Hey hey hey! Here's a quickie for ya ;)
About a 15 minutes later, Ella finally showed. I had headed back up to the library, Maeve in tow, after a quick conversation with the coach about the next meet. She was waiting with Corliss, and they were both immersed in their Algebra 2 homework.
I hadn't even gotten past the second problem. Well, what can I say? Another day, another D minus.
But guess who else was there? Lounging in a cushy black chair, flipping through a book like he owned the place? You guessed it. I didn't even spot him at first; he blended into the chair like…like a chameleon on a…a surface(whatever) in his all-black ensemble. He glanced up at me, looking uninterested. Actually, he didn't really look anything. His face gave away no emotion whatsoever. I stared back at him, hard, until he looked away, a little smile playing about his lips. Was he laughing at me? I drew myself up and crossed my arms.
"Let's go, Ells." Ella jumped a little in her seat.
"Oh, hey, Max," my sister said, quickly gathering up her stuff and shoving the lot into her backpurse. I waited impatiently as she zipped it up and buttoned various cute, unnecessary buttons that hung off it. Elias swung himself out of his seat and thunked his book down on the table, startling Corliss. Jeez, was Algebra really that interesting? I couldn't help but look at its title. Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein.
"What's it about?" I blurted, before I could stop myself. Elias paused.
"It's about a man from Mars," He said slowly, looking at me almost thoughtfully. His voice was deep, like rich, dark chocolate. "It's set in the future." His eyes were so dark I couldn't see the end of them. They were black holes, pulling me in. I wanted to be pulled in. "We bring him to Earth, to teach him our ways, but instead he teaches us his. He teaches humans how to love."
"Is it, um, is the…" Come on, Max! Pull yourself together! You're making yourself look like an idiot!
"It's a good book." He looked almost embarrassed, like he had revealed too much about himself in too little time. His face shut down again almost immediately.
Corliss had her eyebrows raised, and I tried to catch her eye. What? She shook her head slowly and refused to meet my gaze, neatly stacking her books and transferring them to her backpack. "I'm ready to go."
"Okay, let's go." Maeve began to head out the door. Elias followed her, slinging a black backpack that looked like it was filled with bricks easily over his shoulder. Corliss gave me a quick hug, then hugged Ella, promising to text her the tryout routine information. She gave me a little crooked grin before jogging after her siblings. There was something in that grin, a knowing of some sort. I didn't know what it was, and I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to find out.
God knows I would soon enough.
Hi guys! Do you smell that? There's something brewing….Could it be LOVE? I'll let you decide. :) Anyway, I know, it's pretty short. But I'm TIRED. If I get enough reviews though, there is talk of another chapter tomorrow! Well, talk in my head. Nobody else cares that much. But still! Please take a minute to hit that button and type your thoughts! Thanks for reading!
YOUR FEEDBACK IS MY FUEL,
Maro