Chickadee ( A Ghost Bird series Fanfic) DISCONTINUED

Lunch duty

Finally, at noon, we get out of the pool, laughing. "Time for lunch," I say. "Are you okay with tacos?"

"I love tacos."

"Cool, so do I," I agree, grabbing a towel and handing the other to Alex. We dry off a little bit and then head inside, only to find that my mom has made chocolate chip cookies. "Mom, you're going to spoil him," I fake whine.

"Hey, I'm not complaining," Alex says, putting his hands in the air.

"I'll be right back," I say, running to my room to change. I pull on a white t-shirt and some shorts and fix my braid, then run back out to the kitchen to find Alex has eaten three cookies and is in the process of shoving a fourth one into his mouth as he sits at the kitchen counter.

"You're not allergic to anything, are you?" I ask.

"Nope, nothing," he says, his mouth full. I grin.

I go to the fridge and pull out the fake ground beef made out of soy that I use instead of real meat, because I'm a pescetarian. Then I turn on the stove and grab a pan out of the cabinet, placing it on the stove to warm up. I see Alex reaching for a fifth cookie and slap his hand with the spatula I got out to cook with. "No more cookies until after lunch. You'll spoil you your appetite," I scold.

"Yes, mom." I turn back to the stove and continue making lunch, feeling Alex's eyes drill holes into me the entire time.

"Are you almost done?" he complains. "It smells really good and I'm hungry!"

"Yep, just a second," I say, mixing the taco seasoning into the "ground beef". I pour the fake meat into a bowl and get the lettuce and cheese out of the fridge and place them on the counter. Then I grab a couple of plates and a spoon for the meat out of the cabinet and the taco shells out of the pantry.

Alex helps himself to four tacos, which leaves me wondering how he is so skinny. I make myself two tacos and sit down next to him to eat.

"So, what classes are you taking?" I ask, trying to make small talk.

"All of the required classes, including advanced english, plus, marine biology, German, and band."

"Marine biology and band? Hmm, interesting combo."

"Oh yeah, and what classes are you taking, miss smartypants?"

"Every honors class they offer, French, creative writing, and yearbook."

"Don't you have to actually know the school to be in yearbook?"

"I guess not," I say, shrugging. "So, what's your favorite food?"

"Meat lovers pizza." I wrinkle my nose just thinking about all that meat.

"So I'm guessing you're not a pescetarian?"

"What's that?"

"It's like a vegetarian, but you can eat seafood and eggs."

"Oh. Nope, I couldn't go a day without meat. By the way, thanks for the food! These tacos are probably the best I've had in a long time."

"Thanks, I'm glad you like them. But, have you ever tried tofu? I heard it's just as good, if not better," I say, a grin threatening to break free.

"Yes, and I've never liked the fake kind. Real meat is just so much better!"

Oh really? "Well, personally, I'm a huge pescetarian," I say, taking a big bite of my taco.

His eyes nearly pop out of his head as he realizes what I mean."You're kidding!"

"Nope," I say, popping the p.

"No way this is fake meat!"

"You better believe it."

Suddenly, he stiffens and pulls his phone out of his pocket. He scrolls through the messages and his blue eyes go dark and stormy. I think I hear him mumble "shit," but I'm not sure.

"Hey, I got to go, but I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay?" he says looking up from his phone at me. I forgot, school starts tomorrow.

"Okay," I say, glad to have a friend when I start my first day. "Bye."

"Bye Spencer," he says, and snags a couple more cookies before he heads out the front door.

I grab a cookie and munch on it happily, thinking about tomorrow, the first day of the rest of my life.