Chapter 11: A Teenager In What?

Allie should have been home by now. Nathan looked out the window again in search of his niece but saw no sight of her. It was close to dinner time and not only did he make one of her favorite meals but he also had a chocolate cake made specifically for her as a make-up for the Thanksgiving drop.

She was now an hour and ten minutes late. She had never been this late before, at least not without reason, and he was starting to get nervous. He was giving her twenty more minutes to get home before he went out to look for her.

Twenty minutes had come, but Allie never came home.

Nathan grabbed this stuff and went out the door.

Fifteen minutes later...

"I can't believe you did that to me!" Allie yelled as she walked through the door of the Grant home. "Why would you do that to me?"

"You were an hour and half late coming home without a reason, Allie." Nathan explained sternly. "How was I supposed to know you were hanging out with Anna after she finished work?"

"It was a last minute decision but it's not like I ran off to, like, Prince Edward Island or Quebec!" Allie stomped up the stairs. Nathan called up after her.

"Allie, come eat dinner."

"Not hungry!" She yelled down from the top step. Allie went to her bedroom and she had slammed the door with a ruckus.

Nathan stood dumbfounded. Why was she so angry and mean all of a sudden? What had changed overnight with his niece that was making her so snappy, keeping to herself and staying out so late? Nathan tried to place it in the back of his head and avoided thinking about it for the rest of the night. Maybe it was just another hiccup.

The cake would have to wait until tomorrow night.

Allie slammed the door and walked over to her bed where she pounced on the bed and she laid there still like a cat curled in a perfect line. How could her dad do that to her?

Allie did plan to hangout with Anna after Anna finished work and Allie left school. Just for half an hour. She waited at one of the cafe tables looking through the dinner menu when all of a sudden a piece of chocolate cake that sat on a plate was placed directly in front of her. She glanced up and saw Robert standing over her with a half-shrug he had given her. "Anna asked me to give you your cake order." Allie did not order it (But clearly Anna had remembered her craving for all things chocolate). "Every time I see chocolate cake I just think back to when Cody and I had to make a chocolate cake."

"And what made you two decide to make a chocolate cake?"

Robert told her the story of how the two boys had wanted a slice of cake, tried to fix the cake and then ended up making an actual mess of everything. Allie took in the words and laughed at almost every single word. "Robert, I am surprised you are even allowed in the cafe altogether after that mess!"

Somehow the two of them ended up talking a little longer sharing stories of mishaps they've endured. Somehow, Robert's were always the more crazy adventures. The only crazy one that Allie had was the time she and a friend had climbed a tree, climbed over a branch that stood above a river and both fell in and while they both nearly drowned the two of them managed to swim to shore and ended up laughing together.

Then her dad had to pop in. "Allie!" His voice called and echoed in the cafe. "You're late coming home!"

Words of embarrassment were exchanged and Allie bid a goodbye to Robert and Anna and she left with her dad back to the house. She literally stomped the whole way and refused to pause or slow down for him to catch up to her.

She groaned as she laid on her side. Why did he have to embarrass her like that?

She didn't even get to eat a piece of the chocolate cake.