POPULAR: An Emma Teen Fan Fiction (Sunrise High #3)

POPULAR: chapater fourteen (The Refusal)

Chapter Fourteen

The Refusal

      That night, I fixed daddy his dinner but he typically brushed my culinary efforts aside (trying to get him to stick to the nutritious food plan I devised for him is difficult). He told me, ‘Honey, sweetie. You are the best daughter in the world but I’m just not hungry for carrots when I’m in the middle of a deal.”

   “You need your vitamin D, daddy. I’ve been reading about middle aged men needing extra vitamins to combat mood swings and depression.”

  “Don’t you mean women?”

  “No daddy, men can be just as affected by depression. It’s the scourge of the modern age.”    

  “Sometimes I wonder where you get your facts from Honey Woodhouse!”

  “The internet, of course.”

  Daddy shrugged and raced off to his study as usual. I wish he’d slow down.

  As I’d just returned from cheerleading practice (Hilary and I made the team) the only thing left for me to do was shower and change and wait for Ethan to come over for our movie night. Of course I’d never want to be one of those girls who ‘waits’ for her man, but since Ethan’s just a friend, those rules don’t apply to us.

    It was bothering me a little just how much I looked forward to hanging out with Ethan that day. It was like a change had come over me but I couldn’t identify what it was.

     I’m sure the last time we had movie night he snuggled just a bit closer to me on the couch. Then I remembered he said he might bring Gigi.

   Sure enough, there was a knock on the door of my home at exactly 6.30pm. Ethan is very reliable like that and we like to get started early.

   “Where’s your girlfriend?”

   “I didn’t bring her. Gigi has her linguistics study group.”

   “Oh, how riveting. Maybe… you should have gone with her. Just putting it out there, ” I added, placing a bowl of Ethan’s favorite chips on the table, “Sounds like  she has her eye on someone special in study group.” I added. “Like, maybe another boy…” This comment may have been slightly beneath me but I couldn’t resist.

   “She does not.”

   “Then why isn’t she here?”

   “Because I didn’t invite her!”

   “No need to get annoyed.”

    I went to check the popcorn with a smile on my face. I made Ethan’s favorite with extra butter. We’d chosen a Star Wars retrospective for the evening’s viewing but it was just an excuse for me to finish my self-manicure (I’d missed my weekly appointment at Marvin Markin’s to go to cheer practice). Besides, I wanted to ask Ethan’s advice without him realizing it.   

  “You should be happy I even turned up since I’m kind of over your snarky little asides.”

  “Oh, you’ll never be over them, Ethan,” I said under my breath as I retrieved the starters Phoebe and I spent all afternoon making.

   Phoebe and I also manage to meet up once a week especially now she’s having her first baby. Wednesday is there too when she’s in town, and sometimes Mark is too. Mark Knightly is the perfect older man. I wish Ethan would take some notice of how to behave with women and how to dress, from him, since Ethan seems to ignore my influence at every turn.