Page 18 of Isabella and the Slipper

“Chase!”

He looked up to see Delilah and her sister walking toward him. Delilah was waving her hand high in the air. He forced a smile. “Hi, girls.”

They giggled. Delilah grabbed his arm. “Thanks for coming to my party. I’m sorry we didn’t get to spend more time together. I kind of lost sight of you for a while. I don’t know where you went off to.”

“Hmm. Sorry about that.” He gave her an I-don’t-know-what-happened-either look.

“I just wanted to tell you how excited I am for the fall formal. I know it’s not for a couple of weeks yet, so if you’re not ready to ask someone, that’s fine ...” She batted her eyes at him.

He shook his head. “Yes, you’re right. I’m not ready yet.”

“Okay. That’s cool.” She let go of his arm. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

He lifted his hand and waved. “Yeah. See ya.”

The sisters walked off, giggling.

He rubbed his forehead. How was he going to get out of that one without hurting her feelings? He’d have to think of something.

Time seemed to drag on as he waited for the evening so he could call Five. He thought about texting her, but if he got her in trouble with her stepmother, he’d feel bad.

At seven o’clock the doorbell rang, and he ushered Isabella in. His little sister sat in the living room, putting a puzzle together on the floor. Chase glanced at his sister. “Maybe we should go in my room.”

Isabella clasped her hands together nervously. “Sure.”

He led her down the hall to his room, glad he’d listened when his mom told him to pick up his dirty laundry from the floor. “You can sit at the desk. I’ll just sit on the bed.”

“You have a lovely home.” She pulled out the chair, slipped her backpack off, and sat down.

“Thanks.” The foot of his bed was close enough to the desk that it wasn’t awkward, and he sat down. “I had time to look up a few things.” He pulled out a sheet of notes he’d made and went over them with Isabella.

They talked about the project and how they would present it to the class. As they talked, Isabella relaxed. She seemed to get comfortable around him. After making a shopping list, they decided they’d go out the next evening to get the items they needed.

“I can drive us to the store. You free after school?”

She stiffened, and suddenly the nervous girl was back. “No,” she said, wiping her hands on her jeans. “I ... I have work every day after school. I’m not off until seven.”

Well, that was just great. Working on this project was going to interfere with talking to Five. He tried not to let his frustration show. “Okay. We’ll go shopping at seven then. Do you want me to pick you up?”

Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head. “No, I can come here.”

“It’s no big deal for me to pick you up. Where do you work?”

She looked down at her hands. “I’d much rather walk here.”

He wasn’t sure what the problem was, but she looked extremely uncomfortable so he let it go. “Okay. Come here after work, and we’ll go shopping.”

Her shoulders relaxed. “Sounds good.”

He wondered what was up with her but didn’t push it. She was so nervous. He didn’t want to see her bolt.

She stood and threaded her arms through her backpack. “Okay. See you tomorrow then.” She hugged her arms to herself, and he walked her through the house to the front door.

“Bye,” he said as she jaunted down the steps. She turned and gave him a small smile.

He closed the door. Maybe she’d mellow out over time.

Excited to be done with his physics partner, he rushed to his room and pulled out his phone. He pressed the button to call Five.

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