Sadie, Enchanted

Chapter Three

That weekend, Mr. Abrams had a doctor's appointment, and like always, Sadie joined him. Her mother worked long hours in the office to afford treatments, and she was grateful that Sadie was willing to go to the appointments with her husband. As they sat in the waiting room, Sadie relayed the events of the week to her father, who listened intently.

"Noah sounds like a character," her father said thoughtfully.

"A rude, arrogant, obnoxious character, sure." Sadie scoffed. Her dad smiled slightly.

"It seems that he's been trying to get through to you, and you haven't let him." He continued. Sadie almost choked.

"Get through to me? Are you kidding?" She squawked. Mr. Abrams shrugged.

"He came to your lunch table, stopped by your locker...it seems like he's really trying, and you're just being difficult." He replied. Sadie gaped at him.

"Dad! You...you don't understand. He's a bully. He mocks me. You'd have to be there to see what I'm talking about." She stammered.

"Maybe. But from what you've told me, he sounds like a normal teenage boy. I'm not excusing any bullying he might have done, but from what you've said, it sounds like he's just trying to figure himself out. If you keep pushing him away, you might never be able to see who he becomes." he said wisely. Sadie's eye twitched before she settled back in her chair and crossed her arms.

"I know Noah. He's like every other jerk at that school." She mumbled. Mr. Abrams shrugged as his name was called by the nurse. Forgetting their conversation quickly, Sadie grabbed his hand and followed him into the office.

                                                                                                 ***

The next week, Noah and Sadie spent their time arguing over what their project would be. Sadie was adamant that they protest in the mall while Noah was refusing. She was getting extremely frustrated.

"Why can't you just say yes?!" She cried Wednesday afternoon as they sat in the detention room. Noah had agreed to come after school so they could work together. Neither had mentioned Sadie's outburst the week before, and she wanted to keep it that way.

"Um, because then I would be giving in." He replied. She squeezed her fists together and dropped her head onto the desk, groaning loudly. "Calm down, Irish."

"Stop calling me that, doucheface." She retorted.

"Oh come on, you can do better than that." Noah replied, repeating her words from last week. "We both know that I am not a doucheface." She glowered at him. He just smiled and went on. "I happen to have a very handsome face, thank you very much."

"Good thing you don't play football. I don't think your head would fit in a helmet." She commented, crossing her arms.

"Oh, so you know I play soccer, hm? Do you watch me?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows.

Sadie dropped her arms. "What? No, I was-ugh, never mind." Noah stretched in his chair, and Sadie sighed. "This is useless. We're never going to agree on anything."

"Not exactly. We agree on that statement." Noah said, smiling slightly.

"Touché," Sadie laughed, surprising herself. The two looked at each other for a moment more before settling back into their seats.

"Hey Sadie," a voice said above the girl's desk, causing both Sadie and Noah to glance up from their work. Rex stood, one hand on his backpack strap, giving the two a curious look.