Two Thousand Miles Away

Chapter 4

Ella

Fourth period was my office aid period. I had to submit a resume and get chosen. This was one of my favorite periods because the receptionist loved me. One lived in my neighborhood and the other babysat my dad when he was a kid. Even for one of the most populated cities in the world, I still knew so many people.

I was putting mail in the teacher's mailboxes when a boy who often worked beside me suddenly approached me. "You're Ella, right?" he asked as he folded pamphlets for career day.

I nodded and smiled to myself. I never really noticed this guy. He was adorably attractive. Brown hair, brown eyes, a babyface.

Now I was blushing. This is why I never checked guys out. I pushed my hair behind my ear and said, "Yep, that's me. And you are?"
The boy smiled confidently even though I had no clue who he was. "I'm Ben." He combed his hand through his hair. He clearly thought that he was being sexy. It made me want to laugh. "You might have seen me on the baseball field a few times."

With that the moment was ruined. In one sentence Ben had gone from being a sweet, adorable guy to a self-absorbed, baseball player. It wasn't my dislike of sports people that made me think that. In his second sentence he's voice actually sounded cocky.

I frowned and shoved the next piece of mail into the cubby a little too forcefully. "I don't watch sports," I stated. That was the last piece of mail so I could get away from this guy.

"Ms. York," I asked the office worker, "is there anything else I can do?"
She nodded and asked me to put in the attendance. Ben walked back over to me. "What do you want?"

Ben smiled and waited for me to look up at him before he talked. "I know we just met. And that you don't really like me, but will you go out with me?"

I stopped what I was doing in shock. It was crazy that I was even considering this. But the truth was I had few close friends and never had a boyfriend.

I was lonely. So I said, very quietly, "Okay."

"What?" Ben asked, the smile on his face a little too big. He clearly heard what I said.

I rolled my eyes and walked away from him. Over my shoulder I said, "You know what I said."

Jacob

Dear Cinder,

So it's almost been three weeks so I figured we should talk. Don't wanna ruin your grade. Colorado's nice. Winter isn't anything like New York winters. It's normally above freezing and snow doesn't stay on the ground long. We have a mud season from April to May but we don't really feel the effects of it. It's really only skiing towns that get it.

Oh skiing. That's something to talk about. My whole family - great aunts and uncles included - goes on a trip to Vail every three years. My little cousins are always terrified of the ski lifts.

You'd be surprised how good three year olds can ski. Can they walk - nope. Can they ski down double black diamonds - somehow yes.

Tell me some stories about your life.

R2-D2

I made sure to mention nothing about how I played football. I'd just started this friendship and I didn't want it to end quite yet.

Rachel, who was sitting next to me on the back of my truck, spoke up. "Who are you texting?" she asked me, trying to look over my shoulder. It was after school and I just didn't feel like doing this right now.

I grabbed her hand in an attempt to instill trust. "Nobody," I answered. Rachel was known to have a slight jealousy problem. Once my cousin came to town and Rachel was sure that we were sleeping together.

"Nobody?" Rachel questioned with an eyebrow raised. "Nobody always means somebody."

I laughed. She was jealous of Cinder. The girl who I'd probably never meet. The girl who was just words on a screen.

As if on cue, my phone beeped. Cinder responded.

R2-D2,

I've never been skiing but it's something I've always wanted to try. Maybe I can try it once I get to Colorado.

New York is just like everyone pictures; loud, cold, and a bunch of people staring at their phones instead of having human contact. It's fun.

Today I got asked out by this guy who works with me in the office. He's cute and plays baseball and is kinda a jerk. But he seems like he could be a nice guy, so I'll give him a chance.

He told me to dress nice. You're a guy so what does that mean?

Cinder

I smiled as I read her message. She seemed so nice and down to earth. She was the girl who'd cheer you up when your sad even if she felt like crap herself. Like a girl who'd get excited about the weirdest thing ever. It was refreshing.

Cinder,

I'd go with a nice shirt and solid jeans. You can't go wrong with that.

Can I ask you a weird question?

Yes.

Okay. What's your name. If you don't want to answer that's fine. Mine is Jacob.

R2-D2/Jacob

Ella

I always turn my phone off when I enter a class. Just because I'm weird like that.

That's why I didn't respond to R2-D2, also known as Jacob. I quickly texted him back once I saw the message and told him my name. Our messages had become more like texts. Short and sweet with a lot of back and forth.

Now I had just gotten home and was choosing an outfit for my date. I was going to go with what Jacob recommended. He seemed like the type of guy who knew girls. I pulled on dark jeans and a white, floral shirt. I straightened my hair. I even put on a little makeup which was something that I never did.

Ben better appreciate everything I did. This was the most I've done to my appearance in a long time.

Right as I was about to leave my room Grayson ran in. "You look pretty. Did someone die?" he asked.

I jokingly smacked his head. "No. I'm going out."

My brother jumped on my bed and laid down. He also grabbed the stuffed animal I still slept with. "You mean a date?"

I shook my head but my cheeks flushed red. My brother didn't need to know about Ben unless it went somewhere. I sat down on my bed next to my brother. I started to run my hand through his brown hair. "I'm just going out with some friends."

I removed my hand from his hair and began to put on my black, leather boots. My phone dinged and I knew that Ben was here. It made me a little annoyed that he just texted. I always believed a real gentleman would come to the door and introduce themself to my dad. But it's the twenty first century now. That's not the way it works in today's society.

The date was a simple teenage date. We went to see a movie before getting Subway. I wasn't quite sure if I liked him like that. He was still a little full of himself but I could learn to deal with it. And he let me choose the restaurant so he can't be that bad.