Everything I Didn't Say

t h r e e

THREE

"YOU KNOW, YOU could have been nicer to our neighbour the other day" Mom suddenly said, in the kitchen the next morning.

"What?" I burst; dropping the spoon I'd been eating my cereal with. It fell onto the marble island with a clatter. "What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded, staring at the back of her head as she stood by the sink.

"Well" Mom began washing the plate Xavier had ate his toast off before rushing to college. "You were acting quite cold weren't you?"

"No!" I argued defensively. "I was lovely and polite. Alicia seemed to really like me and-"

"Yes but I'm not talking about Alicia" Mom pointed out. "I'm talking about Jared."

Hearing his name made me clam up instantly so I glanced down at my cereal and began mushing it up viciously. "What about Jared?" I murmured.

"You hardly made an effort to talk to him at all - in fact, you were acting very indifferent towards him" Mom explained, coming to stand beside me. "I wish you'd stop eating Lucky Charms every morning. If you're not careful enough, you're going to need a hundred fillings. Are you done?" she gestured to my sugary breakfast.

I nodded sullenly and she took it away to the sink. As she was cleaning up, she wondered over her shoulder: "were you embarrassed, love?"

"Of what?"

"Of Jared" she finished.

"W - What?" I stammered, feeling something resembling a pebble drop in my stomach. Shit, shit, how the hell could she have found out?

Mom shot me a knowing smirk over her shoulder. "Well, he's very handsome isn't he?" she asked.

Relief flooded through my body and I relaxed in my seat. My secret was safe - for now. "Not really" I muttered.

Mom let out a childish giggle which made me want to openly cringe. "I know that look Isla West. You couldn't keep your eyes off him, I saw it all! It was almost like an invisible tether drawing you to him, irresistibly ..."

"You've been watching too much Gossip Girl."

"You bet your sweet little ass I have. What else am I supposed to do when you kids are out on a night?" Mom shrugged aimlessly.

"Oh I don't know, maybe what normal mothers do. Clean, watch the cooking channel, do paperwork, something other than binge eat and watch Netflix like some sort of socially deprived teenager" I explained, rolling my eyes.

"But you binge eat and watch Netflix!" Mom argued.

"Yes but I am a socially deprived teenager. You're thirty-nine and well on with your life" I responded.

Mom threw a dishrag at me playfully. "I'm not the one with a crush on our next door neighbour!" she teased in a sing-song voice.

"I'm walking away from this conversation now" I stated, standing up abruptly. I pushed away my stool and left the kitchen.

I was just lacing up my sneakers in the hall when Mom called "where are you going sweetheart?"

"To school" I responded, tugging on my comfy jacket from its perch on the staircase banister.

"You're not walking to school, remember? Jared's offered you a ride!" she said loudly.

Rephrase that: you and Alicia pressured Jared into offering me a ride.

I'd had the risky notion that if I'd got up early enough and left as soon as possible, I could just completely avoid Jared and then lie, saying I'd just completely spaced. But I obviously couldn't do that now - thanks a lot Mom.