The Mediator

Chapter 6

When I got home my mom's car wasn't in the driveway. It was rare for me to beat her home. I went inside and looked for a note in the kitchen. Nothing. However, there was a message on the answering machine. I hit play.

"Hey Cass," It was my mom, "Jack called me at work. He got a promotion so he asked me to go out for dinner with him and a few of his co-workers. I won't be home for dinner. Sorry, you're on your own tonight, kiddo! I won't be out late. Call my cell if you need me."

I looked at the clock; it was only a quarter to four so I decided I had some time to kill before worrying about dinner. I got out my calculus book and began the homework assignment.

I was halfway finished when the phone rang. I got up from the table, a little aggravated, to answer it. "Hello?" I said.

"Hey, Cassie!"

"Oh, hey Hail. What's up?" I regretted this because I didn't get another word in for about twenty minutes. Hailey talked mostly about Justin and how he offered her a ride home and then asked her out to dinner for Saturday night.

"Can you believe he kissed me?" she said excitedly.

"Yeah, that's great!" I agreed. I wasn't really surprised at all, but I was happy for her.

"So you and Rob..." she trailed off suggestively.

"What about us?" I asked a little guarded. "We're just friends. I think" I stressed the 'just friends' part.

"Well, I saw you two leave after school together so I thought maybe-, "

"No," I interrupted. "But he did..." I paused, "Don't get too excited because he told me this was only a favor..."

"Spit it out!" she squealed eagerly.

"He asked me to have lunch with him and his sister tomorrow; as friends." I stressed the friend thing again.

Hailey practically screamed with delight, "That's great, Cassie! You'll have to tell me how it goes!"

"Yeah, it should be interesting," I said dryly. I wanted to get off the phone now so she wouldn't continue to badger me with questions, "Hailey, I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow." I waited for her goodbye and then hung up.

I completed the remainder of my calculus homework before making myself dinner. I'm not much of a cook, so this was a rather difficult task. After searching the refrigerator and deciding against left over Chinese food I settled with a grilled cheese sandwich. I could make it relatively easily without messing up or causing a fire. While my sandwich cooked on the stove I poured myself a glass of milk and went into the family room to turn on the T.V. I channel surfed for a minute before running back to the kitchen to flip my sandwich one last time. Once my sandwich was done I took it and my glass of milk into the living room and watched T.V. while I ate.

There wasn't much on that caught my attention. I settled with some network movie. The acting wasn't that great and neither was the plot, so once I finished eating I turned the T.V. off. I put my dishes in the dishwasher and then set the dishwasher on delay for an hour. It was only six-thirty now, my homework was done and there was nothing on T.V. so I decided to take a shower early to waste time. I spent more time in the shower than usual, but it was relaxing. I needed it, and I didn't feel guilty about indulging a little. After I got out I brushed my teeth and blow dried my hair straight. After all of that it was only seven-thirty. It was going to be a long night.

I decided to do some laundry just to waste time before bed. The pile in the hamper was getting ridiculously high anyway. I began making piles on the laundry room floor: darks, lights, jeans, towels, and then the doorbell rang. I thought about not answering it, because I was in my pajamas for one thing, and for another I wasn't expecting anyone. Not to mention I was home alone if it was some creep trying to break in or something. I walked cautiously to the door, careful not to make too much noise in case I didn't want to answer it. I stood on my behind the door and looked through the peep hole.