I noticed in the last chapter I wrote that her mom was picking her up rather than her dad. Well, I meant to say dad, so let's just pretend I did…
Anyways, thanks for the reviews!
Hope you enjoy chapter 2!
I'm scanning through my journal/songbook, looking for anything embarrassing he could have read. What if he's telling his friends about it right now? The last thing I need right now is another reason to be made fun of.
I haven't written too many embarrassing things. Just one passage about the cell phone accessory cart guy, Dallas. The rest is just song lyrics mostly. Wait- what if he read about Miss Pennyworth? [1] That would be much worse than any passage about a crush! I start to chew my hair in panic when I realize that my dad was coming to pick me up, and I haven't been waiting outside!
I walk back out and see my dad waiting for me in the car. I run up quickly and get into the passenger seat.
"What was that about?" My dad asks as soon as I get in.
"What was what about?" I ask back.
"You chasing that boy into the building. I saw it as I was driving into the pickup area."
He sounds upset. I guess I got too distracted and didn't see him coming.
"Oh, he took my songbook and I was trying to get it back. I'm sorry, dad," I say it as sweetly as possible, hoping that he won't ground me from reading again. That was horrible! [2]
A big smile suddenly appears on his face, "So, uh, who is this boy?" he says, lifting an eyebrow.
"Ugh! No one dad. I only just met him today!"
"What's his name?"
"Uh…Austin? Yup, it was Austin," I try and pretend like I couldn't remember. I didn't really forget his name. I mean really, how could I forget? The way he stared into my eyes when he said it…
"Hello?! Ally?" My dad breaks into my thoughts.
"Oh, uh, sorry dad. What did you say?"
"I asked you how your first day went," he says.
"It was good," I lie. I don't bother trying to talk to my dad about how much it sucked, he wouldn't understand. If only mom were still here…
*le flashback*
"You're leaving for a whole year!?" I yell as tears begin to burst through.
My mom had just broken the news to me that she'll be leaving to Africa in a week, and she won't be back for a whole year. I can feel my heart cracking inside.
"Yes, but don't worry hun, I'll video chat with you!"
"But that's not the same!" How will I survive a year without her?
"C'mon Ally-gator, you know that I'm always with you, and I love you with all of my heart," she says as she wraps me into a hug.
I embrace her for a moment, but then frustration takes me over and pull away and run up to my room, slamming the door. One more week and then she's gone for year! I sob into my pillow until I drift away into dream land…
*Back to the present*
That was 10 months ago now, but it feels much longer. I don't know if I can handle even just 2 more months without her. I want to tell her about today, about Austin, about the bullies. I would talk to my dad about it, but it's just not the same. I told myself that I would use these 12 months to build a stronger relationship with him, but I haven't made much progress. I mean, whenever I do try telling him about my problems, he just says "Oh" or "Ally I'm too busy to talk about this right now." Either that, or he gives ridiculous advice. Don't get me wrong, I really love my dad, but I just don't understand him, and he just doesn't understand me.
Once we've parked into the driveway of our house, I run inside quickly and head into my rooms. I grab my ipod, put on my headphones, and turn the music up loud as I plop down onto my bed.
I wake up to a knock on the door. My head phones are still on, and I'm on the floor. Wow, I've never fallen asleep while listening to music before…
I move to get up, but quickly stop as a feel an ache on my back, from sleeping on the floor, of course.
"Ally, I got some pizza. Please come down and eat," I hear my dad say through the door.
I yawn, "Sorry dad, I fell asleep…" I get up and open the door.
I breathe in the wonderful scent of pizza and cheesy bread as I run past my dad to the kitchen table. Boy am I hungry! I didn't eat much for lunch; I was too distracted by Austin's constant glances.
I grab a slice of gooey cheese pizza sink my teeth into it as my dad enters the room.
"You'd think you hadn't eaten in days," he says, laughing.
I laugh, "Can you blame me? This pizza is amazing!"
"It sure is," he says as he gets himself a slice.
Ever since my mom left, we rarely eat home meals. I really miss my mom's homemade pasta and soups, they were the best! I can't wait until she gets back so I can have it again. The takeout we get is pretty good, but after eating pretty much nothing but that for a year, you get really tired of it. I'm so hungry right now, though, that I'd probably love to eat anything.
I'm about to get my second piece of the delicious, saucy, and cheesy pizza when my dad tries to start conversation,
"So, do you like your teachers?"
"I guess so," They were ok.
"Did you make any new friends?"
"Uh…no," I wouldn't call Austin my friend…yet…
"What about that boy Austin?"
"Well I wouldn't exactly call stealing someone's songbook friendly", I respond quickly.
He just says "Oh," and continues eating.
I finish up eating and go over to wash my plate. There's a window right in front of our sink, so whenever I'm washing a dish, I stare out the window at the birds flying, and the squirrels chasing each other….Nature is just so beautiful.
After I've washed and dried my dish, I go back to my room and grab my phone. I have 2 new messages, both from Trish. It reads: "Hey can u meet me at mall? I wan 2 hang out."
I text back:
"I'll be there in a bit."
I run to the door and begin slipping on my shoes when my dad asks me where I'm going.
"I'm going to meet Trish at the mall, is that ok?"
"Yeah, just be back in an hour," he says, and with that, I'm out the door.
Trish had just texted me and told me she was at Mini's, so I make my way over there. When I arrive, I see Trish is wearing a headband with a shampoo bottle on top. That's the usual with Trish, she has a new job every day.
Trish spots me and gets up, "Guess who got a job at Sheila's Shampoo?!" she exclaims.
She asks me this question pretty much everyday.
I sigh, "Uh…you?" I say jokingly.
"Yup," she says.
"So do you like working there?" I don't matter; she'll be fired by the end of the day.
"It's fine. Oh look!" she picks up a little box, "I got a mini cake from Mini's! Isn't it cute?"
She opens up the box to reveal a tiny chocolate cake.
"Awww! It's so cute!" I feel weird calling a cake cute, but it was just so small, and so….adorable!
Suddenly, someone snatches the box.
"Well isn't this cute? I think I'll keep it for my Gingerbread family," says a tall redheaded boy. He was also one of the boys that laughed at me. To my surprise, Austin comes up from behind him. He smiles at me for a moment, and then turns away.
Trish glares at the other dude for moment, then kicks him the shin, causing him to drop the cake.
The redhead screams a very high pitched scream, then runs off, Austin following. I can't help but feel relieved that he's gone.
"Stupid Dez," I hear Trish say.
"You know him?" I ask.
"Unfortunately, yes. We used to be friends when we were kids, now he just lives to annoy me," she says.
"That's too bad," I say, still looking in the direction that Austin went.
"Nah, I kind of enjoy hating him," she says as she cuts into the tiny cake.
We both laugh and take a bite out of our half of the delicious mini cake.
Trish and I are still laughing and talking when I realize that I haven't been keeping track of the time.
"Trish, what time is it?" I ask her.
"Uh…" she glances at her watch, "7:15."
"Shoot!" I jump out of my seat, "I was suppose to be home at 7!"
"Ok, see you tomorrow," she says. I wave goodbye start to run home. Thank goodness I live close to the mall. My dad actually owns a music store there called Sonic Boom. I spend most of my free time there working the counter and hanging out with Trish. There's even a practice room up the stairs with an old piano that I use to help me write songs. I never perform in front anyone though; I have horrible stage fright. I like to record my songs for fun, though.
When I reach my house, I spot my dad sitting at the porch. I begin to chant, "I'm sorry" as I go up to him, but he holds his hand up for me to stop.
"First of all, that's annoying," he begins, "Second of all, just…get inside."
He gets up and we both walk into the house in silence. I guess I'm getting off easy tonight…
I do my Algebra homework real quick, then go to my room to get my Pajamas on. It may only be 8:00ish, but I'm exhausted. Today was a long first day of school. After brushing my teeth, I jump into bed without even bothering to get under the sheets. In a few moments, I'm out like a light…
I shoot straight up from the sound of a loud knock on the door. I look over at the clock and see that it's 6:15 in the morning. I'm usually up at 6, but I guess my alarm didn't go a off. Either that or I slept through it. Thankfully, my dad was able to see that and knocked on my door.
I get up and jump into the shower. As always, the hot water feels very soothing on my back. So soothing, infact, that it felt like I had just about fallen asleep in there.
I get dressed quickly and dry my hair. I put the usual curls in my hair and head downstairs for breakfast.
I'm greeted by the fresh aroma of pancakes, and…pickles! Yes, pickles. I LOVE them! I'd eat them with just about anything. Even with pancakes. (Pancakes + pickles = Austin + Ally! :P haha)
I enter the kitchen and see that my dad has set up a plate with pancakes and a small bowl of pickles on the side. I sit down, pour the syrup, and begin to dig in. I take a few bites of the crunchy, juicy pickles in between my bites of pancakes.
My dad walks into the room with his eyes glued to his new iphone, "You ready to go soon?" he asks.
"Yup, just gotta brush my teeth real quick," I say.
As I run to the bathroom and close the door, I hear my dad yell over, "I'll be waiting in the car!"
I brush my teeth quickly (probably too quickly), grab my bag, and run outside toward the car.
My dad turns up the radio loud on the drive there. I would enjoy that – since I love music- but my dad has a very different taste than mine. He LOVES country. I let out a loud sigh and my dad just laughs as he sings along with the radio.
We make it to Marino High and I give my dad a quick "bye" before running out toward the school.
I get some nasty looks as soon as I walk through the doors. I just look down at my feet and try my best to ignore them until I accidentally bump into someone. I look up and see that it's the same boy that called me a loser yesterday, and he's with Austin and Dez.
He turns around and gives me a rude look, "Watch where you're going, worthless," he says as he pushes me to the ground. He, Austin, and Dez all laugh as they start to walk away. Austin looks back at me, shoots me a supposedly sympathetic look, then throws a paper air plane at me as he laughs again, his facial expression changing into a mocking look.
And the first thought I can muster up is,
"What is it with this boy?"
And that's the end of chapter 2! What did you guys think? Please leave your thoughts in the reviews! Constructive criticism is accepted, as long as there is no bad language. Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter!
Btw, I'm sorry I haven't updated Crushes and Curiosities in a while. I'm working on it and I promise I'll have it up soon!
[1] Her imaginary friend that she talks to when she's stressed. Remember that from the show?
[2] She was grounded from reading in Parents and Punishments. :)