"So, we have a test tomorrow. Why don't you come over and study?" The voice
on the phone asked in a soft tone.
"David, you know I can't. I'm grounded, remember? Wild parties, drinking, elicit behavior? A night I'd rather forget."
"I remember Abby, but I'm sure your parents will let you come over if you explain to them that you need to study." She had to admit he did make a good point, and she really would like to see him.
"I guess I'll try. I'll call you if I can't come. See you soon, hopefully." He said goodbye and she pressed the talk button on the phone, ending the call.
-----
"I hate school." Seth whined. Kirsten looked back from inside the refrigerator.
"No, you don't. You love a challenge." She replied.
"Yeah, you're right I do. I was just trying to get some attention."
"Oh, you want attention, huh?" She set down the food she'd taken out of the fridge. "Well, how are Summer and Anna?" She asked sitting down in a chair next to him.
"Okay, I've had enough attention. Thank you." He glued his eyes to the paper, unwilling to answer that question.
"Fine, if you don't wanna talk, we just won't talk." She got up and walked back over to the counter to prepare dinner.
"Mom," Abby yelled as she came running downstairs. Kirsten was in the kitchen cooking dinner, which was severely frightening Seth who was at the kitchen table doing homework. He looked at his watch, 5:30 pm.
"I'm in the kitchen, Abby." Kirsten replied as her daughter entered the room.
"Mom, can I go and study at David's house?" She asked in an innocent tone.
"You're still grounded, and who is David?" Kirsten looked up from her the pot that she was stirring. Seth couldn't help up overhear. He'd always been an eavesdropper.
"David's just a guy that I have Algebra with and we have this big test tomorrow so I kind of need to study. Plus, it's studying not going out so it wouldn't really be breaking my punishment. This will better my education." Kirsten looked at her daughter with a suspicious look.
"Are you really going over to study?" She asked cutting some indistinct vegetable up.
"There is no way you are letting her go, she is still grounded. This is just a clever excuse to get out of it." Seth protested butting into the conversation.
"If your sister says she is studying, then she is studying. I guess I just have to trust her. Treat her like the young adult that she is." Kirsten looked back up at her smiling daughter, and then she looked back at Seth. "And you are taking her." She pointed the knife she had been cutting with at him.
"What? What is this? This is so not fair. Oh, fine." He conceded after his mother stared him down. "Come on Abby, let's go." He slammed his book shut, and grabbed the keys to the car on the way out of the kitchen.
"Just give me a second to get my books." Abby replied dashing upstairs. She ran down the carpeted hall to her bedroom. She grabbed her Advanced Algebra II book, did a quick mirror check and headed back downstairs. This math class was harder than her Geometry class had been. Once she'd started applying herself in that class, the teacher noticed she was simply wallowing in the simplicity the course. So she'd been moved up a level and landed in David's class, much to her pleasant surprise. She grabbed her coat on the way out, and met Seth in the car.
-----
The doorbell rang and David got up from the couch in the living room to answer it. It was Abby. She looked really cute too. He always noticed that about her though. Whenever she did something new with her hair, or wore a new outfit.
"Hey." He smiled and opened the door. "Come on in." She smiled back and entered the room without a word. His house was nice, but not nearly as big as hers. That really didn't bother her, it was just an observation. "So, should we get started?" He asked after she'd had a few seconds to look around.
"Yeah, let's start." She agreed as he led her up the steps into what was presumably his room.
"I hope you don't mind studying in here, it's just that my parents---"
"No, you're room is fine." She replied stopping him before he could finish his sentence. They sat down on the carpet and began to study.
-----
It was Wednesday night, and Seth had yet to make plans for his evening with Summer. He parked the car and went back to the pool house, hoping to find Ryan there. He tripped over the pool skimmer on the way there and almost killed himself falling onto the concrete. He threw it into the pool and continued on.
"Hey man, I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Seth asked as he entered the room. "Don't have Marissa hiding under the bed or some miscellaneous piece of furniture?" Ryan looked up and gave him a glare. "Okay, fine. Just a little joke, cool it." Seth moved over into the dining area and grabbed a Coke from the small refrigerator that Ryan had set up.
"So, what's up? You can't have come just to steal my carbonated beverages and ridicule me about my girlfriend." Ryan looked up from his book, still sitting on the bed.
"Nope, I didn't. That was just a fringe benefit." He replied clicking his tongue as he swallowed a mouthful of cold cola. "I came to ask your opinion on where I should take Summer to dinner?"
"Do I look like I've been to a lot of fancy dinning experiences? I'd have no idea where to tell you. You could ask Marissa, or you know you do have mother."
"Well, Mom is out of the question. She's too involved already. Too bad Marissa isn't hiding on the other side of the bed." He raised his voice at the end of the sentence. The jig was up. Marissa peeked out from the opposite side of the bed. She swooped some misplaced hair back from her face.
"Hey." She replied sheepishly.
"Oh, hey look Ryan! It's Marissa. I wonder how she got down there." Seth contorted a perplexed expression and laughed a little.
"Oh, hey Marissa. What are you doing over there?" Ryan pretended he didn't know. She smiled a little but didn't respond.
"No need to answer, I know what's going on. Is that all you two do? I mean seriously, read a book." Seth grabbed the handle to the door again. "Oh, Marissa. Seeing as you're here, do you happen to know of a good restaurant to take Summer to?" He turned around to address her.
"Ah, I've heard her talk about The Ritz. It's a nice place not too far from here. It's probably in the phone book." She got up and sat down on the bed.
"Thanks." Seth replied cataloging the information in his head. "Carry on." He added looking at Ryan and smiling. He left and Ryan looked at Marissa, and she looked at him.
"Is this really all we do?" She asked him as he moved close to her on the bed.
"Does it really matter?" He asked stroking her face and kissing her again.
"I guess not." She replied smiling.
-----
"So I take this twenty-five and move it over then I can use the quadratic formula and then I'll have the answer?" She asked leaning over her book which lay on the floor. Her long hair was up in a ponytail.
"Yep, and you get this as an answer." He wrote a few numbers on the paper and pointed at them.
"So that's it? It seems a lot harder in class." She replied.
"Yep, that's it. Of course you have to be careful of tricky sign changes but it's not too difficult." He finished erasing a stray mark on the paper and looked up. Her face was about a foot from his face at most. He reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Sorry, you just had a little piece out of place." He smiled and looked straight into her eyes. They were a shimmering blue like he'd never seen before. After a moment, he closed his eyes and moving closer, pressed his lips gently against hers. It surprised her, but in a good way and she kissed back. The kisses stayed slow, and innocent. He pulled back after a moment or so.
She had no idea what to say. She'd never been in this situation before. "Ah, I should probably go. My dad's supposed to pick me up soon, I think." She closed her books and left his room. He sat there for a moment but got up to follow after her. She raced down the stairs and out the door for fear that he would follow her. He did and he stopped on the steps as she ran down the sidewalk.
"Abby! Wait." He shouted after her. She stopped at turned around and he walked down the sidewalk to her. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
"No, you didn't." She refused to meet his eyes for fear he'd see her tears.
"I just thought you felt---"
"I do." She answered softly finally looking at him. Headlights blinded David before he could say anything else. "It looks like my ride is here, thanks for the help." She smiled a little and he could barely see it, then she turned and got into the car.
-----
"So, who was that?" Sandy asked a few minutes into the car ride.
"Just someone helping me study," she replied starring out into the emptiness of the dark night sky.
"Just someone or more than someone?"
"Just David," she added.
"Ah! So the poor boy does have a name. Does he have a last name?"
"Ascher, I think." She answered after a short pause.
"Ascher, why is that familiar? Oh, I defended an Ascher a while back when I was working as a D.A. Got busted on drug possession charges. Didn't win that case, one of the only few. If this boy is that man's son, he's bad news." Sandy said sternly.
"Dad, how do you even know he is?" Abby demanded defensively.
"I've been to that house before Abby, I know those people. He and his wife never get along and they've done a few things that are less than kosher. I don't want you getting hurt."
"I'm not gonna get hurt, Dad."
"No, you aren't because you are not going to talk to him again."
"But Dad! You don't even know him."
"It doesn't matter. I won't have my little girl in danger." He glanced off the road and to her face.
"I'm not your little girl, remember?"
"Doesn't matter. Not happening." Sandy wasn't letting down. She conceded.
"Fine, I won't see him ever again." She finished the conversation and resumed staring out the window. She wasn't prepared to fight for this now.
"David, you know I can't. I'm grounded, remember? Wild parties, drinking, elicit behavior? A night I'd rather forget."
"I remember Abby, but I'm sure your parents will let you come over if you explain to them that you need to study." She had to admit he did make a good point, and she really would like to see him.
"I guess I'll try. I'll call you if I can't come. See you soon, hopefully." He said goodbye and she pressed the talk button on the phone, ending the call.
-----
"I hate school." Seth whined. Kirsten looked back from inside the refrigerator.
"No, you don't. You love a challenge." She replied.
"Yeah, you're right I do. I was just trying to get some attention."
"Oh, you want attention, huh?" She set down the food she'd taken out of the fridge. "Well, how are Summer and Anna?" She asked sitting down in a chair next to him.
"Okay, I've had enough attention. Thank you." He glued his eyes to the paper, unwilling to answer that question.
"Fine, if you don't wanna talk, we just won't talk." She got up and walked back over to the counter to prepare dinner.
"Mom," Abby yelled as she came running downstairs. Kirsten was in the kitchen cooking dinner, which was severely frightening Seth who was at the kitchen table doing homework. He looked at his watch, 5:30 pm.
"I'm in the kitchen, Abby." Kirsten replied as her daughter entered the room.
"Mom, can I go and study at David's house?" She asked in an innocent tone.
"You're still grounded, and who is David?" Kirsten looked up from her the pot that she was stirring. Seth couldn't help up overhear. He'd always been an eavesdropper.
"David's just a guy that I have Algebra with and we have this big test tomorrow so I kind of need to study. Plus, it's studying not going out so it wouldn't really be breaking my punishment. This will better my education." Kirsten looked at her daughter with a suspicious look.
"Are you really going over to study?" She asked cutting some indistinct vegetable up.
"There is no way you are letting her go, she is still grounded. This is just a clever excuse to get out of it." Seth protested butting into the conversation.
"If your sister says she is studying, then she is studying. I guess I just have to trust her. Treat her like the young adult that she is." Kirsten looked back up at her smiling daughter, and then she looked back at Seth. "And you are taking her." She pointed the knife she had been cutting with at him.
"What? What is this? This is so not fair. Oh, fine." He conceded after his mother stared him down. "Come on Abby, let's go." He slammed his book shut, and grabbed the keys to the car on the way out of the kitchen.
"Just give me a second to get my books." Abby replied dashing upstairs. She ran down the carpeted hall to her bedroom. She grabbed her Advanced Algebra II book, did a quick mirror check and headed back downstairs. This math class was harder than her Geometry class had been. Once she'd started applying herself in that class, the teacher noticed she was simply wallowing in the simplicity the course. So she'd been moved up a level and landed in David's class, much to her pleasant surprise. She grabbed her coat on the way out, and met Seth in the car.
-----
The doorbell rang and David got up from the couch in the living room to answer it. It was Abby. She looked really cute too. He always noticed that about her though. Whenever she did something new with her hair, or wore a new outfit.
"Hey." He smiled and opened the door. "Come on in." She smiled back and entered the room without a word. His house was nice, but not nearly as big as hers. That really didn't bother her, it was just an observation. "So, should we get started?" He asked after she'd had a few seconds to look around.
"Yeah, let's start." She agreed as he led her up the steps into what was presumably his room.
"I hope you don't mind studying in here, it's just that my parents---"
"No, you're room is fine." She replied stopping him before he could finish his sentence. They sat down on the carpet and began to study.
-----
It was Wednesday night, and Seth had yet to make plans for his evening with Summer. He parked the car and went back to the pool house, hoping to find Ryan there. He tripped over the pool skimmer on the way there and almost killed himself falling onto the concrete. He threw it into the pool and continued on.
"Hey man, I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Seth asked as he entered the room. "Don't have Marissa hiding under the bed or some miscellaneous piece of furniture?" Ryan looked up and gave him a glare. "Okay, fine. Just a little joke, cool it." Seth moved over into the dining area and grabbed a Coke from the small refrigerator that Ryan had set up.
"So, what's up? You can't have come just to steal my carbonated beverages and ridicule me about my girlfriend." Ryan looked up from his book, still sitting on the bed.
"Nope, I didn't. That was just a fringe benefit." He replied clicking his tongue as he swallowed a mouthful of cold cola. "I came to ask your opinion on where I should take Summer to dinner?"
"Do I look like I've been to a lot of fancy dinning experiences? I'd have no idea where to tell you. You could ask Marissa, or you know you do have mother."
"Well, Mom is out of the question. She's too involved already. Too bad Marissa isn't hiding on the other side of the bed." He raised his voice at the end of the sentence. The jig was up. Marissa peeked out from the opposite side of the bed. She swooped some misplaced hair back from her face.
"Hey." She replied sheepishly.
"Oh, hey look Ryan! It's Marissa. I wonder how she got down there." Seth contorted a perplexed expression and laughed a little.
"Oh, hey Marissa. What are you doing over there?" Ryan pretended he didn't know. She smiled a little but didn't respond.
"No need to answer, I know what's going on. Is that all you two do? I mean seriously, read a book." Seth grabbed the handle to the door again. "Oh, Marissa. Seeing as you're here, do you happen to know of a good restaurant to take Summer to?" He turned around to address her.
"Ah, I've heard her talk about The Ritz. It's a nice place not too far from here. It's probably in the phone book." She got up and sat down on the bed.
"Thanks." Seth replied cataloging the information in his head. "Carry on." He added looking at Ryan and smiling. He left and Ryan looked at Marissa, and she looked at him.
"Is this really all we do?" She asked him as he moved close to her on the bed.
"Does it really matter?" He asked stroking her face and kissing her again.
"I guess not." She replied smiling.
-----
"So I take this twenty-five and move it over then I can use the quadratic formula and then I'll have the answer?" She asked leaning over her book which lay on the floor. Her long hair was up in a ponytail.
"Yep, and you get this as an answer." He wrote a few numbers on the paper and pointed at them.
"So that's it? It seems a lot harder in class." She replied.
"Yep, that's it. Of course you have to be careful of tricky sign changes but it's not too difficult." He finished erasing a stray mark on the paper and looked up. Her face was about a foot from his face at most. He reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Sorry, you just had a little piece out of place." He smiled and looked straight into her eyes. They were a shimmering blue like he'd never seen before. After a moment, he closed his eyes and moving closer, pressed his lips gently against hers. It surprised her, but in a good way and she kissed back. The kisses stayed slow, and innocent. He pulled back after a moment or so.
She had no idea what to say. She'd never been in this situation before. "Ah, I should probably go. My dad's supposed to pick me up soon, I think." She closed her books and left his room. He sat there for a moment but got up to follow after her. She raced down the stairs and out the door for fear that he would follow her. He did and he stopped on the steps as she ran down the sidewalk.
"Abby! Wait." He shouted after her. She stopped at turned around and he walked down the sidewalk to her. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
"No, you didn't." She refused to meet his eyes for fear he'd see her tears.
"I just thought you felt---"
"I do." She answered softly finally looking at him. Headlights blinded David before he could say anything else. "It looks like my ride is here, thanks for the help." She smiled a little and he could barely see it, then she turned and got into the car.
-----
"So, who was that?" Sandy asked a few minutes into the car ride.
"Just someone helping me study," she replied starring out into the emptiness of the dark night sky.
"Just someone or more than someone?"
"Just David," she added.
"Ah! So the poor boy does have a name. Does he have a last name?"
"Ascher, I think." She answered after a short pause.
"Ascher, why is that familiar? Oh, I defended an Ascher a while back when I was working as a D.A. Got busted on drug possession charges. Didn't win that case, one of the only few. If this boy is that man's son, he's bad news." Sandy said sternly.
"Dad, how do you even know he is?" Abby demanded defensively.
"I've been to that house before Abby, I know those people. He and his wife never get along and they've done a few things that are less than kosher. I don't want you getting hurt."
"I'm not gonna get hurt, Dad."
"No, you aren't because you are not going to talk to him again."
"But Dad! You don't even know him."
"It doesn't matter. I won't have my little girl in danger." He glanced off the road and to her face.
"I'm not your little girl, remember?"
"Doesn't matter. Not happening." Sandy wasn't letting down. She conceded.
"Fine, I won't see him ever again." She finished the conversation and resumed staring out the window. She wasn't prepared to fight for this now.