Finding Jupiter by Kelis Rowe

Author:Kelis Rowe [Rowe, Kelis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2022-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

Me: He just showed up! He’s taking me out!

Bri: CALL ME

I tap the screen to call her. I am in blissful disbelief that a boy just pebbled my window and that I’m going on a date. A real date.

FIFTEEN

Orion

15 DAYS

The sun’s dipping, and I’m almost to Ray’s house and kicking myself for promising her an amazing kiss. What was I thinking, putting that kind of pressure on myself? But I had to promise her that our streak of missed kisses ends tonight.

Ray’s front door swings open as I approach, and a woman who looks like she could be Ray’s hot older sister smiles politely back at me. “Hi there. You must be Orion.” As tall as Ray and with thick dreadlocks piled on top of her head, she looks regal.

“Hi. Yes, ma’am, Ms. Evans. Nice to meet you.” I step past her into the kitchen. I scan for Ray, but she’s not there. I turn back around to face Ms. Evans as she closes the door behind her. She studies my face with a slight smile. I wonder what Ray has told her about me—about us.

“Marigolds,” she says. It takes a moment for me to realize that she is talking about the bouquet of flowers that I brought for Ray.

“Yes! Yes, ma’am.” I hold the bouquet out toward her and she sniffs it. “And peach roses from my backyard.” I almost go on talking about how my mom planted the marigolds and rosebushes the year we first moved into our house and how she fusses over them all the time, weathering them in the winter and pruning them back and so on. Instead of saying all that, I bite both my lips to prevent myself from rambling.

“Beautiful. Marigolds and roses in your backyard?”

Just say, “Yes, ma’am.” “Yes, ma’am.”

She nods.

“I noticed that you garden as well,” I say.

Her eyebrows rise.

“Ray showed me. I came by…um…” I clear my throat.

“I garden, yes.” She leads me into the kitchen and pulls out a pitcher of water from the fridge. Thankfully, she ignores what I said about having seen the garden before.

“Would you like some water?” She doesn’t wait for my answer. She just fills a little green glass and hands it to me.

“Yes, ma’am, thank you.” I drain the glass in one go.

“Orion, you’ve made quite an impression on my Ray.”

“Yes, ma’am—I mean, she’s great too. She’s made an impression on me, too. She’s a great girl. The greatest girl.” Orion. Stop. Talking. I try to take another sip of water from the empty glass in my hand. Her closemouthed grin widens into a smile, and she laughs a little. She pours more water for me and I thank her.

“I’ll let Ray know you’re here. Excuse me, dear.” She disappears down the hallway.

I finish my water and pace back and forth between the kitchen and the adjacent den. Herbs wrapped with twine are hanging upside down above the windows all around the kitchen. I stop to smell one that has lavender mixed in among some leaves.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.