A Boy Called Noah

Chapter Fourteen

Noah James

Blinking his eyes in confusion Noah slowly rises from the very uncomfortable couch. "What the hell happened?"The covers fall to the ground as Lekia finally wakes up. "Noah?" Memories of the previous night's events wash into Noah's mind like a tidal wave. "Yeah, I'm here, Lekia. You okay?" Lekia doesn't answer the question but slips her bare feet from under the soft covers, "Thanks for letting me crash here." "Lekia..." "I'll be gone when you come back up from breakfast." "Lekia..." "Noah, please stop. I hate pity and I hate what you're doing right now. Stop, okay. Just stop." Noah raises an eyebrow, "I just wanted to know what you wanted for breakfast." Amusement sparkles in his eyes as he playfully smirks at her, "I wasn't going to pity you." Lekia quickly recovers and moves to grab her dark jeans, "I'm not staying for breakfast, idiot." She slips out of the window and leans back in for her last words, "See ya at school, weirdo." She blows a mock kiss and Noah laughs while pretending to 'grab' the kiss and brings it to his heart, "I'll miss you." Lekia snorts and her head of purple curls disappear. 

***

"Morning, Noah." Noah visibly cringes at the sound of Yvette's voice across from him. "Did you sleep well?" He stiffly nods after his father sends him a death glare. He throws a quick glance to his watch and clears his throat while pushing his chair out, "Um, I have to get to school." "But you barely touch food. Food not good?"  Noah turns to face his childhood nanny, "Of course not, Vera. It's great I just have to hurry to school. I can't be late again." Vera-Lee lowers her head in disappointment, "Okay, you go. I go clean now." She quietly walks out of the pristine kitchen and Noah's heart clenches at the thought of hurting the short Latino woman's feelings but he slips on his favorite black chucks and quickly grabs his backpack and car keys. "Wait! Yvette needs a ride!" Noah ignores his father's call and practically rips his car door open and revs the car's engine. 

Yvette and her mother pop out of the front door as Noah's car peels out of the drive way and starts gliding down the road with a roar. "Asshole!" "Yvette!" 

Glancing at his rear view mirror, Noah bursts out laughing at the sight of Yvette and her mother clearly yelling at each other and his father appearing in the doorway with his briefcase and suit jacket in his arms. His father quickly makes his way into his SUV as the two yelling females make a B-line for him. 

Noah's laughter dies down after he rounds the corner of their street's block. His smile starts fading as he anticipates the day ahead of him. Will Amalthea be there? Is she okay? Where was she yesterday? His thoughts keep swirling even after he parks his car and makes his way toward the school. 

A body suddenly slams into Noah's and they both tumble to the ground. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was go-" The girl stops mid-sentence when she sees Noah. Their eyes lock and Noah softly smiles at they gray eyes staring back at him, "Hey." She nervously nibbles on her bottom lip and shyly looks away, "Hi." Noah blows out a breathy laugh and gently pushes her off of his chest, "As comfortable as that was, we both unfortunately have to get to class." Amalthea blushes a deep crimson and lightly brushes off her skirt, "R-right. I-I'll see you around." Noah winks at her and continues on his journey to his locker, a smile playing on his lips the entire time.

***

"Mr James, please pay attention." Noah yawns and lightly stretches his body while the teacher continues her boring lecture on the laws of physics. He rubs his eyes and places his head on his arms dozing off to a dreamless sleep.  Unfortunately the chair next to him scrapes back and a body casts a shadow over his desk. Noah raises his head about to thank whoever was blocking the sun but stops short at noticing who the certain 'savior' is. "What the fuck do you want?" "Nice to see you too, bro." "I am not your 'bro'.  Not since you became such an asshole." The boy mockingly places his hand over his heart , "You wound me. Anyway let's talk business." "Fuck off." "Now don't be like that, you might like what I have to say. Now be a good boy and listen." Noah rolls his eyes and ignores the boy next to him. 

Poke. "Noah." Poke. "Noah." "Shut the fuck up, Tony." Noah's whisper carries a deadly tone that shuts Tony up for a few minutes but he quickly shakes off the nerves and starts poking Noah's shoulder again. "Noah." Poke. "Noah." Poke. "No-" "What?! What?! Wha-" "Mr James!" Noah's head snaps towards the teacher glaring at him. "I didn-" 'Please leave my classroom and I'll see you in detention this afternoon." Noah's jaw drops and he starts protesting but the teacher just gestures toward the door. "Thanks a-fucking-lot, Tony." he snaps before storming out of the classroom and toward the stairway to the roof.

***

Noah loudly sighs and leans his arms on the roof railing. Why the fuck did Tony Ryder have to just pop up in his life again?! He growls in frustration and tightly grips his hair. "Fuckmylife." 

"Hey, relax. The point of coming up here is for peace and quiet, not yelling and cussing." Noah's head snaps toward the familiar mop of dark hair, "Amalthea?" "Thea. Just Thea." Noah quickly recovers from his shock and stupidly blinks at Amalthea. "What, huh? Why? You? Here?" Amalthea quietly giggles and smiles at Noah, "Everyone needs to breakaway once in a while. This just happens to be one of my favorite places to breathe. What about you? Why are you up here at this fine hour?" "It's a long story..."