question," Scarlett said, still facing the wall filled with fruits.
"Wait. What?" Tristan asked, not exactly following her train of thought.
"Why are you up so early?" Scarlett asked, doing a pretty good impression of Tristan's voice.
Chapter Three
" No, sorry, I have to go...somewhere this weekend," she had said.
" Where?" he had asked.
" Somewhere. Now, I have to go..."
That simple conversation rang in Tristan's ears for the rest of the night. He couldn't help it. Her voice kept coming into his mind at the worst of times. She was so secretive, so grounded, and so tame. She kept walls up high, guarding her. And for some reason, Tristan wanted to know what was behind those thick walls. He had an odd feeling that Scarlett was more than just a brain hiding beneath baggy clothes. He had a feeling that she was much more deep and complicated than anyone ever gave her credit for. And Tristan felt like breaking down her walls would be a challenge. And he loved challenges.
"Honey, are you sick? You aren't eating anything," Tristan's mother, Julia, asked from across their dining room table.
"He's been acting like that all weekend. I don't even think he realized that I totally kicked his butt in Halo yesterday. That's a first time, and it won't be the last," Bryan, Tristan's younger brother, said with a triumphant smile on his face.
"Did something happen at school yesterday?" Julia asked, still concerned in that annoyingly over-protective mother style.
"No...yes...maybe...I don't know. It was different," Tristan finally answered.
"Well, what happened?" Mary, Tristan's younger sister, asked. "Does it have anything to with Alice? Because there is a rumor going around our school that you two..." Mary glanced at their parents, "...kissed. Or something like that," she mumbled the last sentence.
"No, it doesn't have anything to do with Alice. She's still the same obnoxious head cheerleader she's always been," Tristan answered.
"Another girl, then?" Mary asked, interested now. She always loved to stick her nose into other people's business, especially her older brothers' business.
"Yes, another girl, but it wasn't anything interesting. Just addictingly different."
"'Addictingly' isn't a word, Mr. Dumbass ," Mary replied.
"Language, Mary!" Julia scorned from across the table.
Tristan ignored his mother and answered Mary as if there hadn't been any interruption at all, "Whatever, I never even noticed her before, and now all I can think about is her. It's so annoying. I want her out of my brain. And I have to work on an entire project with her for an entire month." Tristan didn't mean to tell his incredibly nosy family about this, but it just spilled out.
"So, who is she? Is she hot?" Bryan asked.
"She's way out of your league," Tristan said a smile on his round lips.
"So, she's a cheerleader, I assume?" Bryan asked.
"You know what they say about what happens when you 'assume'," Julia chimed in.
"It makes an ass out of u and me," Mary answered.
"Well, that question was kind of rhetorical," Julia mumbled into her lasagna.
"That question was kind of not a question," Bryan said. "Anyways, Tristan, she's a cheerleader, right?"
"Why are you so inquisitive?" Tristan asked.
"I need to know everything about my future high school, including all the students...girls," he whispered the last word to Tristan.
"So, is it: Viviane, Lucy, Miranda, or Jessie? Those are main cheerleaders. Or is she a dancer or gymnast? Is she: Ally, Vickie, Chelsey, or Fawn?"
"None; she isn't popular." Tristan had the two siblings going; he enjoyed it when they tried so desperately to guess anything about his social life.
"Elaine?" Mary added in.
"Natalie?" Bryan suggested.
"Diana?" Mary guessed.
"Anna-Lisa?" Bryan put in.
"Alex?" Mary proposed.
"Brianna?" Bryan questioned.
Tristan just kept shaking his
"Wait. What?" Tristan asked, not exactly following her train of thought.
"Why are you up so early?" Scarlett asked, doing a pretty good impression of Tristan's voice.
Chapter Three
" No, sorry, I have to go...somewhere this weekend," she had said.
" Where?" he had asked.
" Somewhere. Now, I have to go..."
That simple conversation rang in Tristan's ears for the rest of the night. He couldn't help it. Her voice kept coming into his mind at the worst of times. She was so secretive, so grounded, and so tame. She kept walls up high, guarding her. And for some reason, Tristan wanted to know what was behind those thick walls. He had an odd feeling that Scarlett was more than just a brain hiding beneath baggy clothes. He had a feeling that she was much more deep and complicated than anyone ever gave her credit for. And Tristan felt like breaking down her walls would be a challenge. And he loved challenges.
"Honey, are you sick? You aren't eating anything," Tristan's mother, Julia, asked from across their dining room table.
"He's been acting like that all weekend. I don't even think he realized that I totally kicked his butt in Halo yesterday. That's a first time, and it won't be the last," Bryan, Tristan's younger brother, said with a triumphant smile on his face.
"Did something happen at school yesterday?" Julia asked, still concerned in that annoyingly over-protective mother style.
"No...yes...maybe...I don't know. It was different," Tristan finally answered.
"Well, what happened?" Mary, Tristan's younger sister, asked. "Does it have anything to with Alice? Because there is a rumor going around our school that you two..." Mary glanced at their parents, "...kissed. Or something like that," she mumbled the last sentence.
"No, it doesn't have anything to do with Alice. She's still the same obnoxious head cheerleader she's always been," Tristan answered.
"Another girl, then?" Mary asked, interested now. She always loved to stick her nose into other people's business, especially her older brothers' business.
"Yes, another girl, but it wasn't anything interesting. Just addictingly different."
"'Addictingly' isn't a word, Mr. Dumbass ," Mary replied.
"Language, Mary!" Julia scorned from across the table.
Tristan ignored his mother and answered Mary as if there hadn't been any interruption at all, "Whatever, I never even noticed her before, and now all I can think about is her. It's so annoying. I want her out of my brain. And I have to work on an entire project with her for an entire month." Tristan didn't mean to tell his incredibly nosy family about this, but it just spilled out.
"So, who is she? Is she hot?" Bryan asked.
"She's way out of your league," Tristan said a smile on his round lips.
"So, she's a cheerleader, I assume?" Bryan asked.
"You know what they say about what happens when you 'assume'," Julia chimed in.
"It makes an ass out of u and me," Mary answered.
"Well, that question was kind of rhetorical," Julia mumbled into her lasagna.
"That question was kind of not a question," Bryan said. "Anyways, Tristan, she's a cheerleader, right?"
"Why are you so inquisitive?" Tristan asked.
"I need to know everything about my future high school, including all the students...girls," he whispered the last word to Tristan.
"So, is it: Viviane, Lucy, Miranda, or Jessie? Those are main cheerleaders. Or is she a dancer or gymnast? Is she: Ally, Vickie, Chelsey, or Fawn?"
"None; she isn't popular." Tristan had the two siblings going; he enjoyed it when they tried so desperately to guess anything about his social life.
"Elaine?" Mary added in.
"Natalie?" Bryan suggested.
"Diana?" Mary guessed.
"Anna-Lisa?" Bryan put in.
"Alex?" Mary proposed.
"Brianna?" Bryan questioned.
Tristan just kept shaking his
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