Chapter EIGHT

The football game was all too familiar - not unlike any of the high school football games I'd attended back home. The St. Cloud team won, but I had no idea by how much. I didn't even really know how to follow football. I just sat with Tab and Franky, feeling not as uncomfortable as I thought I'd feel, one week into this new life that had fallen into my lap.

   "You see Jessica Turner?" Franky asked Tab, as we headed back through the crowd, to the parking lot. I was walking quickly to keep up.

   "You mean did I see her boobs hanging out of that shirt she has on?" Tab laughed.

   "Yes," Franky snorted.

   "I don't know why she tries so hard. She's pretty, she's the leader of those Junior sluts-"

   Franky noticed that I looked confused. "Jessica Turner is the Queen Bee of the Mean Girls. She's a Junior, but she's something else. I'm glad we will be out of here before she rules the school."

   "There she is," Tab jabbed him in the side, so he shut up.

   Jessica Turner. She was the girl I had bumped into earlier. She was now wearing a tight skirt and a too tight, low cut top. Two girls, neither as pretty as her, followed close behind her. I kept quiet.

   "Where's the party tonight?" Tab changed the subject, as we neared Franky's truck.

   He pulled out his phone. "Darwin Atwood? Is that the mansion downtown?"

   "No, that's Calvin Cruse. Darwin's is the one with the huge pool, and the huge balcony in the back-"

   "Right," Franky nodded.

   "Party?" I asked, as Tab opened the door to the truck.

   "Oh, yeah. There's always a party after Friday night football games. They rotate who hosts..." She shrugged, like this was no big deal.

   "I can't go," I spat out, jumping up into the truck after her.

   "Oh, why?" Tab looked confused, sliding over so I could sit close to her.

   Franky got into the driver's seat and buckled up. I clicked my seat belt, unsure of what to say. The female cop flashed in my mind. The backseat of the cruiser. My dad's disappointed face.

   "Uh..."

   "C'mon, they are fun. Just a bunch of drunk football players and their girlfriends, other random people from school-" Franky was saying as he started the truck.

   "I don't really party," I said, knowing it sounded stupid.

   Tab glanced at Franky, then back to me. "Okay."

   "I got sent here because I got caught at a party, which was on public property," I spat out.

   "Wait, what?" Tab asked.

   "My Dad didn't want to have to deal with it, so he sent me here to live with my Mom. It was so stupid," I admitted.

   "Did you get arrested or something?" Franky asked, curious.

   "No, not really. But I got fined for public intoxication and underage drinking..."

  "Oh, shit."

  "Yeah. And it was only two weeks ago, that happened. So..."

   Tab waited a few minutes before speaking again. Franky was already driving back towards my mom's house. I'd made it awkward.

   "But this is just a house party. And your Dad's not here..."

   I shook my head. "I just think..."

   "No thinking!" Franky yelled, then laughed. "We will just go for a bit."

   And so we did. And it was so much fun. I didn't drink, and neither did Franky. I didn't think I'd be drinking again for a long time. I mostly watched how these teenagers -  who had been friends for years -  interacted with each other. I saw Jessica Turner and how it was obvious she was into Darwin Atwood. He was tall and muscular and the football team's kicker. Jessica hung around him the whole night, even though he didn't pay too much attention to her.

   I learned that Tab was hilarious when she was drunk, and that even though she acted like she hated the popular girls, she was actually friends with some of them. She had known them all a long time. And it was obvious, too, that she wanted to feel like she belonged somewhere.

   "Tab and I met in the seventh grade," Franky told me. "She was always trying to fit in with the cool girls, but I guess I sort of helped her realize she was amazing how she was. She didn't need to change to be like them."

   I smiled, watching her from across the room. She was laughing at something Calvin Cruse was saying.

   "She knows who she is and what she wants, unlike most of these girls," Franky went on.

   I nodded at him. "What do you want?"

   "What do you mean?"

   "I mean, it's obvious you like Tab," I laughed.

   His eyes widened. "No. I mean, yes, but, she's like..." I waited. "She's my best friend. She doesn't see me like that."

   I didn't reply, because suddenly Tab was back, close to us, pulling my hands.

   "Let's dance, girl!" she yelled.

   "No, no. I don't dance," I told her.

   "Yes you do!" she yelled, still pulling me.

   Franky gave me a push towards her, so I followed. I didn't dance, but I watched her move, jealous of how she didn't seem like she cared about who saw her. I wasn't exactly over self conscious, but I wasn't about to show off my terrible dance skills to my new peers.

   We left the party at midnight, though it was still going strong. As we hopped into Franky's truck again, I felt so much happier than I had felt in weeks, and it surprised me. I felt like I'd known these two forever, not only a week.

   Tab closed her eyes as Franky started driving. I smiled at him, but stayed quiet until he pulled up to my mom's house, ten minutes later. Tab was snoring.

   "Thanks," I whispered to Franky, opening the door to get out.

   "Anytime. See you Monday?" he replied.

   I nodded. "I'll be there."

   I walked up the long pathway slowly, thinking about the evening that had just happened. My first Minnesota party. My new friends. This new life that I was thrown into. It wasn't so bad, and not really what I expected at all.

   As I stepped up the stairs to the front deck, I heard a house door creak open and then shut again. Instinctively, I glanced over at the neighboring house - the front porches were only ten feet  or so far apart. A guy was stepping outside, already lighting a cigarette. He was young, wearing a backwards hat and a t-shirt and jeans. I watched him for a moment before turning back to go inside.

   "Hey," a voice came from the same direction. It seemed familiar, somehow.

   I looked over; the guy was staring at me. It was dark and there was a bush in between the porches.

   "Oh, hi. Sorry -" I said, flustered. Had he seen me looking at him?

   "Wait... Kelsey?" The guy stepped even close to the edge of the deck.

   Confused, I nodded. My mom must have told the neighbors about me? "Uh, yeah -"

   "You don't remember me? Ouch," he said, then laughed abruptly.

   And then it hit me, as I could focus on his face. His smile. It was the guy from the plane. I knew it now, but it didn't make any sense. Completely overwhelmed, I blinked hard.

   "What are you... I'm..." My words didn't come out right.

   He put out the cigarette, then stepped back. "I'm surprised, too."

   "You said you live in Minneapolis," I accused him.

   "I do."

   "So why are you on my Mom's neighbor's porch, after midnight?" I asked, shaking my head.

   It wasn't right, seeing him here now. I hadn't forgotten about him, but I really did not think I'd ever see him again.

    He glanced at the house. "This is my Grandparents' house."

   "You didn't mention you had family in St. Cloud," I told him.

   He smiled, and it was like he thought something was funny. "It didn't really come up. I mean, I told you I could show you around..."

   I shut my eyes, taking in a breath. "This is really weird."

   "You're right," he agreed. "Especially since I just was online stalking you a few days ago."

   "What?" I said, too loud.

   He laughed, then cleared his throat. "Sorry. I mean, I managed to find you on Facebook. You should really tighten your security on there-"

   "I'm going to go," I said, shaking my head again.

   "Wait, I'm sorry." His voice was desperate. "I'm kidding. I mean, not about finding you on Facebook, but... I swear this is so random."

   "What is?" I asked, even though this all felt like too much.

   "That you live here, next to my grandparents. I have even met your mom, once. I swear I didn't know she... had a daughter."

   I swallowed hard, embarrassed. "Right. Because she moved here, without me, five years ago."

   "Kelsey, I didn't mean -"

   "Don't." I put my hand up. I had to get out of there.

   He leaned onto the railing, closer. If we both reached out, we could touch each other.

   "I'm sort of in shock. I was at my apartment in Minneapolis, last week, thinking how about stupid it was that I didn't get your number. I was thinking about you, a lot." He took a breath. "And now I'm here, looking at you? My grandfather's birthday party is tomorrow, that's why I'm here."

   "Okay," I said, my heart still pounding. "Goodnight."

   "Kelsey..." He said my name, so I looked over again.

   "Yeah?" I asked, holding my breath.

   He hesitated, then finished, "Goodnight."