We worked in silence, Aaron showing little interest. With our only communication being when I showed him my answers and his nodding, I really didn’t know what to think about him. One day he’s generously giving me a ride back to school and the next he’s a self-absorbed jerk too above helping me with our assignment.
From there, my day quickly went downhill. When I got to lunch, Madalynn and everyone else at her table glared at me as I was eating. The only one at their table not glaring at me was Aaron, who spent the entire meal never even glancing in my direction.
When Jaden came over with her lunch, she turned to see what I was looking at. Madalynn and her friends quickly looked away and never turned back for the rest of the meal.
That night, after dinner, Jaden disappeared, just as she had before breakfast and I wondered where she was going and why she hadn’t told me. She’d been acting different since coming back from her birthday and I wondered what was bothering her.
When she finally came back around ten, she looked exhausted.
“Where were you? I asked.
“Group project,” she said. “I’ll probably be gone a lot while we work on things. It’s worth fifty percent of my grade.”
There was something about the tone of her voice that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
“For what class?” I asked.
“European History,” she replied. “Sorry I didn’t mention it. I forgot to tell you. We’re just trying to outline the whole thing and divide up sections to get ahead start before next semester.”
“That’s okay,” I told her, ignoring the gut feeling that she wasn’t being completely honest with me.
She changed her clothes and collapsed onto her bed. She pulled her pillow over her head and within minutes I could tell she’d fallen asleep, which was strange since she usually didn’t go to sleep until after eleven.
The next morning, Jaden was gone before I woke up. I showered and dressed before heading to class. To my surprise, Aaron was already sitting at our table when I got there.
Again, he didn’t acknowledge me. I thought about trying to start up a conversation, but decided it was better to let him be. I didn’t want to risk making things even more uncomfortable than they already were.
***
The rest of the week flew by. Surprisingly everyone pretty much left me alone. Before I knew it, Jaden and I were locking up our room for break. We walked together to the parking lot, Jaden carrying three designer bags and pulling a large suitcase and me with only my small suitcase. We hugged goodbye and Jaden headed off toward her car. I carefully made my way across the parking lot towards staff parking. The lot was icy and the last thing I wanted was to slip and fall in front of the other students. It was bad enough that all the seniors I passed glared at me glacially. Students were speeding across the lot in their efforts to leave as quickly as possible, adding to the danger of the crossing.
As I approached Andrew’s car, I saw him struggling to make his suitcase fit in his already full trunk.
“Hey Drew!” I said in greeting, feeling no need to maintain the student/teacher wall we kept up while in the classroom.
He waved as he continued to struggle with his suitcase.
I threw my bag in the backseat before getting into the car.
Andrew finally managed to shut the lid to the trunk and got into the car. We pulled out of the parking lot and drove through to the highway. The drive back to Salem wasn’t very long, but the scenery of the highway was boring.
We drove in companionable silence. I knew it was only a matter of time before Andrew started questioning me about my social life, or lack of a social life.
Less than an hour later, we pulled into the driveway of our house. It was a two story blue Victorian. It had probably been a very beautiful house in its prime, but now it was run down and Andrew didn’t have the time or money to fix it up. Most people wouldn’t want to set food inside, but I loved it. It was the only home I’d ever known and I never wanted it to change.
***
My room was layered with a dusty film, but otherwise had remained just as I’d left it. It wasn’t a large room, but to me it was perfect. It was cozy with its built-in shelves and large window over-looking our quiet street. I unpacked my little suitcase and stomped down the stairs. I entered the kitchen to find Andrew heating up some canned soup.
He poured some into a bowl for me and we sat down at the small kitchen table.
“Sorry,” he said. “I’ll have to go to the store and pick up some food tomorrow.”
“That’s okay,” I replied. “This is pretty much how it goes every time we come home for break.”
As we ate, Andrew fulfilled his parental responsibilities and made me more uncomfortable by the minute with his questioning. I was so grateful to have him in my life that I never really complained.
After dinner, I cleaned up. I liked cleaning up after a meal. It gave me time to think without Andrew interrupting my thoughts. I also took the time to wipe down all the surfaces in the kitchen, since they hadn’t been cleaned since we’d last been home in August.
I walked upstairs and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for bed. As I walked to my room, I heard talking from inside Andrew’s room. I wasn’t one for eavesdropping but the tone of his voice caught my interest.
“I know you have doubts, but I don’t,” I heard him say. “With all due respect, I’ve had sixteen years of first-hand experience to consider things and I think my opinion on the matter is the one that
