"Why don't you practice what you preach sister, and oh, a piece of advice, that rolling thing you do with your eyes —doesn't look good at all. Just saying" Tim said.
Chloe Gilbert had had enough of this arrogant jock and his friends. "Will you please get out of my way now.... Tim? Or does the hallway belong to you too? And oh, tell your friends that it's rude to just stand and stare... Like morons"
She didn't wait for him to move this time but she brushed past him and was on her way. Tim turned around and watched her.
It was weird. If someone else had spoken to him that way, he would have taken it pretty badly. Not that anyone ever did. He would be seeing Chloe Gilbert again. He was sure of that. And not just in class. At least she thought he was good looking.
His friends hurried up to him.
"Well that didn't go well" Peter said.
"Shut up" Tim said. "Let's go guys. We are already late for class.
--------------------------------------
"Mom. We are here" Katherine yelled as she walked into her mother’s house. In one hand she carried two bags. Deanie held the other as she walked slowly beside her mother.
"I'm here. I'm here" Delia said as she rushed out of the kitchen.
"Grandma" Deanie screamed when she saw her, she immediately let go of Katherine's hand and ran into her grandmother's arms. Delia picked her up and showered her face with kisses which made Deanie scream and laugh even more loudly.
"How are you sweet pea?" Delia asked Deanie as she balanced her on her left hip.
"Fine" Deanie said cheerfully as she cupped Delia's face in her little chubby hands.
"Of course you are," Delia said. "Excited about spending the day with grandma?"
Deanie nodded and Delia laughed. "Oh I'm excited too. You and grandma are going to have so much fun"
"Alright then" Katherine said, since you guys are obviously not going to miss me, I guess I should be on my way then"
"Wait... Wait" Delia said, she sat Deanie on one of the chairs and handed her one of her toys, then she turned back to Katherine. "I have something to tell you before you leave... And I don't know how you will take it. I just want you to promise me that you will try to be understanding"
"Wow" Katherine said, "This sounds interesting.... And a little frightening. What is it, mom?"
Delia cleared her throat. "Remember last time I went on a trip?" she began and Katherine nodded. "Well, I met someone. A man. His name is Michael. And I have kinda been seeing him since then."
Katherine said nothing and so Delia continued hurriedly. "We have only been on a few dates, it hasn't been going on for a long time and nothing serious has happened yet. I just wanted to let you know before... You know... I just didn't want you to find out any other way"
Katherine said nothing but stared wide eyed at her mother.
"Okay" Delia said. "Kathy, sweetie. Now would be a great time for you to say something"
Katherine shook her head. "Oh" she said. "I'm sorry mom. It's okay. I mean... I'm actually happy for you. It just took me a while to process the news because I wasn't expecting it. But it's great. I mean, dad has been gone for almost seven years now and I want you to be happy. In Fact I think he would want you move on sometime and be happy too"
"Oh I'm very relieved to hear that you feel that way Kathy" Delia said. "I wanted to tell you first before Jon because I don't know how he would react."
"It's fine mom." Katherine said. "I'm sure he wants you to be happy too. Even though he might find it weird at first. You know how Jon is"
Delia nodded. She knew her son well. "Hope everything is alright at home?" she asked Katherine.
Katherine nodded and looked away. And Delia, knowing her daughter well, knew at once that something was up. "Alright. Spill it" she said and Katherine laughed.
"Spill what?" she said. "I didn't say anything"
"Whatever it is that's bothering you?" Delia said. "Don't make me start investigations myself, because I will"
Katherine laughed again, "Indeed I'm sure you will" she said. But her face got serious when she thought about Jensen.
"Things haven't been... I don't know... Going smoothly at home lately" she said finally. "Tim has been acting out a lot. I think it's normal for teenagers to act that way sometimes but I just wish that he would talk to me if something is bothering him. He hasn't been doing well at school either and then there's Jensen. He comes home late almost every day and the last time I tried to talk to him about it we got into this fight. We never brought up the topic again but I can still feel the effect it had on our relationship."