Chapter Four

Minutes after Marianna left, i went up to my room and changed into a pair of pj pants and an old t shirt. I never once put my phone down. i flopped onto my bed and tried not to check my phone every ten seconds. i resisted texting him first; what would i say anyway? 'Hey why aren't you texting me?' I didn't even know if he would text me tonight at all. 'Later' doesn't always mean 'later on tonight'. I tried to calm myself down but it didnt work. suddenly my phone buzzes and i feel like im going to explode. i look at my phone and my mood instantly changes. it's Marianna. the message read: 'Hey has he txted yet?' I replied: 'No but ill let u know when he does'. i send the message and close my phone. I was really jumpy and severely impatient. When i can no longer contain myself (again) i check my phone (again). it hasnt even been a whole minute yet. my phone buzzes again, and after the automatic rush of thrill, i prepare myself for more disappointment if it happens to be Marianna again. i check my phone, and it's Jeff. i had a huge smile on my face as i flipped open my phone to read the message. 'Hey sami, sry i took so long. chores n crap'. i went thru my reply in my head to make sure it made sense and wasn't too much. I finally decided on 'no, its ok, i was doin some stuff too'. as soon as the message sent, i texted Marianna. 'he finally txted me! nothin big, just apologizin for takin so long. i said i was doin some stuff too'. no later than i clicked the send button did Jeff reply back. 'thts cool so wht u got planned for after school tomorrow?'. I nearly screamed, but quickly calmed myself. I didn't need my mom coming up asking what's going on. I didn't exactly feel like telling her I was texting a random guy i met at the rink. She'd either think i was in a relationship and get all excited or mad because i just met him. I tried not to get my hopes up thinking he was asking me out. I texted 'nothin rly. ill just be at home. wht bout u?'. i sent the text and messaged Marianna. 'Ok, dnt flip b/c nothin big happened yet. he asked me wht im doin tomorrow after school n i said nothin. its not like he asked me out so dnt loose ur head'. I told Marianna not to loose her cool even though i knew she would anyway. The anticipation just grew more and more unbearable. Jeff texted back 'same here. if u want u could show me round the neighborhood. my mom was talkin to tht lady next door n she said somethin bout a cafe round the corner. maybe we could stop in there or somethin. idk i just want to know u better, u seem pretty nice.' I think i stopped breathing, i don't remember. the next thing i can recall is typing as fast as i could which caused many errors which lead to me going back a thousand times to correct them. This eventually frustrated me, but my frustration was easily muted by my excitement. 'Yeah, sure, where do you want to meet up n wht time?' I tried to make it sound casual but i wasn't too sure if it did because my head was so mixed up. When the message had sent i instantly opened a new one to Marianna: 'Ok u can loose ur head now, i did! we r gonna meet up tomorrow after school but idk when or where. the only details i have r tht he suggested i could show him around or we could go to the cafe down the street! thnk u soooo much! i should listen to u more often...' By now it was almost ten o' clock and my mom expected me in bed by then for school. i unwillingly put my phone down on my bed to go down and say good night to my mom. i headed downstairs and into the living room where i expected my mom to be. To my left was a couch facing the television and to my right was a recliner. My mom was on the recliner with her dark blond hair in waves around her face. She was looking at the tv but seemed to be seeing something else beyond the screen. She didn't appear to notice me walk in. "Mom?" she snapped into reality as if nothing happened at all. She turned her head to look at me. "You, going to bed, honey?" she asked me. I nodded my head yes. She smiled at me. "Okay, good night," she said.

"Night, mom." i replied. I turned around and tried not to sprint up the stairs. I didn't want to make her suspicious, but i was so eager to get back to my cell phone. I got to my room and shut the door. With the door closed, i ran the short distance to my bed where the phone lay. I jumped on the bed and hastily opened my phone. I had two messages, one from Jeff and one from Marianna. I read Jeff's first: 'Well we should ride the same bus home, right? So, y dnt we drop off our stuff at home then meet at the cafe? If u have somethin else in mind im open for suggestions' I tried to think of how to reply without seeming eager. I decided on: 'sounds good to me! do u know where the bus stop is for in the morning tho?' i clicked the send button and opened Mariannas message. 'How many times have i said that? No one EVER listens to Marianna!' i sighed but smiled. this was her new thing: no one ever listens to Marianna. whenever shes right and no one believed her about it before she says that. i replied, 'yeah yeah whatever. heard it all before.' i knew that would either make her laugh or get her mad. a few seconds later i got Jeff's message: 'my mom said it was the corner of Indigo and Saturn but idk where they are... so no.' Indigo and Saturn were street names in our neighborhood, and he was right, thats where the bus stop was. 'yeah, thats where the stop is. how about you meet me at my house or the other way around at like 7 and we can walk together? marianna will be with us too.' i replied. my message from marianna only said 'grr...' and i ignored that. i told her that Jeff will probably be walking with us to the bus stop. moments later a got Jeffs reply. it said 'k sure, ill see u tomorrow. moms buggin me to go to bed. ugh. night.' i simply replied, 'night'. mariannas message said, 'cool, g2g tho, mom troubles. cya tomorrow!' i said back, 'cya' and closed my phone shut. i turned off the light in my room and layed in my bed. though i tried, i could NOT sleep. i layed there and tried everything i could think of. i concentrated on my breathing. i sang the alphabet in my head four times. i counted up to 168... then i gave up. i just stared up at my ceiling in the dark, wondering what would happen tomorrow with Jeff. then i remembered when i was little my father would sing a song to me that would always make me fall asleep. i played it in my head only twice before i was asleep.

'No need to worry i'm by your side. I'll be with you until morning rise...'