The Clay Lion by Jahn Amalie

Author:Jahn, Amalie [Jahn, Amalie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BERMLORD
Published: 2013-12-18T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

The joke was on me as I was forced to eat the words I had spoken to Charlie about waiting until Wednesday to see one another again. I was a disaster. I spent Monday and Tuesday walking around as if my brain was in no way connected to the rest of my body. I drove straight past school on Monday morning, missed my third period English class because I went to study hall instead, tried to buy lunch before realizing I left my purse at home, and completely forgot that I promised to take Branson to the hardware store for work after school on Tuesday afternoon. He waited outside the front office for forty-five minutes before I realized my mistake. The worst part was that he could not even call to remind me to get him as I left my cell phone charging on my dresser.

By the time Wednesday afternoon arrived, I was a bundle of nerves. Between seeing Charlie again and meeting his mother for the first time, I had barely eaten all day. Branson was happy to join me because, as he put it, somebody had to make sure I remembered to keep breathing. Never had the six miles home from school seemed so long. Branson found me pacing in the kitchen when he appeared for his requisite afternoon snack.

“This is fun,” he commented, as he rummaged through the pantry shelves.

“Hmmm,” I replied absentmindedly, gazing out the window. “Watching you go gaga over a boy. It’s like watching an after school special. I’m just wondering what big life lesson I’m supposed to learn once it’s all done,” he teased. “You know… don’t do drugs, don’t be a bully, don’t forget to engage your brain.”

“You’re hilarious,” I told him.

“You’re in love,” he declared.

“No I’m not!” I asserted. But as the words came out, I knew I was lying. Ridiculous as it was, in just a few days, I was falling in love with Charlie Johnson. I looked at Branson who was smirking at me, half a peanut butter sandwich dangling from his mouth. I returned his smile.

“Jerk,” I said.

Several minutes later, Mrs. Johnson arrived. Branson and I piled into the back of the SUV with Melody and were warmly welcomed. Mrs. Johnson asked Branson and me a multitude of questions about our lives, our parents, school, and sports. She chatted nervously about Charlie’s swimming, clearly anxious for him to do well. She seemed refreshingly normal and I realized that she was obviously the parent responsible for keeping Charlie firmly grounded in reality. I got the impression that his father was considerably harder to please.

We made our way through a mob of spectators as we arrived at the pool. It was the largest pool I had ever seen, full Olympic length, and the deck bleachers seemed to go on for miles. There were over a dozen teams competing and the sheer volume of participants was overwhelming. I wondered how we would ever find Charlie in the sea of humanity. Luckily, Mrs.

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