Misunderstandings (Woodfalls Girls 2)

“We were on a field trip to the public library in the big city not far from Woodfalls. It was a yearly tradition for seventh graders and believe it or not, was a pretty big deal for us considering the library in Woodfalls at that time was a joke. We were supposed to be doing research for some class project on influential figures of the twentieth century. Our teacher was old school and wanted us to use actual books for research in lieu of the Internet. Anyway, this library was huge and had two floors with an elevator. Well, for some reason—I don’t even remember why anymore—a few of us decided to go for a joyride. Then, that creep Tommy Jones, who knew I was scared anyway, had convinced everyone to run off the elevator just as the door was closing. Afraid of being on the elevator by myself, I stuck out my hand to stop the door, but my hand didn’t make it to the rubber sensor that should have caused the doors to bounce back open. Instead, the elevator door closed against my fingers for the entire ride up to the second floor. I screamed bloody murder the entire time and freaked out everyone in the library,” I said, grinning wryly. “Especially when they saw my hand,” I added, wagging my fingers at him. “I broke all four fingers on my right hand and also sprained my left hand in my frantic attempt to try to pry the elevator door open. By the time I got to the hospital, my fingers were swollen to the size of sausages.”

“Did you pound the prick Tommy Jones with your cast?” he asked.

“Nope. I didn’t have to. Word spread to his mom, who happened to be the principal of our school. She stuck it to him, made him shadow me for six weeks. He had to do all my writing for me in my classes. I had a cast on one hand and an Ace bandage wrapped around the other, but watching Tommy doing double work was almost worth it.”

“I would have still pounded his ass,” Justin growled.

“That’s because you’re quick to overreact in a situation,” I said, instantly wishing I could recall the words.

“At least I react in some fashion, like any normal human. I’m not some freaking robot that can’t show any emotion,” he snarled, turning away from me. My heart dropped. We were never going to get past this. He thought I was emotionless, but he hadn’t been there to see what had really happened. I wouldn’t allow myself to dwell on how harsh he sounded, because I knew the truth.

6.

November 2010

“Where are we going?” I asked with Justin leading me by the hand from my dorm room. It had been a week since his art show and the day of our first date had finally arrived. I’d had serious doubts and even tried backing out. I pleaded with Melissa to lie and cover for me, but she wouldn’t budge.

“What the frick is your deal with this guy?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips for emphasis because somehow that made her point more clearly. “You’ve never been like this before. You’ve got your OCD issues when it comes to dating, and whatever that crazy one-date-only rule is, I’ll never understand, but usually you give the dude a chance.”

“I don’t know,” I sighed, sinking down on my bed. “Something about him just unsettles me.”

“Unsettles? Do you not trust him?” she asked, concerned. “Did he do something?” she added, looking as ferocious as her slight five-foot-one-inch frame would allow.

“Chill, mother hen. No, he just makes me feel weird, kind of jittery. I disliked him on sight, and yeah, maybe that was wrong and a bit presumptuous on my part. Especially considering at his art show I got a glimpse of a side of him I wasn’t expecting, but now I’m worried I’ll be disappointed because he’ll turn out to be the asshole I pegged him for in the first place.”

“That’s some messed-up logic,” she said, hitting me with a pillow. “It sounds to me like you like him and you don’t want to admit it.”

I shrugged my shoulders since she’d pretty much nailed it on the head.

“In that case then, no, I won’t lie for you. It’ll do you some good to forget about these preconceived notions of yours and realize that sometimes it takes more than one date to get to know someone. Besides, you’ve got to give a little to get a little.”

“I’m not like you. I don’t give anything on the first date,” I teased.

“Hey, whatever, slut, that’s not what I meant,” she squealed, tossing the pillow at my head.

“I’m kidding,” I laughed. “Anyway, I disagree. If the first date sucks, then why should I torment myself by going out a second time? Face it, Melissa, college guys are the same duds they were in high school. They’re just a little cockier and more persistent here,” I pointed out, since her track record wasn’t that much better than mine.

“Rob is different, though,” she replied. “And maybe Justin will be too.”

“So you say. Only time will tell,” I said, rising reluctantly from my bed so I could get dressed.

An hour later I wished I were still on my bed instead of heading out on some date, during the day no less, waiting for Justin to answer my question.

“If I tell you where we’re going, it’ll ruin the surprise, but I think you might like it,” he said, grinning confidently as he stopped in front of a beat-up jeep with no roof and no doors.

“You’re kidding, right?” I asked.

“What? You don’t like jeeps?” he asked, leading me to the passenger side.

“I’m not sure how I feel about them one way or another. I’ve never ridden in one. It’s just—you do realize you live in Seattle?”

“Sure, why?”

“Well, it’s not the most practical vehicle for this state, is it? You know the whole ‘no roof, no door, lots of rain’ thing. Not to mention, I could easily picture one sharp turn sending me tumbling out to become instant roadkill.” With those words, I pulled on my seat belt to make sure it was firmly latched.

“Aw, you’re not afraid to get a little wet, are you?” He cranked the engine, which started with a loud grumble before idling louder than I was used to. I’m sure the missing windows and roof were partly to blame for some of the noise, but not much.

“Not at all,” I answered. “Just tell me you at least have an umbrella.”