Chapter 3
Ten minutes later...
Val
I landed another inverted 540*... perfect, of course, and smirked as my feet hit the ground. Yes, life is good. I had been out there skating for the past half hour or so, and nobody had caught me yet. It was a Saturday, Stacie was safe at Mrs. Wilkes's, Dad was passed-out and oblivious to the word (okay, so that part of life isn't always so great), and I'm not expected at work for another three hours, at least. I could keep going like this all day. My stomach, on the other hand...
I skated over to my bookbag, and pulled out an apple. Just as I was about to take a bite, I heard...
"Val?"
Oh, shit. Oh fucking shit. I've been found out. Only one thing to do now, I guess.
"Yes, ma'am?" I asked, turning to face the girl from yesterday.
"Oh, please don't call me that, it makes me feel so old. And my name's Hallie," she said. Hmm... dare I try some stupid pickup line like 'pretty name for a pretty girl'? ...Nah.
"Well, anyways," she continued. "I was making breakfast, and I kinda cooked more than I needed to, so I was kinda wondering if you'd like to join me..."
Okay. Lemme get this straight. I basically break-and-enter into this girl's skatepark, she catches me and God knows she should bust my ass for this, and she invites me to breakfast? Is this girl for real? There's gotta be a catch somewhere. But hey, food is food, and almost anything is better than just an apple...
"All right," I sighed.
"Jeez, don't sound so excited," she laughed.
I chuckled. "Sorry. And about the whole wandering into your skatepark uninvited thing..." I began, but she cut me off.
"Oh, don't worry about it. We'll work out a plan for now on after we eat. Now are you coming or not?" She asked, and turned to go inside.
All I can do is laugh and follow her through the office and up the stairs.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Hallie
"So, tell me a little about yourself," I said, reaching for a piece of toast and buttering it carefully.
"There's not much to tell," he hedged.
"Come on, don't lie," I laughed. "All I know about you so far is that your name is Val, you love skating, there's an injury on your right shoulder, and you live here in Pacifica. In the grand scheme of things, that's not much to go on."
"How'd you know my right shoulder is injured?" He asked after a second, placing his glass back on the table.
I took a bite of my toast, and chewed thoughtfully for a few seconds. After swallowing, I replied, "It was reasonably obvious. I mean, your landings were being thrown off, and since most people are right-handed, it just seemed most natural that your right shoulder would be the uninjured one."
"Yeah, I guess that makes the most sense," he sighed. "Damn, do you ever have an ear for that stuff, or what?"
"I like to think of it as 'or what'," I joked.
We ate in silence for a couple minutes.
"So?" I asked.
"Buttons?" He retorted, a little unsure.
"No, silly," I laughed. "About yourself."
"Oh. Well, like I said, there isn't much to tell. My last name's Horrigan, I go to Pacifica High School, and I'm an eighteen-year-old senior. In school, I don't have many friends. I used to be on a sponsered team, but I was a little... too competitive. Most of my ex-teammates hate me, and, ironically, my former rivals are the closest things I have to friends. At home, I have a younger sister named Stacie, and we live with our dad. He isn't exactly the best person in the world most days, but when he's sober, he's all right. I'd have probably left by now, if it wasn't for Stacie," he admitted, then paused. "I'm probably talking too much though. Tell me a little about yourself."
When his dad's SOBER? What's that about? I guess I'll have to ask him about that later.
"Um..." I began. "I'm Hallie. Hallie Adams. I'm seventeen, and emancipated. No siblings. Grew up on the East Coast, and graduated magna cum laude last year. Yeah, college. I was always smarter than most other kids my age."
I gave a short, harsh, laugh, and continued. "I had some money saved up and decided to start a business, so here I am! And what did you mean, your dad's decent 'when he's sober'?"
"It's nothing to worry about," he drawled, dismissing it as trivial. "Honest."
"Well, what happens when your dad's not sober? Does he get violent? Abusive?" I asked.
Val was silent for a moment, and I knew I'd hit a nerve.
"At eighteen, you don't have to live under his roof, you know. And if you don't want Stacie to stay with him, there's special ways to get yourself named her guardian. It would be tough, but then again, what isn't?" I babbled, trying to talk him into leaving. The situation he grew up in was bad, and I don't want a potential friend being hurt any more than necessary.
"Where would we stay," he mulled.
Finally! I'd gotten through to him!
"Stay here!" I suggested, before my brain could catch up with my mouth.
"Here?" He asked.
Uh-oh.
"Why not? I have extra rooms. You'd have to help around, earn your keep of course, but beyond that, no commitment!" I explained. Might as well nail the coffin shut on me right now.
"All right," he agreed. "We'll move in. Just give us a while to get our stuff together. How soon can you have us?"
"Whenever you're ready," I replied truthfully.
"All right, how about sometime after six?" He asked.
"Great!"
"Great!"
Great.
Ten minutes later...
Val
I landed another inverted 540*... perfect, of course, and smirked as my feet hit the ground. Yes, life is good. I had been out there skating for the past half hour or so, and nobody had caught me yet. It was a Saturday, Stacie was safe at Mrs. Wilkes's, Dad was passed-out and oblivious to the word (okay, so that part of life isn't always so great), and I'm not expected at work for another three hours, at least. I could keep going like this all day. My stomach, on the other hand...
I skated over to my bookbag, and pulled out an apple. Just as I was about to take a bite, I heard...
"Val?"
Oh, shit. Oh fucking shit. I've been found out. Only one thing to do now, I guess.
"Yes, ma'am?" I asked, turning to face the girl from yesterday.
"Oh, please don't call me that, it makes me feel so old. And my name's Hallie," she said. Hmm... dare I try some stupid pickup line like 'pretty name for a pretty girl'? ...Nah.
"Well, anyways," she continued. "I was making breakfast, and I kinda cooked more than I needed to, so I was kinda wondering if you'd like to join me..."
Okay. Lemme get this straight. I basically break-and-enter into this girl's skatepark, she catches me and God knows she should bust my ass for this, and she invites me to breakfast? Is this girl for real? There's gotta be a catch somewhere. But hey, food is food, and almost anything is better than just an apple...
"All right," I sighed.
"Jeez, don't sound so excited," she laughed.
I chuckled. "Sorry. And about the whole wandering into your skatepark uninvited thing..." I began, but she cut me off.
"Oh, don't worry about it. We'll work out a plan for now on after we eat. Now are you coming or not?" She asked, and turned to go inside.
All I can do is laugh and follow her through the office and up the stairs.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Hallie
"So, tell me a little about yourself," I said, reaching for a piece of toast and buttering it carefully.
"There's not much to tell," he hedged.
"Come on, don't lie," I laughed. "All I know about you so far is that your name is Val, you love skating, there's an injury on your right shoulder, and you live here in Pacifica. In the grand scheme of things, that's not much to go on."
"How'd you know my right shoulder is injured?" He asked after a second, placing his glass back on the table.
I took a bite of my toast, and chewed thoughtfully for a few seconds. After swallowing, I replied, "It was reasonably obvious. I mean, your landings were being thrown off, and since most people are right-handed, it just seemed most natural that your right shoulder would be the uninjured one."
"Yeah, I guess that makes the most sense," he sighed. "Damn, do you ever have an ear for that stuff, or what?"
"I like to think of it as 'or what'," I joked.
We ate in silence for a couple minutes.
"So?" I asked.
"Buttons?" He retorted, a little unsure.
"No, silly," I laughed. "About yourself."
"Oh. Well, like I said, there isn't much to tell. My last name's Horrigan, I go to Pacifica High School, and I'm an eighteen-year-old senior. In school, I don't have many friends. I used to be on a sponsered team, but I was a little... too competitive. Most of my ex-teammates hate me, and, ironically, my former rivals are the closest things I have to friends. At home, I have a younger sister named Stacie, and we live with our dad. He isn't exactly the best person in the world most days, but when he's sober, he's all right. I'd have probably left by now, if it wasn't for Stacie," he admitted, then paused. "I'm probably talking too much though. Tell me a little about yourself."
When his dad's SOBER? What's that about? I guess I'll have to ask him about that later.
"Um..." I began. "I'm Hallie. Hallie Adams. I'm seventeen, and emancipated. No siblings. Grew up on the East Coast, and graduated magna cum laude last year. Yeah, college. I was always smarter than most other kids my age."
I gave a short, harsh, laugh, and continued. "I had some money saved up and decided to start a business, so here I am! And what did you mean, your dad's decent 'when he's sober'?"
"It's nothing to worry about," he drawled, dismissing it as trivial. "Honest."
"Well, what happens when your dad's not sober? Does he get violent? Abusive?" I asked.
Val was silent for a moment, and I knew I'd hit a nerve.
"At eighteen, you don't have to live under his roof, you know. And if you don't want Stacie to stay with him, there's special ways to get yourself named her guardian. It would be tough, but then again, what isn't?" I babbled, trying to talk him into leaving. The situation he grew up in was bad, and I don't want a potential friend being hurt any more than necessary.
"Where would we stay," he mulled.
Finally! I'd gotten through to him!
"Stay here!" I suggested, before my brain could catch up with my mouth.
"Here?" He asked.
Uh-oh.
"Why not? I have extra rooms. You'd have to help around, earn your keep of course, but beyond that, no commitment!" I explained. Might as well nail the coffin shut on me right now.
"All right," he agreed. "We'll move in. Just give us a while to get our stuff together. How soon can you have us?"
"Whenever you're ready," I replied truthfully.
"All right, how about sometime after six?" He asked.
"Great!"
"Great!"
Great.