“Why did they make you drink that nasty stuff?” Luke asked softly, plating pancakes. He started spooning more batter into the pan.
I re-opened the bag of chocolate chips and sprinkled smile faces into all of them. “Silas called me on the house phone.”
North looked back at me over Luke’s head. “That’s it? You weren’t talking sex or something?”
I blushed, shaking my head and waving my hand in the air. “No, of course not.” Why would he ask that? Who did he think I was? “He barely said hello.”
“Is your voice going to be okay?” Luke asked carefully.
“She’ll be fine,” Kota said, holding the glass of water out for me. “It burned her throat but it should heal fully in a few days.”
I sipped the water, feeling the coolness relaxing my throat. “It’s not so bad right now,” I said, using a soft voice so it wouldn’t crack and they wouldn’t worry. I should have been uncomfortable. After yesterday when they hadn’t kicked me out, I was feeling a little unreal around them. What reason did they have to be so supportive and nice to me?
“Is that why she’s here?” North asked. He looked directly at Kota. There were looks exchanged between them that I simply couldn’t get. The silent communication worked with all seven of them. I studied their expressions, trying to catch on.
“She’s here because she’s welcome,” Kota said bluntly. “She’s my friend.”
North looked confused. “But she’s...”
“I like her,” Luke said. He flipped out some more pancakes. “She’s got good taste.”
I blushed. Were they trying to decide if I should stay or not?
“I’m not questioning your damn choice,” North said in a louder voice. “I’m asking if it is safe for her to be here if she’s going to get her throat burned out at home. I mean if that happens when someone calls, what happens when they find out she’s here alone with us?”
“It’s fine,” I said. “My mom hardly ever leaves her room. She thinks I spend all day in my bedroom. If I never went downstairs, I wouldn’t see them for a week or more.” There were times when I went up to my room with apples and crackers and wouldn’t leave just to see what happened. The only person that would ever notice was Marie, and she simply didn’t care.
North seemed dissatisfied with this. He frowned, twisting his lips as he finished up the bacon. He twisted his neck and I could hear his bones cracking a little as he flexed.
We set the table and sat down to eat. Luke filled my plate with pancakes and North insisted I drink milk instead of orange juice to spare my throat.
Seven guys. Seven friends. It still amazed me how they accepted me so quickly into the group. It was like once Kota said he was my friend, the others were on the same level. When you befriended one, you befriended them all.
After breakfast, I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket.
Nathan: “Are you awake?”
I smiled.
“Who is it?” North asked. He stood next to me as I was leaning against the kitchen counter.
“It’s Nathan,” I said. “He wants to know if I’m awake.”
“Tell him to get his ass over here,” North said.
I typed in the message.
Nathan: “I’ve got training. I can’t. I wanted to check in. Have fun. I’ll talk to you later.”
“What training?” I asked North, who was looking over my shoulder at the message. “Is it for the um... Jujitsu?”
North shrugged. “Probably.” His eyes flicked to Kota, who gave the slightest shake of his head.
What did that mean? These secret glances were making me nervous. Was there something they didn’t want to tell me? It felt like Nathan was doing something else. He didn’t want to tell me about it? I was tempted to text and ask but couldn’t imagine the right question. I was a friend, but I wasn’t privy to some information yet.
I needed to keep being nice, I told myself. I was just new to the group. Maybe everyone had secrets like me. It was still disappointing. I was sharing a lot of my own secrets with them. Did they not trust me with theirs?
Silas showed up as promised that afternoon. Victor and Gabriel called to update us that they finished the tour and they were going home to take care of stuff so they wouldn’t be around today. There was no word from Nathan but they didn’t seem to be concerned. I thought about sending him a text to say hello and to ask how he was doing at training but the guys kept me so busy I didn’t have a chance.
I was sitting on the couch downstairs. Luke was on my left. Silas was on my right, his arm behind me against the back of the couch. North and Kota were on the floor in front of us. We were watching the roadrunner and the coyote battling it. I had taken my sandals off and put them by the door. I felt North’s hand on my foot. He traced the edge of my small toe. At least I think he was. He was stone still otherwise, I wasn’t sure what to do. As it was Silas’s arm warmed my shoulders. I couldn’t calm myself down enough to focus on cartoons.
Would I ever feel normal around them and as comfortable as they seemed to be around me?
It made me nervous having Silas there. He didn’t say anything about me talking so softly and I tried my best to be quiet and not give him a reason to ask about my voice. Mostly I didn’t want Kota or anyone to tell him what happened. The last thing I wanted was for him to feel bad. If I could save him from that, I would be forever grateful.
We walked Max together. We played a board game. We talked about school. Before I knew it, the time was slipping by and Kota was telling us his mom would be home soon.
“Not that you all can’t stay,” he said.
“Nuh uh,” Luke said, stretching his arms over his head. “Your mom works hard. She deserves to get home and relax. If we’re still here, she’d insist on making us dinner.”
“That’s not a bad thing,” Silas said. “I like her cooking.”
“So do I,” Luke replied. “But I’m thinking that she probably doesn’t want four extra people here.”
Kota tried to suggest that it was okay but the decision was made by North this time and Kota didn’t push the issue. We all needed to get ready for registration tomorrow anyway.
North and Luke left first on North’s motorcycle. Luke promised to text me later. Kota and Silas walked with me outside. We stood together just inside of the garage, looking out at the street.
“Will we be able to approach you at registration?” Kota asked. “What would your dad think if we were talking?”
I flicked my eyes at Silas. Did he already know about this part, too? Would he be surprised to hear my mom was so strict? “He’d ask questions. He’s not as bad as my mom but he’d tell her about it. I think it’ll be fine since we’re in a public place. I mean I have to go to school. She can’t do anything about that.”
“You should leave your phone at home,” Kota suggested. “We’ll be there pretty early. We’ll keep someone by the door to watch out for you.”
My eyes widened and I looked at Silas. He was leaning against the frame of the garage door, his arms folded, looking serious.
“Why?” I asked. “I mean, not that it isn’t nice of you. But you make it sound like I need to be babysat.”
Kota smiled. “Have you heard of this school we’re going to?”
I shook my head. “It’s just a public school, right?”
Kota pushed his glasses up on his nose, his finger remained on the bridge as he talked. “There’s over two thousand kids that will be attending this year. Over half are from poor neighborhoods. They've got so many kids, they built trailers in the back for additional classroom space. There’s not enough lockers to go around. There’s usually only enough for the seniors.” He frowned. “The hallways have been known to be pretty unsafe. Fighting breaks out a lot. We were planning on sticking by each other throughout the year. With you here now, we’ll have to coordinate carefully. Someone like Silas could handle himself, but I wouldn’t want to leave you alone. At least not between classes.”
I
felt my mouth form an ‘o’ shape. “That’s horrible.” I thought for a moment. “Is that why Gabriel was talking about the private school?”
Both of their heads jerked around to look at me that it surprised me. I felt my eyebrows going up.
“What did Gabriel say?” Kota asked.
I shrugged. “He just mentioned something about a private school he was thinking about maybe attending next year or something like that. He didn’t say the name or anything. I wasn’t sure if he was serious.”
Kota shot a glance at Silas. Silas’s face was blank.
“Well he’s definitely going to the public school this year,” Kota said.
Before I could ask anything else, a car pulled up in the drive. Silas and I walked out of the garage to get out of the way. Kota followed us. Erica pulled her car into the garage. She smiled at us as she got out and waved.
“Are you two leaving? I could make dinner,” she offered. Her smile was warm but her face did look tired. She wore a nurse’s uniform. Her name tag was still pinned to her chest.
“We can’t stay,” I said quickly. “We’ve got registration tomorrow. We should get home and be ready for it.”
“Good kids,” she said. “Come over sometime this weekend. I’ll make cookies. You too, Silas.”
Silas nodded to her. “I’ll always come over for cookies.”
We said goodbye to her and Kota. Kota collected a bag for his mom and disappeared inside with her. Silas and I walked together down the driveway. A dark blue Ford sedan was parked along the street in front of the house. We stumbled over and stood next to it. I was alone with Silas. My heart was pounding again. I stuffed my hands into the front pocket of my hoodie to hide my rattling fingers. We’re friends, I told myself. Friends hang out. I’d been with him all day. Why was I feeling so nervous?
“I like those clothes on you,” Silas offered. “It looks sporty. It suits you.”