Chapter Seven
1214 Words
After school let out for the day, Lizzie and Elle got on the bus to go home.
“Thank goodness, no teachers gave us homework on the first day,” Elle said, heaving a sigh of relief.
“You can say that again,” Lizzie said, leaning back in the seat and resting her head against the back of it.
“And did you see how she was throwing herself at him?” Lizzie heard a girl’s voice say from the seat behind her.
Frowning, she listened closer.
“I sure did,” another girl said. “It was quite humiliating to watch. I can imagine it must be even more humiliating for her.”
Her frown deepened, but before she could listen any further, Elle dug her elbow into her side.
“Are you even listening to me?” Elle complained.
Lifting her head from the back of the seat, Lizzie looked at her friend and said, “I’m sorry. I was… a bit overwhelmed by everything that happened today.”
Elle grinned at her and asked, “You mean, like finding a new boyfriend?”
Lizzie felt her face warm, and she grinned back.
Elbowing Elle in the ribs, she said, “He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Ow!” Elle said, rubbing her ribs and scowling at Lizzie before grinning and saying, “You mean, he’s not your boyfriend yet.”
Lizzie rolled her eyes at her friend and shook her head.
“And what about that boy you sit next to in science?” Elle asked. “What’s his story?”
Lizzie shrugged, trying to ignore the flutter in her stomach at the thought of him.
“I know his name is Luke, and he told me he’s new in town,” Lizzie told her. “We didn’t get to talk much before class started.”
“Too bad I didn’t get him for a lab partner,” Elle said, smiling dreamily. “He’s kinda cute. Not like my lab partner.”
She sighed in regret while Lizzie shook her head at her friend, trying to suppress a smile.
“What?” Elle asked, focusing her gaze on Lizzie. “Can’t a girl dream?”
Lizzie thought she heard a snicker from the seat behind them but ignored it.
At their stop, Elle and Lizzie stood up. Lizzie glanced at the seat behind them and saw two dark-haired girls with their heads together, talking to one another in whispers. She rolled her eyes and let out a small groan. The girls didn’t notice.
Once they were off the bus, Lizzie asked Elle, “Did you notice Sabrina and Tasha were in the seat behind us?”
Elle groaned and closed her eyes.
“I thought we were rid of the Toxic Twins this year,” she said. “Weren’t they supposed to go to Rockhart?”
“That’s what I’d heard, too,” Lizzie said. “But there they were, sitting in the seat behind us, making up their evil plans.”
“Great,” Elle moaned, shaking her head. “Why couldn’t they have just gone to Rockhart and have been out of our hair?”
“Maybe they were so evil, Rockhart said no, and they had to lower themselves to come to our school,” Lizzie said, grinning at her friend.
“Figures,” Elle said, shaking her head. “At least they weren’t in any of our classes, so we only have to worry about them on the bus.”
“True,” Lizzie agreed. “So there is a silver lining to this.”
Elle nodded, then said, “Well, this is my stop. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early!”
Lizzie nodded and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow!”
She watched her friend walk up the sidewalk to her house, then headed to her own a short ways away.
She walked up the sidewalk and let herself in. Going to her room, she set her backpack down on her desk and kicked off her shoes. Taking off her school uniform, she put on a pair of comfortably worn denim shorts and a t-shirt.
Padding into the kitchen, she opened the refrigerator and took out the gallon of milk. She got a glass out of the cupboard and poured herself a glass. As she drank it, she leaned against the counter and thought about her first day of school.
Her thoughts went to Deon, and she smiled. Then she thought about Luke and wasn’t sure what to make of him.
“Elle’s right,” she muttered as she rinsed out the glass and put it in the dishwasher. “He is cute, but is he my type?”
Shrugging, she turned to get the food out to make the dinner. She put the tray with the chicken in the oven, then got the pasta and veggies ready.
By the time she heard her parents coming in the door, she had the table set, and the food was cooling.
She hurried to the door to greet them, giving them hugs.
“Hey, Honey, how was the first day of school?” her mother asked as she hugged her.
“I hope you had a good day,” her father said, pulling her close for a hug.
“It went well,” Lizzie said, stepping back to look at her parents.
Jordyn Woods-Warden looked most like her daughter, with her dark blonde hair and greenish-blue eyes, but Edward Warden had supplied the height and lankiness.
Slinging her arms around her parents’ shoulders, she said, “I’ve got a hot meal ready for my two hard-working parents.”
“That’s nice to hear,” her mother said. “I’m starving.”
“I could definitely eat,” her father agreed.
They all went into the dining room, and her parents sat down while Lizzie brought out the food. Once everything was out, Lizzie took her seat and put her napkin over her lap.
“This looks good, Honey,” her mother said, reaching for the pasta.
“Delicious,” her father agreed, reaching for the chicken.
“Thanks,” Lizzie said. “I figured simple, yet hearty.”
Her mother giggled and said, “I think you’ve been watching too many cooking shows on television.”
Lizzie laughed and took the pasta her mother offered.
“You know I love those shows.”
“It shows,” her father said.
Once their plates were full and they had taken a few bites, her mother asked, “So, how was your first day of school?”
Lizzie nodded and said, “It went well.”
“Did you meet anyone new?”
Lizzie could feel her face warming, and she said, “Well, I did meet a new boy in school. His name is Deon Jeffers, and I think he likes me.”
She missed the look between her parents as she told them about Deon.
- Writer
