Chapter 4: This has to go
As glad as I was that we had moved past the Lila thing I couldn't help but let my brain go crazy thinking about what exactly this girl had done to hurt Arnold and why Helga would say that I was like her. Arnold and I dropped Gerald off and kept walking in silence. I didn't realize that it was unusual until Arnold asked if I was okay.
"Hmm? Oh right. Yes I'm fine. Why? Do I not seem okay?" I said, tripping over my words.
"Well you haven't really talked since we left school. You seem distracted." He said, looking thoughtfully at me even though I didn't return his gaze.
"I'm just thinking about all this homework. I'm just really dreading it, you know?" Arnold smiled.
"I know the feeling." He said. We continued to chat normally after he'd snapped me out of my thoughts. When we reached my door I expected we would part ways like the previous day but Arnold said something I didn't expect.
"Since you're dreading your homework so much, want me to stick around and help you with it for a bit? You know, since mine is the same?" He suggested. I was a little caught off guard. After weighing the options I realized that it wouldn't be awkward bringing a friend home because now my Uncle wasn't their teacher. I nodded.
"If you'd like, come on in. But be prepared to fight for your personal space." Arnold stared at me and I realized what he must be thinking. I laughed.
"And no, it's not me you need to be worried about."
I stared at Skye. What had she just said?
"And no," she said, "it's not me you need to be worried about." I blushed. She'd seen right into my brain. At least she didn't realize my ulterior motives. For some sick twisted reason I was compelled to be in the green house again. I didn't know why. I didn't need the reminder, but I couldn't help the urge. She turned and climbed the steps to her door. I followed. She fumbled with her keys and unlocked the door but didn't open it. Instead, she stepped back and gestured me forward. "After you." She said slyly. I walked past her uncertainly, opened the door and stepped inside. She walked in behind me and pushed me forward a little. Suddenly she slammed the door. I jumped and turned around.
"What that necessary?" I asked. Suddenly I heard skidding and tapping coming from the back of the house and I turned my head. The monster of a dog from her Facebook picture came charging at me from the kitchen. I froze in fear. Great, my new friend was a psychopath who brought unsuspecting victims home to feed to her beast. I heard her laughing from behind me. When the dog reached me he jumped up and into me, forcing me to the floor where he proceeded to lick my face relentlessly. I saw Skye's bag fall beside her feet which made their way behind the dog. He was lifted off of me so I could erect myself. I sat up and wiped my face off with my sleeve.
"Arnold, Rutiger." She said, holding his collar with one hand and scratching his neck with the other. I caught my breath and stood up, scowling at her. I opened my mouth to tell her off but she interrupted me. "Don't say I didn't warn you." She laughed. I closed my mouth. I guess she had. Skye released the collar. I winced in preparation for another assault when she turned around but she snapped her fingers and her dog followed behind her excitedly. They walked into the kitchen and out of sight. As I looked around the familiar doorway my head flooded with thoughts of Lila. Her father used to hang mistletoe in this very spot at Christmas. I never expected I'd be kissed by a dog here at any point in my life, but life is funny like that sometimes. I heard a screen door open and close and Skye came back into sight. She looked at me and stopped, pulling me out of my Lila trance.
"You're smirking." She said. "Not mad anymore?" I hadn't realized the humor before but I guess subconsciously I found it funny.
"I guess not." I answered. She smiled.
"Good. Cause I'd hate for you to leave before I milk you for homework answers." She teased.
"Oh no," I said sternly, "I'm here to help you not give you answers." She sighed heavily.
"If you insist. If you want a snack or something the fridge is full, if you need to call your house and tell your grandparents you'll be late the phone is there," she pointed to a table by the stairs, "and if you would like to sit down the living room is full of furniture. Do what you will. I'm going to run upstairs and change."
"Why?" I asked. No one else changed when I came over after school.
"Look man, this is my house. I don't have to wear clothes at all if I don't want to." She joked. I laughed and put up my hand mock defensively.
"Okay, okay!" I said. She nodded in victory and headed up the stairs. I went into the living room. The furniture was different, but the room was still a painful reminder. I turned and walked over to the kitchen. Everywhere I looked I remembered the times we had in this house. Every last wonderful, horrible memory. It was almost too much and I wanted to run out the door and home where I could sulk and throw things and let out all the anger and the hurt, but something kept me there. Hope, maybe. Hope that the more time I spent here the less I would be reminded of Lila, and the more I would be reminded of Skye. After only two days of knowing her, I knew that it didn't make much sense how much faith I put in her. But we had something. What had she called it last night? A bond. I went back into the living room and spread out the homework on the table as I listened to the sound of footsteps above me.
"Arnold!" I heard from upstairs.
"Yea?" I yelled back.
"Can you come up here for a minute?" I paused, letting weird thoughts go through my mind again. I shook the thoughts away and laughed at myself. Stupid hormones, I knew it wasn't like that.
"Coming." I responded and I headed up the stairs.
I threw my jeans into the hamper in the corner of my room and waited for Arnold, looking around at the uncharacteristic wallpaper. I heard his footsteps at the top of the stairs.
"Which room are you in?" He called.
"Follow my voice!" I yelled and started loudly singing the national anthem. My national anthem, that is. When I heard him come in I stopped, about two lines in.
"You know," he said, "you can't sing that here. You're going to start a war."
"Shut up. Come here." I said. He laughed and joined me in the middle of the room. I looked at him. He was also looking at the wall, but he looked distressed. I thought it better not to pry. I pointed at the wall.
"This has to go." I said.
"I agree." He said immediately, turning to me. I guess he hated it too.
"This is the first time I've lived in a house indefinitely. I can do whatever I want with this room." I said. He shifted his eyes, and then nodded. "So, thoughts?" He looked back at the wall, squinted, and put his hand to his chin in a wise way.
"Well," he lowered his hand and looked at me with a deviant smile, "you could always make it into an igloo to remind you of home." I flipped him off.
"You're no help. You may leave." I said and walked towards the door. He laughed and stepped in front of me.
"You know I'm kidding. Only you can figure something like this out. You know who you are better than anyone." I contemplated his words as I studied the walls.
"Fair enough." I said with a sigh. He smiled and looked around. I saw his focus shift when he noticed the photo on the nightstand. He walked over to it and picked it up. Under normal circumstances I probably would have gotten mad, but I knew he understood. So I allowed him to investigate. He looked at me with the picture still in his grasp.
"Is this your family?" I nodded.
"It is." He looked back at it. I walked over to him and he passed it to me. I set it back down. "But you know what it isn't?" I asked. He looked at me and shook his head. "Homework. Downstairs we go!" I said. He smiled and we headed downstairs.
Arnold left at about 5:30. I'd be lying if I said we responsibly did our homework and completed it successfully. It was a holy disaster. I hate real high school. After about 25 minutes I chucked my pencil across the room and announced defeat. In spite of his encouragement I assured him I'd finish it when my Uncle got home and we spent the next hour or so just talking, playing with Rutiger and eating goldfish crackers. Uncle L. showed up about half an hour before Arnold left. It was agonizing. Everything he said was followed by a wink wink, or a nudge nudge. Uncle L. wasn't used to me having company, let alone friends so he acted like a teacher. An obnoxious, perverted teacher. Thankfully it was only thirty minutes. I apologized to Arnold on the stoop and he assured me that he had fun and that he liked Uncle L. For some bizarre reason, I believed him. After he left I finished my homework as promised and watched a movie before turning in early.