by Anne Thomas
"Then what is it?" Evie asked wearily, opening the passenger door. His jaw dropped open in mock shock and once again, she resisted the urge to hit him.
"I can't believe you don't know it!" Matt sat at the wheel, stunned.
"I can't believe you haven't told me yet," she muttered and set her bag on the floor. She pulled the sucker out of her mouth and examined it. The Tootsie center was barely visible, so she returned the sucker to her mouth.
"Just give me a moment…I have to soak in this moment." He closed his eyes, as if it would actually help him to preserve the memory. She reached out and struck him across the shoulder. "Ouch," he muttered and restarted the car, which roared to life.
"Fine, don't tell me then," Evie stated as she began to pull her hair up into a ponytail.
"'T.N.T.' by AC/DC!" He said it as if he had been bottling the answer in ever since she admitted that she did not know it. Inwardly, she cursed herself for not knowing the song.
"I knew it was AC/DC," she muttered and let her hair fall back around her shoulders.
"You owe me fifty cents!" Matt sang as he put the car in reverse and began to back out of the driveway.
"There is no way you are getting fifty cents from me."
"What? I couldn't hear you. That Tootsie pop is impairing your ability to speak properly," he said matter-of-factly, speeding away from her house.
"Maybe you'd be able to hear if you didn't always blast your music," Evie retorted. "Slow down, Racy Randy; the speed limit's thirty here."
"Geez, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Matt joked but he slowed down to a more acceptable speed. Evie only rolled her eyes at this comment, but could not agree more.
She could blame it on the fact that he was late; six minutes to be exact, but she was not counting. Really, he was late every morning that he picked her up for school and she should not expect him to be on time. It had been this way ever since she could remember. "Just stressed, is all," she muttered and stared at the houses as they passed them.
"You're the one who decided to take a bunch of AP classes," he commented as he slowed down for a yellow light.
"It wasn't my decision," Evie snapped, turning to look at him as the car came to a full stop. Matt ran his fingers through his hair and let out a sigh.
"I know," he said quietly. "But why do you have to listen to them?"
Her eyes narrowed and she knew that it was only meant to be a rhetorical question. That did not mean that it was not going to irk her. "Because if I don't, they'll be handing out punishments left and right." Evie ran her fingers through her straightened hair. "God, I wish I could make my own decisions for once in my life."
Matt gave her a sympathetic smile before speeding off as the light changed to green. She flew forward in her seat at the sudden jolt of the car. "Are you trying to kill me, Mattie?"
He laughed and slowed once more. "I would never kill my best friend."
She smiled at him while rubbing the spot where the seatbelt had cut across. "Sure you wouldn't." They rode in silence for a few blocks, neither knowing what to say next and not caring about the silence. It was not until Matt pulled into the high school parking lot that she finally spoke again. "This is our last year."
"I think you've said that every morning this year," he said drily, raising an eyebrow.
"I know, I know," she said, dismissing his comment with a wave of her hand. Biting into her Tootsie Pop, her mind drifted back to the first day of school as Matt drove around the parking lot looking for a spot.
"School hasn't even started yet!" he exclaimed, coming to a stop at the light.
"Exactly."
"Since when do you not want to go to school?" he questioned, turning his gaze onto hers.
She avoided his eyes. "Since today."
"What's wrong with today? We're SENIORS!" Matt exclaimed and sped away once more as the light turned green.
"That's my point," Evie said sadly. "In nine months, we are out of here and off to college. We may never see each other again." Tears threatened to escape but she held them back, choosing to avoid his gaze.
What if they never saw each other again after graduation? He was her best friend and had been her best friend ever since she could remember. Life without him in it would be dull, boring, and uneventful.
"Christ, Evie. Way to put a damper on things," he muttered. The car remained silent until they reached the parking lot of the school. On the sign read "Welcome Back to School!" and Evie wondered why they could not have thought of a better, more original saying.
As he parked in his usual spot, Evie turned to face him. "Promise me one thing, Mattie." He looked up at her with his blue eyes and she found herself frozen where she was. "Promise…promise me we will always be best friends, no matter what."
He did not move for a moment and she wondered if he even took her seriously. Then, he held out his pinky. "Pinky promise."
"Hello? Earth to Evelyn!" Matt called, pulling her out of her memory. She turned to see him looking at her through the window on her side of the car. "What are you waiting for?"
He stepped back for her as she swung open the door, shaking her head. Evie threw her backpack over her shoulder and slammed the door shut. She looked at him for a moment before promptly smacking him on the shoulder.
Matt jumped slightly. "What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his shoulder as if her hit had really made an impact.
"For calling me Evelyn," she said simply, walking away. She smiled as she heard his laughter behind her.
THE END of the first chapter of my novel Anyone Else but You
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