Cinders

~13~ Potatoes~2

I get to school the next morning, and Aria has an attitude. "Any chance I can come over tonight?" She asks, crossing her arms.

"No. I'm grounded for another week," I say, rolling my eyes. She asks me this almost every day.

"Most guys would fight for me, Liam. This is getting old."

"Go find a different guy, then," I say as I walk away. I'm over this. I've been crushing on this girl in my History class, Brooklyn. Maybe it's time I talk to her.

I get into History, and to my pleasant surprise, we have a history project with assigned partners. Somehow fate is on my side, and I get Brooklyn as a partner. It's a pretty intense assignment, and we're gonna have to work on our project outside of class.

"You can come over to my house after school tonight if you want," she says, smiling shyly. This girl is so cute.

I smile at her as I shake my head. "I'd love to, but I'm grounded for another week. My mom has my phone so I can't text her."

She thinks about that for a moment before she comes up with another suggestion. "Would she let me come over to your place tomorrow? This project is gonna take forever."

"I'll have to ask. I'll see what I can do."

She nods and smiles. "We'll figure it out," she says simply. Woah! I don't have to fight with her about this? That's new!

Last period gets here already, and Aria comes up to me, slamming her books on my desk.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" She asks, pointing her finger in my face.

"Uh, no," I say, getting defensive already.

"I heard from Ruby that Brooklyn Jeffers is coming to your house tomorrow."

The whole class is silent as they stare at us.

"Can we talk about this later?" I ask, lowering my voice and matching her glare.

"No," she says, putting her finger even closer in my face.

"I don't even know if she can yet. I have to ask my mom. It's for a History project," I say, resisting the urge to push her finger out of my face.

"If she gets to go to your house, you better believe I'm gonna be there too. That little slut isn't going to be alone in the same room with you. Over my dead, freaking body."

"Am I supposed to have sex with her before or after my mom makes dinner, Aria?" I ask pushing her books off my desk.

"I'm not kidding, Liam. If she's there, so am I."

She picks up her books and plops in her seat.

I'm furious at this point. This is so stupid. I haven't done anything wrong, and I'm in trouble. Only this time it's with my girlfriend. Woman are such a headache.

I get home and I'm still in a horrible mood.

"Hey bud, how was your day?" Mom asks me as I walk in the door.

"Oh, riding the bus at 15 is amazing. Thanks. I don't know why you couldn't pick me up today. Sitting around all day watching TV is too hard for you?"

Mom just stands there, with her mouth open. She's trying to decide if she's mad or if her feelings are hurt. "Are you ok?" She finally asks.

"I'd be even better if I could watch the damn TV" I snap as I slam my book bag on the table and get a drink from the fridge.

"I need a couple of things from the store and I haven't had a chance to go today. Come on, let's go," she says, lowering her voice.

"Why do I have to come? You're a big girl."