FIFTEEN

The walk to Claire's home was surprisingly quiet. I tried to spring up conversation severally, but Claire on the other hand did not seem to be in the mood for one. Well, I was not ready to give up just yet.

“So, do you have any siblings?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“How many?”

“Two. An older brother and a younger sister.”

“That's nice.” I paused, expecting her to reciprocate the question, but she said nothing. “I have an older sister and you've met my older brother right?”

“Uh huh.”

Remember when I said I was not ready to give up? Well, I am now.

I remained quiet for the rest of the walk, occasionally glancing at Claire who looked like she was experiencing a terrible mood swing.

“Here we are!” Claire announced, a little while later.

I stared at the massive building in front of us and asked, “This is your home?”

“Yes.”

I followed closely behind Claire as she walked in through the gate.

The entire building was painted white and it was definitely a bit bigger than mine. There were lovely flowers at each side of the front door, and I could notice a little garden on the left side of the house.

It was only when Claire asked what I was waiting for that I realized I had stopped to observe the little birds flying around in the garden.

“Let's go inside, you can stare at the garden later.” Claire dragged me by the arm through the front door.

The interior was even more elegant than the exterior. The walls were painted in white and royal blue curtains hung over each window. There was a royal blue rug in the middle of the living room beneath the glass center table. A beautiful chandelier hung above the center table and the tiles that covered the floor, glittered.

“You have a nice house.” I commented.

“Thanks.” Claire replied, and then...she smiled.

“Finally!!” I exclaimed, throwing my head backwards.

“What?”

“You smiled, your mood swing is over.”

“Mood swing? I was not having a mood swing.”

“Then why have you been so quiet?”

Claire opened her mouth to speak, then she closed it, she tried again, but she closed it.

I folded my arms across my chest. “That's what I thought.”

“I knew I heard people talking.” A voice said from behind me.

I shivered but thankfully I didn't yelp. I twirled around and met the gaze of a woman standing at the foot of the staircase.

“Hey Mum. This is my friend Jason, Jason, my mum.”

“Good afternoon ma'am.”

“Please call me Sheryl.” The woman replied. “You're the first friend Claire is bringing home, so you two must be really close.”

I glanced at Claire, her eyeballs were almost popping out of their sockets. When she noticed I was looking at her, she smiled nervously.

“I'm going somewhere, so have fun with your friend, but keep your voices down, your sister is sleeping in her room.” With that Sheryl walked toward the front door. “It was nice meeting you Jason, please do come again to visit.” She added before disappearing through the front door.

“It was nice meeting you ma'am! I mean Sheryl!”

Claire laughed. “C'mon.” She grabbed me by the arm once again and dragged me up the stairs and into the second door by the right. The word ‘CLAIRE’ was boldly written on it in gold color.

As I walked into the room, I expected to see a pink room covered in glitter and stuffed animals, but to my amazement, the room walls were painted cream and black curtains hung over her windows. There were numerous video games and a few books surrounding the laptop on her study table.

There was absolutely nothing pink in her room, not even her blanket; it was white!!!

“Is there something wrong?” Claire asked, looking very confused.

“I'm just surprised that the room of a girl in high school is not covered in pink, shiny stuff and stuffed animals.”

Claire laughed. “Is that why you contorted your face muscles like that?”

“It is just very shocking. My older sister's room is pink and extremely glittery.”

“You have a sister?”

I raised a brow. “I told you that on our way here.”

“Oh. Well, unlike most girls, I hate pink and I do not like stuffed animals.”

“There are many other reasons for which you're not like other girls.”

She smiled. “And what could those be.”

“You love playing video games and you're good at it, I have never seen you in a gown or skirt, You have only two friends, and they are male and you are the first girl that does not think Tyler and I are weird.”

Claire was grinning by the time I was done. “What makes you think I don't think you and Tyler are weird?”

I thought about it for a little while. “Well, even if you think we're weird, it does not bother you.”

“So what's with Tyler and Ashley?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean are they like, dating or something?”

A wide smile spread on my face. “I really do not know.”

Claire squinted at me. “I thought you guys were best friends?”

“We are, but that does not mean I know everything about the guy.”

“So you don't tell each other everything?”

“Of course not. We're not ten year old girls.”

“Speak for yourself, Tyler complains worse than a ten-year-old girl.”

I laughed. “The first time I saw them together, Tyler said they were friends.”

“Okay.”

“So what are we going to do?”

“We could play video games.”

“You're just going to keep winning until I quit.”

“Exactly.” Claire replied with one of her sweetest smiles spread across her face.

I squinted at her. “Fine, I'll play.”

Just then a little girl walked into the room through the open door screaming ‘Mum! Mum!!’ Her skin was a bit lighter than Claire's and her brown curls were gathered in two separate ponytails. She clutched a pink teddy bear to her side and her large brown eyes lit up when she saw Claire.

“Claire!!” She screamed and engulfed Claire in a tight hug.

“Hey, you.” Claire smiled and pecked her cheek.

“Where is Mummy?”

“She stepped out a while ago, but she will soon be back.”

“Who is he?” The little girl asked, pointing at me.

“This is my friend from school, Jason.”

I squatted down to be closer to the little girl's face. “Hi. What's your name?”

“Natalie.” She replied. “I'm going to watch TV. ” With that she skipped out of the room.

“How old is she?” I asked, straightening up.

“Five.”

“She is really cute, almost as cute as...” my voice trailed off when I realized what I was about to say.

“As cute as what?” Claire inquired.

My both eyebrows shot up. “Hmm?”

“You did not complete your...”

“We should check on your little sister.” I said quickly, before Claire could finish her sentence.

Claire eyed me suspiciously. “Alright. I'll grab my laptop.”

“Cool.”

“What video game do you want to play?”

“Whichever you pick is fine by me.”