Page 31 of This I Know
“Sure.” She’s beautiful. She’s gorgeous. She takes my breath away with every glimpse I catch of her. Think I can say that out loud?
“You guys are vile.”
“Don’t be jealous, Julia,” says Cole. He elbows her.
“I’m not jealous of that girl.”
Well, they’ve really killed the mood. I excuse myself once more to the kitchen. Only two minutes remain on the timer, so I cut the cooking time short for the sake of my sanity and carve up the chicken. I set a good amount aside for my mother and wrap her plate in plastic wrap, then stick that portion in the fridge. I return to the living room with a large plate stacked high with chicken pieces, still steaming hot.
“There’s salad in there, too, if anybody wants some,” I say, sitting down. “Help yourself.”
Julia doesn’t eat much, mostly picking at her chicken pieces with a fork. Cole devours his plate with huge, chomping mouthfuls. Good thing I made sure to save some, or my mother would be going hungry tonight. I think he’d eat the entire thing. I’m eating, too, or at least trying – my appetite just isn’t there.
My phone rings with the chime of a text. I read the message that just came in. It’s my mother. She’s stuck working late tonight and won’t be home until after nine. Well, again … good thing I saved her some dinner. I reply back:
great. there’s chicken in the fridge
I don’t bother mentioning that Cole and Julia are here. For all she knows, I’m pigging out on comfort food in front of the TV all night, just like I’d planned.
I’m not trying to keep anything from her, (she never minds me having friends over), but I don’t want her to worry about anything. She gets anxious at the thought of people discovering my identity, too. And people, we both know, can be vicious, so there’s plenty to worry about.
I look again at these two complete opposites sitting on my couch, one picking at her food delicately and the other chowing down. I’m pretty sure I don’t need to worry about these guys. At least, I think I don’t.
Julia slides the tiniest piece of chicken off the fork with her teeth. I cringe at the grating sound.
I guess it could go either way. Best to play it safe.
“So,” Cole says as he slides his empty plate across the coffee table. He leans back and crosses his arms behind his head. “Football is a no-go? You’re sure?”
“Cole.” Julia rolls her eyes. She’s irritated. He’s pushing her buttons, too. And this time, she does it. She lightly hits him. “Stop it.He’s going to think that’s the only reason we came over.”
Cole releases his arms and holds them out in innocence.
“The truth is, Ethan,” Julia explains, “we were in the neighborhood.”
“You knew where I lived?” I try to play it casual, playing with the TV’s remote control. I have no idea how they figured that one out. I find land on some sports.
“We had an idea, and we saw your car,” she says. “And Cole here insisted on being all goofy, going up and knocking on your door to see if it was really you.”
I laugh. “That was risky.”
“Well,” says Cole, “I told her if we were wrong, and it wasn’t you, I’d come up with something on the spot.”
“I knew you would, too,” Julia says with attitude. She’s obviously fed up with him by now. “You’d be good at that.”
“Hey,” Cole says, carefree. He laughs as if Julia getting mad is something cute.
“Well, it’s true. You’d manage to lie your way out of something.”
Cole turns at her, holding his thigh to get a better angle. He holds his position there while Julia takes another sip of her soda. He then turns back to me and shakes his head, laughing. “What’s on TV?”
We hang out a while longer, but I’m sure to show them out of the house before my mother gets home. Like I said, she has enough to worry about. The last thing she needs after a long day at work is to have to put on a fake face for two of my friends.
“Bye, Ethan,” Julia says as I walk them out. She reaches out and touches the back of my hand with her fingertips, trailing down my skin. She twists her body and gives me that smirk.
I glance at Cole. He’s turned away from us, busy zipping up the backpack that he left in the corner of the foyer.
I casually lift my arm further up the door, away from her touch. “Bye.”
