge and then the pantry, but in the end, decided to order a pizza and have it delivered. After she called in her order, she went to the living room to watch some TV while she waited for the delivery guy to get there. Flipping through the channels, she saw something that caught her eye. Clicking the opposite way, she tried to find it again. There it was, the NATGEO channel. It was a documentary about arctic wolves. Deciding that this was definitely what she wanted to watch, she put the controller down. It was an interesting show and Tala was getting really into it when the phone rang. She muted the TV.
“Hello.”
“Hi, honey.”
“Hi, mom.”
“How was your day?”
“It was okay, I guess,” Tala said, still staring at the TV.
“Well, that’s good. Anything interesting happen?”
“If you call getting a date interesting,” Tala answered in a dulcet tone. “Where are you? I thought you were going to be home before dark tonight?”
“Oh, honey, I really was trying to be, but I don’t think I’m going to make it,” her mother answered with a hint of sorrow in her voice. “So, a date, huh? That sounds interesting. Tell me more.”
“I’d rather not.”
“Well, at least tell me if he’s cute.”
“Yeah, I guess he’s pretty cute.”
“When’s the date?”
“Friday, Mom. It’s not a big deal. Really.”
“Okay, okay. I can take a hint. Did you find anything for supper?”
“Ordered a pizza.”
“Okay, well, there’s healthy stuff in the fridge if you’d rather have…”
“No, mom. I want pizza. If you want me to eat healthy, maybe you should be here.”
“Honey, we’ve talked about this, I have to work. With just one income now, I have to work when they are willing to give me the hours.”
“I know that, Mom, but you said you would be home tonight.”
“I know, honey, I’m sorry. I’ll try to make it up to you tomorrow, okay? Oh, honey, I have to go, they’re calling me on the intercom. I won’t be home till late, so I probably won’t see you till morning. Love you.”
“Love you, too.” When Tala hung up, the TV had gone to commercial. She looked around the living room. It was so tiring to be alone all the time. Maybe she should call Drew to come back over. Just then, the doorbell rang. Opening the front door, she took the box and paid the delivery guy. The pepperoni smelled amazing, so she walked straight to the kitchen and sat down at the counter. Half of the pizza was gone before she knew it, then, feeling full, she stored the rest in the fridge. There wasn’t much point in staying up, so she went upstairs to her room and went to bed early.
The next few days passed without consequence. Her alarm would wake her up. Then her mother would yell up the stairs. She would drive her to school and drop her off. Then she and Drew would find each other first thing, followed shortly by Ander, who would offer to carry her bags and then escort her from class to class. Drew thought it was hilarious. Ander even made it a point to make sure that Tala walked closer to the wall rather than in the middle of the hallway, lest someone bump into her. Then at the end of the day, he would walk her out to Drew’s car and open the door for her and close it behind her. Even though Ander went a little overboard with the gallantry, Tala still found it mostly endearing.
Chapter 7
Friday finally rolled around, and Tala hadn’t cancelled on Ander. She was more than a little nervous. Ander showed up at her house at precisely seven o’clock. He knocked on the door, and Tala answered it since her mom was still at work. “You look wonderful!” He smiled at her and handed her a bouquet of wildflowers.
“Thank you,” she said. She took the flowers and headed towards the kitchen, looking down at her outfit on the way. She was in jeans and a t-shirt like she had planned. Yeah, wonderful. She put the flowers in some water before returning to the door to head out on their date. Of course, Ander was very courteous and thoughtful, which didn’t surprise her. He opened the door for her, let her pick the radio station, and choose the restaurant. When they pulled into the parking lot, he again came around the car and opened her door, offering his hand to help her out. When their hands touched, she could feel her cheeks flushing. By the time they sat down at a table, she was sure her cheeks were bright red. She could feel her face burning. When they were ready to order, Ander watched her observantly as she told the waitress what she wanted from the menu.
“I’ll have the steak and lobster,” she said quietly.
“I’ll have the same,” Ander said, never taking his eyes off her. The waitress took their menus and walked away. Tala wished he wouldn’t stare quite so intensely; It made her feel as if he was examining her.
Now that the waitress was gone, she waited for him to say something. When he didn’t, she decided she would break the ice.
“So, what do you do for fun?” Tala asked.
“Lately, I’ve been following this beautiful girl around school,” Ander answered with a grin.
“Oh, really?” Tala laughed. “And before that?”
“There was never much fun before that. My famil
y is pretty serious most of the time.”
“Tell me about them,” Tala said.
Ander stared into her eyes.“Well, I have a father and a brother. Then loads of extended family.” When he said this, he raised his eyebrows at her expectantly. When she didn’t react, he continued. “My brother, Colton, is six years younger than me. Even though he’s only thirteen, he’s a pretty cool kid. We get along fairly well most of the time. My dad, on the other hand, is named Dag and...” Ander paused here. His chagrin was obvious as his eyes fell toward the table. “Well, let’s just say he’s a bit harder to take sometimes. I guess you’d call him a sort of patriarch. He’s in charge, and he doesn’t let you forget it. We hardly ever see eye to eye, but that doesn’t matter to him because he’s the boss.”
From there, they fell into an easy conversation about their respective childhoods. Tala deduced that Dag was apparently something of a bully, and Ander was just supposed to do what he was told and never question it. She guessed that his father might have been in the armed forces. He sounded like someone who was used to giving orders. Ander made it sound as if no one ever told his dad no. He even commented that he would never cross him because he knew better.
“What about your mom?” Tala chimed.
“She died when my brother was born,” Ander answered. This seemed to bring his mood down a little.
