“How about we make a deal,” he pipes up.
I paused for a moment, deciding whether or not I should even hear his terms, before answering with an obvious, “What kind of deal?”
“You ask me one question, however embarrassing you’d like it to be, and I’ll answer honestly.”
“And you?”
“I’ll be informed of one trouble making incident for every answer.”
“Deal.”
“You acquiesced too easily.”
“Maybe the reveal is worth it. I’ve got some ridiculous questions for you.”
“Man, I think I’m starting to regret this game already.”
He dropped the steel lid to the washer and slid over the top of the churning machine. I slid onto the lid beside him. We were utterly alone, no one even manned the service desk.
“So, Callum, have you ever bought a Creed album?”
“Damn. You’re good and yes, unfortunately, in a fifteen year old haze, I apparently bought their first album but everyone bought that album, Harper!”
“Hey, no need to make excuses.”
“Very funny, miss. Alright,” he rubs his hands together in preparation. “Tell me one.”
“Oh alright,” I huff. “Alright, in ninth I photocopied my principal’s cell phone number and passed it around to all my classmates.”
“Oh Lord, Harper. Why?” He asked in disbelief.
Jeez, this is one of the tame things I did. I’m scared to reveal the naughtier ones.
“Well, he suspended me for three days for something that wasn’t my fault.”
“Harper?”
“I mean, I am a troublemaker but it truly wasn’t my fault that time.” I sniffed.
“Well, what happened?”
“I was using the restroom and there were two girls in the handicap stall smoking cigarettes. I didn’t think much of it because it was a common thing in my school but when my principal walked in, she saw me and just assumed it was all my fault. You know, reputation and all.” I sighed out loud. “Anyway, I tried to explain that it was two girls in the handicap stall but she refused to check and dragged me to her office. When I sat down, she explained to me they had a no tolerance policy for smoking and didn’t even give me a chance to speak in my own defense. She just waved her hand in my face and picked up her phone to ring my foster mother.
“That was the last straw for that camel, so to speak, and I was placed in a new home the next week. I suppose it was easy for her to assume it was me but you don’t do that to kids, ya’ know? Always give them the benefit of the doubt. She had no idea the headache she caused me just for jumping to the wrong conclusion.”
“Jeez, Harper, I’m sorry,” he said, sympathy gracing his brows.
“Nah, I got her back.”
“Obviously,” he smiled. “Did they ever find out it was you?”
I winked. “Nope. Alright, your turn again.”
“Shoot.”
Just ask, Harper. “Who was your first kiss?”
He blushed and attempted to fight a smile. It was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. He is the cutest thing I had ever seen.
“Um,” he struggled, “her name was Keiko Nguyen.”
I think I hate Keiko Nguyen.
I cleared my throat, “Oh, that’s cool. Was she, like, your girlfriend or whatever?” Smooth.
“No, it was eighth grade and we were all playing spin the bottle.”
Whew! Alright, Keiko’s cool now.
“But I purposely spun the bottle so it’d land on her. I liked her, I guess,” he said, shuffling his feet back and forth, his heels bouncing against the machine in uncomfortable nervousness.
Nope, officially hate Keiko now. I inwardly sighed. Harper, you’re an idiot.
He peered his head over his shoulder and smiled at me. I smiled back like an idiot.
“My turn,” he said, waggling his brows.
I rolled my eyes, fighting to hide my giddiness at his slightly flirtatious behavior. He’s only charming, Harper. He probably does this to all the girls. Don’t be a fool.
“I purposely set off the indoor sprinklers with a match and a crumpled ball of paper my sophomore year.”
“Holy crap, Harper!”
“I know!” I said, burying my crimson face in my hands. “I was an idiot.”
He shook his head. “Again, why, Harper?”
“Well, you see, I had this friend. His name was Chris.” Callum narrows his eyes at me, in dare I say, jealousy? I continued trying to stifle the butterflies that gives me. “Chris couldn’t use his legs and was bound to a wheelchair. Well, our stupid basketball coach got it in his head that Chris was gonna compete in a friendly scrap between the basketball team and a team everyone jokingly deems ‘the incompetent misfits’.
“It’s a scrimmage my school put together every year at the beginning of the year. They usually get the chess club or something to compete and they do this at a pep rally in front of the entire school. Chris didn’t want to be treated any differently then he already was, which was totally lame because Chris was cool as shit, so when coach asked him to play, he agreed.
“So, fifteen minutes before the game was scheduled to start, while the bleachers were starting to fill up, I filed in behind the lemmings and caught Chris’ eyes. He looked so distraught, I had to do something.
“I plunged my hands into my pockets and pulled out the detention slip I’d gotten that day in one hand and a lighter in the other. It was all I could think of.”