PoV: AMANDA
Explaining the chalkboard situation to my family proves to be more difficult than I anticipated. Once I'm done filling them in on all vague and limited details that I have, I'm met with frozen stares, jaws hanging open, and forks full of the pasta Mom cooked for dinner halfway to mouths.
Then the questions begin. Kylie starts off: "Are you going to have to talk to all of us with that thing?"
I shake my head. "No, just Leo."
"And when does this start?" Mom inquires, one eyebrow raised.
"Tomorrow."
"Are you protesting?" My sister asks.
"Well, no, I mean—"
"Cause you do know not talking to Leo isn't going to make people stop polluting the ocean, or whatever," she snips. Mom shoots her a disapproving look; I just roll my eyes.
"Sweetie, whatever it is you and Leo are trying to accomplish, just know that I am supporting you all the way," Dad says encouragingly from the head of the table.
"Me too. Just…don't text him during dinner or during class time, and try not to get carpal tunnel from writing on the board," Mom advises.
Kylie looks like she would rather be a part of any family but this one. "I'm never going anywhere with you when you're wearing that thing," she informs me disgustedly. Figures.
"Well you probably won't have to, unless Leo is with us. That's the only time I'll need to wear it," I remind them, eyeing my sister pointedly.
"Who cares? I've never understood the things you two do," Kylie snaps, and the way she starts fiddling with her green beans tells me she's done with this conversation.
So with the exception of Kylie, my family's not opposed to me intentionally not speaking to Leo for the next year. Sure they're surprised, but not as surprised as everyone who didn't get a warning is going to be when they see us walking down the halls at school.
"Amanda, I mean it this time. Wrap it up, it's almost eleven o'clock," Mom warns sternly, craning her neck around the doorway. I nod and tell her we're almost done.
"Your mom is probably right. We'll need all the sleep we can get for tomorrow. We need to be on constant alert and make sure we never speak out loud to each other," Leo reminds me.
"Right. That's probably a lot harder than it sounds," I muse worriedly.
"Hey, we'll be fine. Don't worry," he reassures me.
A lull settles into the conversation, but unlike the others from earlier that we felt we needed to replace with words (in order to use up every bit of speaking time we have left), this silence doesn't feel like we need to break it so soon.
Being silent with Leo doesn't mean we're not still communicating, after all.
After a few minutes, I hear my name on the other line. "Amanda?"
"Yeah?" My room is dark now, after I turned off my lamp, and my glow-in-the-dark ceiling stars are mesmerizing me in tandem with Leo's voice. Worried I'm going to fall asleep before hanging up, I stretch my face a little to stifle a yawn.
"Can you promise me something?"
"Sure." The yawn escapes anyway.
"Promise you and I won't drift apart because of this. It's gonna take a lot of effort on our parts to stay in touch, and I guess…I guess I'm worried you'll get tired of it after a while."
The insecurity in his voice makes my heart hurt. He couldn't actually be thinking... "Leo, of course we won't drift apart! We're in this together, chalkboard and all—I promise." After a pause, I add, "There's no one I'd rather be best friends with."
I think I can hear his smile on the other line. "Me too."
A/N: This is SHORT, I know, I'm sorry. It's blatantly filler, but I'm working on something big for the next few chapters, so hang tight! Reviews make my life :D
