Finnegan was still a great mystery to her, but in the past two days, Elise went from being a distant admirer to being his science partner and spending more time with him than Cheyanne. Cheyanne. Elise was not just sad that Cheyanne found new friends to hang around with, but now she realized she felt angry at her. Cheyanne seemed to just drop her as soon as she found out she made the Cheerleading squad. What would she say to Cheyanne the next time they talked? She was supposed to call later, but Elise didn't really want to tell her about Finnegan anymore. She was still extremely happy about the turn of events, but her feelings were hurt by Cheyanne's constant dismissal of her big news. Elise realized how self-absorbed Cheyanne was, and had always been. It didn't bother her before when nothing really seemed to happen. She lived vicariously through Cheyanne's dramas. But now, when Elise had some drama of her own, Cheyanne didn't care. She seemed remorseful at lunch, but did she really care?
"Was I just a placeholder friend for her until she finally got into the group of friends she really wanted?" Ugh! Elise knew other girls she could try to be friends with, but she just wanted to withdraw into herself and protect what was left of her pride before she ventured out to make new friends. And then there was Finnegan.
He was as perfect as she had imagined. He wasn't super athletic, but he didn't have a wimpy build either. He wore black slacks with black Converse shoes that had dirty, white laces. He usually had on a graphic tee showing some kind of metal band or a hooded sweatshirt. She hadn't ever seen him dressed out for gym because the girls and boys had separate gym periods, and he wasn't involved in any of the clubs or sports. What did he do? In all the time she watched him, she only thought how cute he was and how mysterious. She imagined he was nice, and she was right. She knew he was smart because he always did well in class. But aside from the ring he always wore and the graphic tees of bands she didn't know, his personality was a complete mystery. He was quiet, even when he was with his friends, and he was secretive about his home life.
Elise wasn't really involved in anything at school either, and she spent much of her time in the library. At home, she helped her mom by making dinner or cleaning, and when she finished her homework, she would either call Cheyanne and talk until bed or watch television. Her mom was raised Catholic, but she never forced Elise to go to church, and eventually stopped going herself. Her mom wasn't a devout Catholic, and Elise didn't try to go to church anywhere else. Most of the students went to the various Baptist churches around, but they were either the most prudish or most promiscuous people.
It wasn't that Elise didn't believe in anything. She just never really thought about it. But she didn't know what Finnegan believed. What if he was a promiscuous type? Would he try to make a move on her? Would she stop him?
But he didn't really seem like that type. What if he was prudish? The kind of guy who saved himself for marriage and believed that you should read the Bible regularly? What if that's what he did when he went home? Oh man, she would definitely not be able to impress him no matter what type of person he was. She didn't know anything. She just read her novels and listened to Cheyanne's drama. She didn't even start shaving her legs until last year after Cheyanne teased her about it.
Elise got home and started making dinner. Her mom wasn't home yet, so she called her on her cellphone to ask her to pick up some sandwich ingredients and ranch dressing before she came home. She almost forgot she promised Finnegan a picnic. she stared into the refrigerator for a long time trying to plan out things to pack. In the end, she just decided that a few sandwiches with some veggies and ranch should be enough. She prepped the veggies and decided it would be best to make the sandwiches in the morning.
Cheyanne didn't call, as Elise expected. If it weren't for the fact that she was going to spend time with Finnegan tomorrow, she would have felt worse about it. But now, Elise was getting numb about Cheyanne's friendship. Maybe they should just go their separate ways. They were moving apart anyway, and they never were really very similar. It was nice to have her as a friend while it lasted, but they way things were changing, it just wouldn't be the same. Cheyanne would be hanging around cheerleaders and football jerks all the time, and she would probably fit right in and barely notice Elise wasn't part of her life anymore. Elise would just try to enjoy this time with Finnegan, and then focus on graduating. It would probably also be a good idea to think about what she wanted to study in college so she could pick a college far away and finally get out of this stupid town. Most of the people here were so small minded. At least Finnegan was still here. Maybe she would ask him where he planned to go to college and follow him there, without telling him that, of course.
When Elise's mom got home, Elise put away the groceries and told her mom that her partner for a science project was coming over to work on the experiments, and they would stay out of the way.
"Oh, who is your partner?"
"Um, no one you know. He'll just be here for a few hours. I'm packing a picnic lunch for us. We'll go out to the pond to work." Elise tried to make it sound as innocent as it was, but after the words left her mouth, she realized it sounded like she was planning on being promiscuous. This made Elise blush, and of course, her mom read into it the wrong way.
"Elise," her mom chided, "your partner is a boy?"
Elise stared nervously at her mom for a few seconds before answering. "Yes, but we're just going to be gathering up bits of nature, like sticks and rocks and stuff, to make a model of a water molecule. As soon as we have enough material and a design, he's going to leave."
Her mom stood with her arms akimbo and one hip cocked for while thinking. "Well, I want to meet this boy before you go on your picnic."
Nervously, Elise tried to find a way around it, but realized there was no use. "Ok, but mom, I don't want him to come in the house. Our house is so small, and there's really no need. Can you just meet him outside?"
"Fine, but you don't go anywhere until I meet him, understand."
"Yes, mama." They ate dinner, and after Elise cleaned up, she went to her room to work on her science packet and read a few chapters of her book for English class. When she had gotten done with the homework she laid out, she couldn't stop thinking about how her mom would react to Finnegan. Oh no! What if Finnegan didn't want to talk to her again. This was terrible. Her mom wasn't a devout Catholic, but she still jumped to conclusions about people and judged them behind their back. What if her mom wouldn't let her work with Finnegan alone and they had to do the project in the house!
Elise got ready for bed early so she could wake up early enough to prepare the picnic. Right before she got settled under the covers, she decided to text Finnegan.
"Hey, are you still up?" ...
Oh my God! What if he thinks I'm embarrassed of him? I'm not, of course, but I don't want my mom to hate him either. He didn't reply for a long time.
"If you aren't, no problem. I just wanted to say that my mom insists on meeting you before we start working on our project." ...
Maybe he will reply in the morning, and I can warn him then. Ding!
"Hey, sorry, I just got out of the shower. And ok about your mom." He replied! And he just got out of the shower, so he was probably just wearing a towel when he sent this message! I shall have sweet dreams tonight.
"Um, actually, I wanted to say she might not like to see you all dressed in black. She is pretty judgmental and I didn't want her to get the wrong idea. I mean, I think you're nice, but she might not see it that way."...My finger hesitated before I sent the message. I read over it and tried to think of a way to say it differently, but I just had to hope he wouldn't take it badly. Send.
...
"Ok, I get it. Thanks for the heads up. Don't worry, I'll have to warn you about my parents too. They said you could come over Monday to work on our experiment after school. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night."
I held the phone over my heart after reading his message. What a perfect guy!
I texted him 'Good night,' and placed my phone on the bedside table before rolling over and letting my happy dreams fill my head.