Can You Not?

Chapter 5

Norah decided that she would treat herself with a candy bar. It was Friday and the vending machine was on her way out anyway. She was jabbing the buttons on the machine when someone tapped on her shoulder. It was Victor. He was holding her biology notebook.

"You forgot this in class," he said as her handed it to her.

"Oh! Thanks." She took the book from him and tucked it into her backpack.

"No problem," Victor said.

He disappeared down the hall and Norah wondered what his plans for the weekend were. He wasn't very social, but he didn't seem like a misanthrope either. Maybe he played games online.

When she got outside, her heart took a dip. Ellis was standing next to her mother's car. His presence always meant one of two things: annoyance or butterflies.

"Ellis," she said curtly as she reached the car. It was a habit.

He grinned at her. Always grinning. "Norah," he said in a singsong voice.

"Honey," her mother said. "Ellis invited you to his birthday party tomorrow."

"What?" Norah looked at Ellis. "Why didn't you tell me at lunch?"

"I was in the mood to be chivalrous and ask your mom. She thinks you should come, so are you up for it?"

"Are my friends invited?"

"Of course."

"Sure," she said. "Then I'll go."

"Awesome," he said and climbed into the back of the car. Apparently he was getting a ride with them since he'd missed the bus. 

The party reminded her why she didn't go to them. There were way too many strange but familiar faces. So many seniors she'd never met showed up. She never knew that Ellis was so popular. If it weren't for her own friends, she'd have left ten minutes in. They weren't much help though. Jena was off talking to Buzz somewhere and Colleen followed a guy from the football team outside.

"Mingle," she hissed in Norah's ear on her way out. "Have fun!"

That was a lot easier said than done. Norah poured herself a drink and wandered aimlessly through the throngs of people in hopes of finding a good place to camp out, but with no success. People kept bumping into her. It felt like they were watching her and she couldn't find her friends or Ellis anywhere. Her hand with the cup started shaking, so she sat it down on the nearest surface and tried getting out of the crowd. She considered going to the bathroom to take some time out, but the downstairs bathroom was occupied. As a last resort to get away from the pressure building in her chest and the ringing in her ears, she went upstairs. She had no intention of going into any rooms, but when she saw that one of the doors was open a crack and what was inside looked like a teenage guy's room, she knew it belonged to Ellis and she couldn't resist. She snuck into the room and closed the door behind her. The quiet was beautiful, but it also made her feel guilty for being in his room without his permission. She turned and took it all in. The walls were painted grey, only just visible underneath a myriad of band and movie posters. There was a kindergarten-esque painting on top of a small, worn bookshelf with maybe six books on it. It was filled up mostly with video games and random knick knacks. There was a guitar on the bed and a small open box next to it. It was very much a guy's room. As she stood in front of one of his windows, she realized that she could not only see her backyard, but she could also see straight into her own room. It made her feel suddenly very uncomfortable. She was about to leave when the doorknob turned and Ellis was in the room with her. His face went from confused to surprised in a flash.