Splinters: Part One

Part One | 8

Chapter 8

Family First

The day had unfortunately gone a lot faster than I intended. On any other Friday, it'd be longer than I want, but for some reason, on the day I wanted school to take forever, it did just the exact opposite.

Andrew found me in the halls just after we were dismissed and set to leave. His car happened to be in the school parking lot, which I found pretty cool. He had his own license and his own car. It made me rethink the whole license thing.

When we emerged from the building, two arms were wrapped around my neck. Petrified of who it was, the familiar laughter of my sister rang in my ears.

"Hey! You weren't even going to say bye!"

Ursanne unwrapped herself from my back and walked around to face me. She glanced at Andrew for a slight second, her cheeks tinting a bit red.

"I'll go start up my car. It's a bit chilly out here." He said.

I nodded and he turned to leave. Ursanne grabbed me by the arms.

"Room! Memorize the room."

I laughed. "Okay, okay."

"Have fun! I'll hopefully see you tonight?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Okay! Bye!" she hugged me again and then stepped back, too fast for me to return her embrace.

"Bye."

She waved to me as she got onto the bus. I waved back, trying my best to remember her face, because for some reason, I felt like I wouldn't see it for a long time after this. I walked towards Andrew's car which had been turned on. He drove toward me and rolled down the window. 

"Hop in," he said.

Andrew's car wasn't anything fancy, but it was decent. It wasn't dirty or gross, but it didn't exactly smell good and it had gotten that much worse when I closed the door, locking the aura in.

"Do you listen to country?" he asked, turning up the volume.

"Um, sorta."

I really didn't. I didn't exactly have a choice in any type of music. Jake showed me a few bands that were kind of cool, but not cool enough for me to really ever truly get in to. Andrew's music was definitely a drag. I didn't like any of it and I seriously hoped his house wasn't far from Constance because my sense of smell and hearing might as well be gone.

Unfortunately, the car ride was a long one, but Andrew and I kept a good conversation. We talked about school and a little bit about his life.

He had an older sister who was in college and was in sports medicine. I found that pretty interesting. He tried to get to know about me, but I didn't tell him much. I only told him about Melissa and Ursanne. He knew a bit about Ursanne but he never talked to her. He claimed that he didn't know her name until I mentioned it, but he definitely knew her face and all.

A little before we had come to our destination, Andrew spurred up the topic of Collie which ultimately put me on edge.

"Do you like her?"

How many people were going to ask about us? First it was Zech and now it's Andrew? I was beginning to realize that this might be a common question and that I should get used to being asked it.

"I think she's cool."

"You know what I mean though, don't you?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really see us like that."