When Worlds Collide

Chapter 18

"Boys, time to get up," a soft voice whispered, and my eyes slowly peeled open. Ethan's mom was leaning over the couch, gently shaking her son's shoulder. Eventually Ethan groaned and slowly sat up, extending his arms to stretch out his back. A tiny sliver of skin between his t-shirt and jeans was exposed, and my eyes were immediately drawn to it like a moth to a lightbulb. Soon enough it was gone though, and Ethan's mom stood to her full height with her hands on her hips. "Oh Ethan, did you seriously sleep in your jeans? You boys are going to have kinks in your neck sleeping like that," she scolded, but gave me a mischievous smile. "Breakfast is ready in the kitchen."

As she walked off, I slowly rose off the couch, almost afraid of how sore my back would be. Wincing, I gripped my lower back once I finally managed to sit up.

"Sorry about falling asleep on you like that. That was the first time this entire week I felt even remotely okay again. So. . . thanks I guess," he muttered sheepishly, running a hand through his hair nervously.

"Ruining all my hard work already?" I smirked. Ethan frowned, looking at me funny before dropping his hand quickly with a grin. "I'm here for you. You know that right?"

"I do now," he said lowly. We stared at each other for a moment before his mom started yelling at us from the kitchen, forcing us to get up and get some food. I didn't realize how hungry I was until the smell of bacon and toast hit me like a brick wall, and I was suddenly very eager to eat. Ethan and I sat at the kitchen table with his little sister as his mom set our plates down in front of us. The kitchen was fairly quiet aside from the clanging of pans and his dad shuffling around in his slippers with his Garfield coffee mug.

"Mom, can I go play with Mary?" Ally asked, kicking her feet under the table and giving her mom an innocent smile.

"In a little bit, and only if Mrs. Clarissa says it's okay," Mercedes replied while viciously scrubbing a frying pan in the sink, not even bothering to look over as her thin eyebrows knitted together.

"Yes! Thank you!" Ally squealed, jumping down from her chair and running across the room in thundering steps. Ethan rested his elbow on the table, head in his hand as he bit off a piece of bacon.

"I'll have to spend all weekend just catching up on work," he grumbled. "I'd rather hangout with you."

I smiled, gently kicking his foot under the table. "You'll see me this Monday. Well, that is if I don't get expelled," I joked, finishing off the last of my orange juice.

"What?" He asked in shock, eyebrows furrowed. I waved my hand dismissively, getting up to clear my plate. "It's a long story. You missed a lot last week."

"I'm concerned," he eyed me warily, chewing slowly as his gaze searched my face for any indication that I was joking.

I sure wish I was.

~

My brain was going a thousand miles a minute as I rushed to the lunch room. It all started this morning, when Mrs. Clarissa woke me up at eight thirty to tell me I was in charge of breakfast and getting everyone ready. She looked a little worse for the wear, with dark circles under her eyes and slightly grey skin. My face probably looked more than a little alarmed as she reassured me she just had a little head cold, but that meant I was on the hook for everything until she had to drive Benji and Mary to school. Of course, a task like that made me more than a little late getting to Ethan's car, in which my apologies just seemed to tumble from my mouth out of control. No matter how much he tried to calm me down, tell me it was fine, that incident set me up to be chronically late and flustered for the rest of the day. And the best part? I had my very own personal rent-a-cop following me around everywhere.