Slammed

butter.
     
    I’m thankful to Eddie for accepting me into her group of friends so easily. Not that I had a decision, it was done pretty forcibly. In Texas there were twenty-one people in my entire senior class. I had friends, but with such a limited pool to choose from I never really considered any of them to be my best friend. I mostly hung out with my friend Kerris, but I haven’t even spoken to her since the move. From what I’ve seen of Eddie so far, she’s intriguing enough that I can’t help but hope we become closer.
     
    “ So, how long have you and Gavin been dating?” I ask her.
     
    “ Sophomore Year. I hit him with my car.” She looks at him and smiles. “It was love at first swipe.”
     
    “ What about you?” she asks. “You got a boyfriend?”
     
    I wish I could tell her about Will. I want to tell her about how when we met, I immediately felt something I have never felt about a guy before. I want to tell her about our first date and how the entire night seemed like we had known each other for years. I want to tell her about his poetry, our kiss, everything. Most of all though, I want to tell her about seeing him in the hallway when we realized our fate was not our own to decide. I want to tell her how much I am hurting, knowing I can’t talk to him. But I know I can’t. I can't tell anyone. So I don’t. I simply reply, “No.”
     
    “ Really? No boyfriend? Well, we can fix that,” she says.
     
    “ No need. It’s not broken.”
     
    Eddie laughs and turns to Gavin, discussing possible suitors for her new, lonely friend.
     
    ***
     
    The end of the school week finally arrives and I have never felt more relieved to pull out of a parking lot in my entire life. Even though he lives across the street from me, I feel less vulnerable when I’m inside my house than I do two feet from him in a classroom. He successfully achieved an entire week of absolutely no eye contact. Not saying I didn’t do my best to catch even a glimpse in my direction, I practically stared him down.
     
    I plan to tell my mother everything that happened. I just haven't found the right time yet. She's been leaving for work before dinner every night so we really haven't had a chance to talk about Will.
     
    During the drive home, I make a detour to better formulate my plan to spend the entire weekend indoors. It’s called movies and junk food.
     
    Mom is sitting at the bar in the kitchen when I walk through the front door. I can see by the stern look on her face that she isn’t particularly happy to see me. I walk into the kitchen and lay the movies and bags of junk food on the counter in front of her.
     
    “ I’m spending the weekend with Johnny Depp,” I say, attempting to appear oblivious to her demeanor.
     
    She doesn't smile.
     
    “ I took Caulder home from school today,” she says. "He mentioned something very interesting.”
     
    “ Oh, yeah? You sound sick Mom. Do you have a cold?” I try to sound nonchalant, but I can tell by the tone in her voice that what she’s really trying to say is, " I found out something from your little brother’s friend that I should have found out from you."
     
    “ Anything you want to tell me?” she asks, staring daggers through me.
     
    I sip from a bottle of water and take a seat at the bar. I had planned on talking to her about everything tonight but it looks like it’s going to happen sooner rather than later.
     
    “ Mom. I was going to talk to you about it. I swear.”
     
    “ He’s a teacher at your school, Lake!” She starts coughing and grabs at a kleenex as she gets up from the bar. After she regains her composure, she lowers her voice as she continues speaking in an attempt to avoid garnering attention from the nine-year-olds that are somewhere within our vicinity. “Don’t you think that’s something you should have mentioned before I allowed you out of the house with him?"
     
    “ I didn’t know! He didn’t know!” I say in an overly defensive tone.
     
    She cocks her head to the side and rolls her eyes as though I’ve insulted her.
     
    “ What are you doing, Lake? Don’t you realize he's raising his little brother? This can ruin his-”
     
    Both of our eyes dart to the front door as we hear Will’s car pull into his driveway. I quickly head to the front door in an attempt to block it so she'll let me explain. She beats me to it so I follow her outside, pleading.
     
    “ Mom, please. Just let me explain everything. Please