Not Another Pretty Face

Pretty Confused

Chapter 3 - Pretty Confused

"Why won't you open... Yes!" I slide the key out of the keyhole and open the door.

"How can you not open the door? You really need practice with keys.” Michaela tells me as I enter the house.

“Yeah, whatever.” I say, waving my hand at her dismissively. We both drop our backpacks on the floor and walk toward the kitchen.

“So, what happened in English?” I stop and turn around, trying to look innocent.

“Why would something have happened? We had group discussions about the book and then…”

“Really Lyz? I heard all about it from Hannah.” I moan, totally forgetting Hannah is in my English class. She is the one person I would never tell a secret to, because she just has an inexplicable urge to tell people the first thing on her mind.

“What did she tell you?” I ask carefully.

“Well, she said that you and David were in the same group and then he told everyone that he liked you, then denied it, but that he was definitely blushing.”

“Why can’t she keep her mouth shut?” I grumble, pulling out some pretzels for us to eat. I pour them into a bowl as Michaela takes a seat at the table.

“She wasn’t trying to make you mad. She was really happy for you.” Michaela says simply, grabbing a pretzel from the bowl when I walk towards her and dropping it into her mouth. “In fact, she was telling me how he told his friends that he likes you.”

I’m about to tell her that she shouldn’t talk with her mouth full when I realize what she said. “Seriously?” I ask, almost dropping the bowl on the table.

“No, I just wanted to see if you like him.”

“And do I?” I ask her suspiciously.

“Definitely.”

Five minutes later, Michaela and I are up in my room, pulling out our English homework.

“What does Atticus tell Jem at the beginning of Chapter 22?” Michaela asks me.

“What number?” I reply.

“Three.”

I flip through the packet to find my answer. “Uh, he said that the thing that happened had happened before and would happen again. Then he asks not to be disturbed the next morning.”

“Ok, thanks.”

We work silently, Michaela asking me tons of questions while I answer them, me asking Michaela tons of questions while Michaela tells me she doesn't know the answer. I almost laugh as Michaela comments on how smart I am. She doesn't know the half of it.

“Hey Michaela, what does Scout tell us about Dill in Chapter 23?” I ask.

“Why don’t you call up David and ask him? You know, that’s always a good conversation starter, a question on homework.” Michaela finally says something besides "I don't know", but I'm not exactly happy with her answer.

“Never mind, I found the answer.” I say hurriedly as I search the book, and Michaela laughs.

“You just don’t want to admit that you like him!” Michaela says, sticking her tongue out at me. I stick mine out at her.

“I do not like him!”

“Just because you’ve never had a crush before doesn’t mean that you have to be scared.”

“I am not scared of liking someone! I just want you to know that David will never ever be my first crush. Ever.” I add on for emphasis. The thought makes me shudder.