CHAPTER FOUR
The rest of the school day went by in a blur. I met a lot of people and made a few friends. Though I had an alright day at my first day of school, I still missed home. It felt like no matter how great the days went, I would still miss Florida. I went to Natalie's school to pick her up and when I pulled up to the roundabout, she was laughing with a red headed girl, a brown-haired girl and a few boys. I pulled up and Natalie opened the car door, but didn't get inside.
"Hey monkey, you ready to get home?" I asked.
"I am going to hitch a ride on Will's bike back to Mike's house. They play this board game that they keep talking about and I want to see what the fuss is about." She said leaning into the window. I looked behind her and saw the boys. They looked harmless.
"Is it just going to be you and three boys?" I asked with a motherly tone. I loved our mom, but I was the only one watching out for Natalie in the parental sense. She rolled her eyes.
"Max is going too. She is the red head." She said, pointing to Max who then waved at me. I nodded and smiled to acknowledge her gesture.
"Well okay. Just call me later and let me know his address so I can pick you up for dinner. Okay?" I ordered. She nodded. "Okay have fun monkey." I said as she waved and went back to her new group of friends. I went home and pulled up to the circle driveway in front of our massive new home. My mom's Porsche was parked in front of mine and Simon had been at work all day and wouldn't be back for a while. I walked into the foyer and felt the emptiness of the house. "Mom?" I called out.
"In here honey." My mom answered from the family room. I walked inside, and she was lounging on the couch, wine already in hand. My mom wasn't perfect. She loved us, and she did the best she could, but she was anything but perfect. I could tell she was already at least a bottle in. "How was your first day?" She said as she changed the channel on the television.
"It was good. They had a tough time placing me in classes because they don't offer anything I haven't already taken. I met lots of people." I said as I set my keys down.
"That's great, dear. Where is your sister?" She asked as she sipped her dry red.
"She went to a friend's house. She said she would call and let me know where to pick her up." I said. My mom nodded.
"Okay. I am ordering take out tonight, sound good?" My mom said, not taking her eyes off the infomercial.
"Yeah. Sounds good. I am going to work on some homework." I said as she nodded, mindlessly. I went up to my room and blasted The Cure as I started on some mathematics. I had been doing homework for a couple of hours when my personal line started to ring. I flopped on my bed and picked up the phone.
"Hello?' I asked.
"Nora? It's me. I'm ready to come home. I am at sixteen maple street." Natalie said as she laughed in between words with her friends.
"Okay monkey. That isn't too far, I will just walk. I should be there in about fifteen minutes." I said as she laughed some more and hung up. It made me smile that she had made friends. I was worried that she wouldn't make any. I put on a light jacket and shoved my boots back on. I saw my mom in the living room, in the exact same place she was a couple of hours prior. I headed out the front door and started walking through the neighborhood. I walked through the mansions then got to the normal suburbs. Just as I was getting ready to head up to the street leading to Maple, a Camaro pulled up next to me.
"Hey good lookin'!" Billy Hargrove yelled out of the passenger window. He slowed down to almost a stopping point. "Where ya headed?" He asked.
"Maple Street. I'm supposed to be picking up my little sister." I said. He got a surprised look on his face.
"Maple Street huh? That's where I am headed too, have to pick up my step-sister, Max." He said, almost sounding annoyed at his task.
"Max? I think she and my sister are at the same place." I said, looking down the street.
"Exactly, so why don't you get in?" He said. "I promise I won't bite." He said holding his hands up momentarily, letting the steering wheel go. I smiled slightly and rolled my eyes.
"Fine." I said. He laughed in victory and I opened the door. I got inside, and he peeled out.
"So, where you from?" He asked.
"Florida." I replied. He smiled. "You?" I asked.
"Southern California baby." He said, smirking at me.
"Sucks doesn't it?" I asked.
"Yeah, it does." He said, somehow knowing what I meant without me asking the specific question. I smiled. We pulled up to the Wheeler house and got out of his car. I rang the doorbell and who I assumed was Mrs. Wheeler answered. She immediately noticed Billy.
"Well hi, Billy." She said, blushing and fixing her hair.
"Hey Karen. Good to see you again." Billy said in a flirty voice. Karen blushed some more, and we see Max along with Natalie coming through the foyer. Max smiled at me but her smiled suddenly faded when she saw Billy. I put my arm around Natalie and started to walk away from the gross display that was Karen Wheeler flirting with Billy Hargrove with at least a good fifteen years between them. What's worse is I could hear Billy flirting back. Billy suddenly stopped what he was doing and called out.
"Hey! What about a ride home?" He yelled as we start walking on the sidewalk.
"Thanks, we got it." I said behind my shoulder. I then heard Billy quickly say goodbye to Karen and tell Max to get in the car. I picked up the pace with Natalie in tow. I didn't want to develop a crush on not only a sometimes douche bag but also someone who had flings with cougars.