"What's wrong?" I ask Amelia, who is making a face.
"It's just..." She trails off, thinking. "Nothing. Never mind."
"What? Tell me, I want to know what's wrong." I tell her but she gives me a dirty look so I hold off.
"Just go hang out with your new boyfriend and abandoned me, I don't care!" She yells at me then packs up her lunch and walks away, leaving me all alone.
I'm stunned. What was that? This morning she was jumping excitedly for me, now she's mad? It's not like I left her too, I was going to make a plan so I could split my attention between her and Ian.
I texted Ian, asking him where he is. He responds by saying he's near the back of the school, skateboarding with some of his friends.
I make my way over there and it doesn't take long to spot him amid similarly dressed skater boys. He's by far the most gorgeous of all of them.
"Yo, who are you?" A tall, curly-haired boy asks me. When he says this, all the other guys stop what they're doing and turn to look at me.
"Hey, Mar!" Ian says, coming over. "This is my girl, Marjorie." I'm his girl? Why does that make me feel proud and happy inside?
"Marjorie, what kind of name is that man?" A guy with black hair similar to Ian's hair, asks.
"Shut up bro." Ian tells him and then much quieter to me, "Don't listen to him Mar, he's a jerk." I nod.
"I need to talk to you about something. In private." I whisper to him. Ian tells his friends he'll be right back and we walk a little ways away. I've never heard him talk like that and it's kind of weird too. Like I know it's how guys talk to other guys, but it's still weird to hear it coming from his mouth.
"So, what's up?" Ian is back to his normal self now.
"Amelia is mad at me for wanting to sit with you. I was going to sit with her too, but she's still pissed." I tell him. He pulls me in for a hug. Oh my god, this is our first hug, and damn it feels good.
"Ugh, I'm sorry Mar. She's probably just jealous you got a boyfriend and not her." He tells me. I'm not sure that's it though, at least I hope not.
"I don't know what to do," I tell Ian. He thinks for a second.
"Um, I'm not sure either, but maybe you should just give her space and then try to talk to her again and tell her you still want to sit with her." He offers.
"Okay, thanks, that helps a lot." I'm so glad I have Ian to talk to and help me with things like this now. Before, if Amelia and I got in a fight I would go to the library at lunch and figure it out alone.
We walk around until the bell rings and then head to class. Amelia barely glances my way in class.
***
Back at home, in my room curled up next to CeCe, I open up my messages. I click on Amelia's name and stare at the screen for a while. The last time we texted is last night, which seems recent but for us it's been a while.
I debate if I should text her, maybe apologize. I'm not sure.
I end up texting Amelia: 'hey, are you okay?'
I stare at my phone until she responds which takes a full four minutes.
Amelia: 'why?'
Me: 'cuz at lunch today you got mad at me for wanting to sit with Ian'
No response from Amelia, not even word bubbles.
Me: 'You know, I still want to sit with you' I type.
Amelia: 'I'm sorry. I just freaked out. I feel like Ian is going to replace me.'
Me: 'No one is ever going to replace you, Amelia. I'm sorry you felt like that. I was just trying to work out a schedule or something so I could sit with both of you.' I explain.
Amelia is silent for a while again.
Amelia: 'Yeah'
Then, nothing again. I wait.
Amelia: 'I'm sorry too' I take a deep breath, relieved. I hate fighting with Amelia so much it makes me sick. When she's mad at me it's like my whole world is in chaos. I can't function correctly and I can't think of anything else.
Amelia: 'So, how is this going to work?' She asks and to be honest I haven't really thought of any of the details either.
Me: 'Um, I don't know. I guess maybe I can sit with you and then the next day Ian. Like an every other day thing.' I'm nervous as I wait for Amelia to reply.
Amelia: 'Okay, sure.'
Me: 'Okay, perfect.' I text back and then text Ian the plan.
Ian: 'Sure Mar'
I can finally breathe normally again. I get up and head to the kitchen to get a snack before I start my math homework. I grab a peach and a carrot for CeCe, apologizing for disturbing her when I got up. Just as I'm settling down with my math books, my phone dings.
Ian: 'Wanna call?' I do, but I also need to finish my homework.
Me: 'Sure, but I have to do the math homework.' I say.
Ian: 'That's fine, I should do it too.' I smile. I love FaceTiming Ian.
Me: 'Okay, call' My phone starts ringing within seconds.
"Hey," Ian says. He's laying in his bed wearing a light blue T-shirt. His hair is messy and he frantically tries to fix it. I laugh.
"Hi," I respond, staring at Ian's face. It's so handsome, especially with his messy hair and I can't think of anything else for a few minutes.
"Are you okay Mar?" Ian asks.
"Huh?" I startle back to the reality of math homework. "Oh, sorry I was distracted." He smirks and I blush.
"By what?" He says and I can hear his smile in his voice.
"Oh I don't know, your face." I tease him.
This time he blushes and his smirk turns into a genuine smile. My body warms all over.
"We should get to work, we have a lot of problems," I tell him and his face falls.
"Ugh! Fine!" We start the problems and in between working we flirt and smile at each other.
Hours late, Mom knocks on my door to tell me it's dinner time. I'm still on the phone with Ian so I say goodbye and head down the hall to the kitchen.
She's prepared spaghetti and meatballs and salad on the side. Just as I'm taking my first bite of steaming hot spaghetti the doorbell rings.
Mom stands up and says, "Perfect timing."
"Hank?" I guess, but Mom shakes her head and when she opens the door I see who it is.
"Oh, Sandra! I haven't seen you in ages!" My grandmother exclaims.
"Hello, Mom. I know it's been a while but please come in" Mom greets her and steps aside to let my grandmother waltz in with shopping bags in her arms.
"Marjorie, dear! How are you?" Grandmother lightly kisses me on my cheek and dumps her bags on the table. "I have a little something for you dear." She starts ruffling through her bags and I glance at Mom, silently asking her why Grandmother is here.
Mom has the decency to look a little guilty and then quickly looks away. I turn my attention back to my Grandmother as she pulls out a purple fuzzy sweater with the price tag still on it.
"Here Marjorie, I got you this sweater in your favorite color." She hands me the sweater and I force a smile. I'm not surprised she doesn't know my actual favorite color even though it's been yellow since I was three.
I barely know Grandmother myself. She's my Dad's mother and I'm not sure she even talks to him. I only see her about once a year and every time it's awkward and weird. Mom usually warns me ahead of time when Grandmother is coming though.
"Thanks," I tell Grandmother. She then starts handing out other items to Mom and cluttering the table. I sit down and start eating again, reminding them that it's dinner time.
Mom takes the hint and helps Grandmother move all her bags into the living room. They come back into the kitchen and sit down.
"So, Sandra." Grandmother turns to my Mom. "I've heard you're seeing someone." My mom blushes a little.
"Yes, I am. His name is Hank." Mom doesn't give any more details and Grandmother moves on to me.
"How is school, Marjorie?" I finish chewing and swallow my food before I answer her.
"Good."
"What's your favorite subject?" She takes a bite and makes a face.
"Uh, History."
"What grades do you get?" I sigh internally.
"A's and B's."
"Your getting B's?" She asks just like I predicted.
"Only one in math," I tell her and she drops it.
"How have you been Mom?" My mother asks my grandmother. She takes a sip of her water before speaking.
"Do you have any tea? I only drink iced tea with my supper." Mom looks at me and I am forced to stop eating, get up and get my ever-demanding grandmother her precious iced tea.
I don't hear grandmother answer Moms question when I walk out of the dining room to the kitchen.
Usually, Mom and I eat at the small table in the kitchen but when we have company over we eat in the dining room. With Hank, we ate at the kitchen table though. I guess he's more family than my grandmother at this point.
I look around in the fridge for a while but can't find any iced tea so I take a tea bag from the cabinet. I guess I'll just make hot tea and then ice it.
My phone is still in my pocket and I take it out and check it. There's a message from Amelia.
'OMG! GUESS WHAT HAPPENED??!!' I have no clue what Amelia is so excited about.
'Uhhhh, I don't know what happened?' I text back, confused.
She responds right away.
'What are you doing right now? How do you not know?'
'My grandmother showed up out of the blue so I'm having dinner with her. Tell me already.' I text, sighing out loud.
'COURTNEY PRISTIN IS RELEASING HER 6th ALBUM REALLY SOON!' OMG! This is crazy I almost don't believe it.
'WHAT?! ALL THAT HAPPENED WHEN MY GRANDMOTHER CAME OVER?' Of course, my grandmother makes her surprise appearance the actual minute Courtney Pristin releases something.
'IKR' Amelia responds. Courtney Pristin is mine and Amelia's favorite pop artist. We've both been fans for three years now and have witnessed only two of her album releases which is why this is so exciting.
The tea kettle starts whistling so I quickly turn off the stove but Grandmother's tea can wait. I need to see this news for myself. I open up Instagram and right away the news floods my feed. Courtney has announced the date for her new album which by the way, is October 15th, and a lot of fan accounts I'm following are freaking out. I quickly like Courtney's post which is a picture of her standing on a rooftop at night in a mini black dress. Her red hair is loose and blowing in the wind. She's barefoot and her green eyes are filled with sadness and tragedy.
On her story, she's posted a link for pre-ordering her album on her website along with the same picture of her in the dark. I share her post to my story and go back to Amelia.
'She looks amazing!' I gush.
Amelia: 'Ikr. I literally can't wait for her album. I think it might be like a sad, heartbreak one though.'
Me: 'It'll still be amazing and super good.' Just as I type that message, I hear my mom calling to me from the other room.
"Mar! Are you okay?" Shit. I forgot about my Grandmother and her iced tea in all the excitement. I yell back as I hurriedly text Amelia that I have to go.
"Coming!" I pour the hot water into a glass with ice cubes and add a tea bag. I'm not sure if I did everything correctly but I've already been long enough.
I carry the glass back into the dining room and hand it to Grandmother.
"Sorry, I got distracted," I say and sit down. Grandmother just grunts. How rude.