I sat on my bed, wondering what was going through Brent's mind. He was probably thinking about what a clutz this girl he was forced to hang out with was. After about 5 minutes of awkward silence I stood up off the bed.
"So," I started with. "What do you think?"
"It's nice," he said.
It was true. My room had just been painted and was a soft, delicate gray. The furniture was all white and her bed spread was a soft purple. The room had 4 windows, one on each side of the room, which all had incredible views of the country side.
"Where do you go to school?" I asked, trying to make conversation.
"Preston School," he replied. "You?"
"Cartmen High. What grade?"
"11th, you?"
"10th."
"Oh."
We stayed silent for a couple of minutes, listening to the soft murmurs of the book club members below. After about five minutes, Brent stood up and sat on the bed with me.
"So," he started, "You're in 10th grade? I really thought you were in 11th."
"Oh, ha ha," I laughed nervously. Was that a good thing he thought I was older? After a few minutes of thinking, I decided it was.
"So," I asked, "What kind of things are you into?"
"Well, I play soccer at school. I also skateboard and so...yeah. You?"
"I swim and yeah...that's pretty much it."
"Oh cool. My sister swims, too. I think she swims for Preston, though."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"How come I've known your mom forever but I didn't know she had a son?"
Brent sat there for a minute, probably thinking over his response, then spoke.
"When I was like 2 or 3 my parents got divorced. I'm not sure why, but I ended up living with my dad. My mom and I didn't talk at all for like 12 years. But last year I was out running errands with my dad and he ran into my mom. They ended up talking for a while at the store and then when I got home my mom called me and we talked for, like, almost 3 hours. And now, I live with her and my sister. I just moved here at the begining of the school year."
" Oh wow, I'm so sorry," I replied. How could I not know Ms. Cadwell had a son? Then again, every time she came over I was locked away in her room munching on popcorn.
I turned to look at Brent's face. He had already been looking at me when our eyes met. It felt like we'd been starring at each other forever when he leaned in close and kissed me.
