I Knew You Before You Noticed Me

Chapter 7

I tried not to think too much of it as I walked down her front path and locked the gate behind me, but my worries wouldn't leave me alone. Had I done something? Said something?

Or maybe I wasn't as casual as I thought I was.

Linh must've seen the look on my face when I got home, because she gave me a small frown as I set my bag on the kitchen table. "What happened?"

"Nothing," I said, heading towards the pantry for something to eat. I paused in the doorway and sighed. "I don't know."

"I can't read your mind, Tam," she reminded me gently. "What happened?"

I shrugged, shutting the door. "I'm not really sure. I just...she asked why I dyed my hair like this and I told her...the truth...and she kinda closed up. Do you think I scared her away?"

Linh tugged on her hair as she thought. "Honestly, Tam, I'm not sure. I'm not close enough to her to know that. But it's possible she just didn't know how to respond. That's a common reaction from people who don't know what it's like to go through that." She shrugged. "Just give her time."

"That's what Wylie said too," I noted, sliding into the seat across from her. "Speaking of which, how was your little date the other day? I never asked you about that."

My sister turned pink. "It was fine."

"Just fine?"

"Good," Linh amended. "Great. Amazing?"

I grinned. "Glad to hear it."

"I heard you two up until two the other night," she told me. "Gaming again?"

"Always," I said, still smiling. "Nothing relieves stress like virtually murdering people."

Linh laughed. "As long you don't make that a reality, I couldn't care less. Though a little less screaming would be nice."

"Yes Ma'am," I said, adding in a salute for good measure.

My sister shook her head with a smile. "I have homework I gotta get done. See you for dinner?"

I nodded. "You bet."

She left and I resumed my hunt for food. Making myself a quick sandwich, I sat down at the table and scrolled through my phone, checking my texts. A kid named Dex had been messaging me a lot, asking about our science project together. We were almost done, but he kept coming up with ideas to add. I didn't want to bring him down, so I just told him whatever he wanted to add he had to do himself, which he strangely didn't seem to mind.

I stuffed the rest of the sandwich in my mouth and headed to my room. Linh was sitting at her desk, earbuds in and taking notes. She'd probably be a while.

I flopped onto my bed, put my own earbuds in and fell asleep to the music.

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So, that was rushed. Oh well