Sincerity Lane (a short story)

Chapter Three

Chloe waited until halfway through dinner before she mentioned the party to her parents. "There's something I wanted to ask you two." Without saying a word, her parents looked at her, waiting for her to ask the question. "Landon and his friends wanted to throw me a 'welcome' party, but none of their parents will let them have the party at their homes."

"So they want to know if they can have the party here?" Her mom asked as if she could read Chloe's mind.

Chloe gave her mom her sweetest smile. "Yes, that's correct."

"How many people are they planning to invite?" Her dad asked.

"Just a few of their friends from school, probably about ten to fifteen. It would give me a chance to get to know some of the people I'll be going to school with in a few weeks," Chloe answered, giving an excuse as to how the party could be at her advantage.

"When were you all wanting to have this party?" Her mom asked.

"This Saturday if possible."

"I'm okay with it as long as your mom is," Chloe's dad told her.

Chloe looked at her mom with an innocent expression, waiting for her answer.

"Alright, you can have the party on three conditions: no one is allowed upstairs, your dad and I are not leaving the house, we'll camp out in our bedroom, and you're responsible for making sure the downstairs is cleaned after the party."

"Deal," Chloe told her with a smile.

After dinner Chloe took Zeus out for a walk. Landon and Lindsay just happened to be standing in Landon's yard. "Hey guys," Chloe yelled with a wave.

Landon waved back, and then he and Lindsay met Chloe at the road. Zeus growled fiercely at Lindsay, showing his tiny, yet razor sharp teeth.

"Did you get an answer from your parents yet?" Lindsay asked, ignoring the little dog.

"Yeah, they said we could have the party on Saturday," Chloe answered, giving Landon a sweet smile.

Lindsay glanced at Landon then back at Chloe, her lips pursed. "Great, I'll start texting our friends, and Landon and I will go pick up food and drinks shortly."

"I can go with you if you'd like," Chloe told her.

"No, that's okay, I think we can manage," Lindsay answered deadpan. It was clear that Lindsay didn't want Chloe to go along. 

Landon threw Lindsay an evil glance.

What is her problem?  Chloe thought.

"Okay, well you can just message me the details later. I'll give you my number," Chloe told her.

Lindsay pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. "Okay, what is it?" Lindsay punched Chloe's cell phone number into her own phone. "Okay, I'll text you soon. See you later," Lindsay said before walking down the street toward her house.

"Thank you Chloe," Landon told her softly. His hands were in his pockets, and he seemed nervous.

"You're welcome."

"Landon, are you coming?" Lindsay yelled back over her shoulder.

"Yeah," he yelled back before putting his sights back on Chloe. "I'll see you soon."

"Okay, bye," Chloe told him. She watched for a moment as he took off after Lindsay.

Does Lindsay have a thing for Landon? Chloe thought before going back inside.