Chapter 7
Claudia wakes to her five-a.m. alarm and sits up in bed. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes she slowly leaves her bed and stands in front of the mirror in her bathroom. She suffers from a major case of bedhead and morning breath. C squirts toothpaste onto her toothbrush and brushes her teeth whiles scrolling through funny videos on her phone. A few minutes later she is finished and hops into the shower to continue getting ready for whatever the day has in store for her. Steam fills the bathroom as her favorite songs play on her shower speaker. Today isn't a hair wash day so her shower only takes 20 minutes.
After hopping out and drying off, she opens her dresser drawers to figure out some kind of outfit. She throws on an oversized tee and a pair of black, ripped jeans. She grabs a pair of no-show socks with black and white stripes and then picks out her shoes for the day. A pair of black, oxford-style doc martens should work. She grabs them and carries them to the front door to put on before she leaves. For now, she still has plenty of time to make breakfast, pack a lunch, and watch some YouTube before she has to leave for school. All-in-all, a pretty typical start to her day.
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Foster sleeps through his first and second alarms. His mom comes into his room to nudge him awake around five-thirty. After some muffled grumbling, he gets out of bed and heads to the shower. After showering and brushing his teeth he walks to his closet. He peers inside, sees piles upon piles of unfolded laundry, grabs the first shirt and pair of pants that seem decent enough, and throws them on. It's a flawless system. He slips on a pair of black vans and grabs his bag before heading downstairs.
His skype call with his project partner did not go well the previous night. After an hour of arguing about what the project is supposed to be about, his partner hung up and didn't respond to any of Foster's messages regarding which parts they were each going to take. At nine p.m. Foster decided to give up and just do all of the parts on his own. Not a great start to a giant project, but what can you do when you are paired up with an absolute tool who only thinks about himself and whatever sports game is on TV later.
He makes it downstairs where he is greeted by Dawn and Cocoa. Cocoa runs up to Foster and rubs against his legs, almost causing him to trip. It's like Cocoa has absolutely no regard for her own well-being because she isn't afraid of being stepped on in the slightest. Foster scoops her up and gives her an aggressive and noisy kiss on the forehead. Cocoa gives a few chirps in response and Foster places her back down on the floor. Dawn gives him a giant squeeze before gesturing to a plate of scrambled eggs and French toast on a nearby counter. Foster scarfs down whatever he has time for and grabs his lunch from his mom before hurrying out the door. He was trying to beat Claudia today by picking her up. It isn't a competition, but he prides himself on his gentlemanliness and isn't going to back down.
A short walk later he is in front of the three-story monstrosity that is their vacant shop. He grabs a spot on a bench near one of the pear trees and pulls out his phone to entertain himself while he waits. He isn't sure if he should try and knock on the door because he isn't sure if anyone would hear him anyway. After about ten minutes, Foster looks up and sees Claudia glancing over his shoulder at whatever is on his phone screen.
"Sheesh! How long have you been here?" he jumps, slightly spooked by Claudia.
"Only a minute or so. I called your name but you didn't hear me so I figured I'd wait until you notice."
"That's creepy. Whatever," he prattles before completing his next thought, "Ready to head out? Wouldn't want to keep those lovely calc books waiting. I bet they are sooooo lonely in Ms. Chantel's room."
"Right. It can be a bit lonely in the school at night, I'm sure." C responds. Foster jumps up from his spot and tucks his phone into his front pocket and looks at C, waiting to see if she is ready. She nods and they begin their journey to school.
They reach the building just as the front desk staff unlocks the front doors to allow students inside. They venture in and split up to go drop their stuff off in their lockers. Just another plain old day in this plain old building with these plain old teachers.
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The end of the day rolls around and C and Foster walk down to the library together. The only homework they weren't able to complete in class, was a small worksheet about whatever war they learned about in history that day. They complete the sheet together in no time at all and then prance through the aisles of books to find a suitable adventure to drown themselves in until Barb got annoyed and would demand that they leave. A typical, but good day. Because it's C's third day here, she almost has her school schedule sorted out. She has found her groove and seems to be doing alright. Foster seems content with the fact that his new buddy is managing well enough on her own.
Barb got sick of them early today and shoved them out the doors at four-thirty. They barely made it through the first chapters of their books. Being forced out so early soured whatever good mood Foster was in. Luckily, C was able to save the day by suggesting they go hang out at her house. Foster convinces her that his place is way more fun, so they head there instead. They make it to the café just in time to see the evening rush. Foster has to hop behind the counter for a bit to help his mom, leaving Claudia all to her lonesome. Luckily, C has always enjoyed the fun hobby of people-watching and that helps the time pass quickly enough.
"Whoo, thanks for helping out dear. And thank you for being so patient while Foster rudely left you alone," Dawn nags while crossing her arm and shooting a sour look towards her son.
"It's okay! I had fun stalking your customers and eavesdropping on their conversations while waiting. I didn't realize how many sketchy people live in this area," C butts in.
"Sorry mom, you looked like you needed a hand. Running an entire café by yourself, without any help, probably isn't good for your blood pressure. Not that you have health problems, I'm just trying to be helpful," Foster sheepishly replies.
Dawn snickers at the comment. She then motions for the kids to stand and head up to the loft. "I can't have you guys here distracting me while I try to plan out the food for tomorrow. Feel free to come back down to help me clean though," she chortles before turning around to get some work done.
C and Foster shrug and grab a few snacks to go before heading upstairs to figure out what they were going to do with their evening. Too bad there aren't many fun places open after five or they would have gone out and explored a bit. After finishing their pastries, they decide on a movie to watch together. Netflix recently uploaded tons of new horror flicks so they have plenty of options to sift through. After agreeing on a movie, Foster sets up his bed so that it's more of a couch. It's hard to watch movies while laying down and he doesn't know if Claudia would even be okay with that kind of thing. The movie starts and C is instantly sucked into the plot. She is so focused on the film that she occasionally misses Foster's hilarious commentary. Foster has already seen this movie, so he isn't as drawn in. In fact, he spends most of the movie watching C for her reactions. She loves horror, but that doesn't mean she isn't a big baby when it comes to gore. A couple of jump scares send C barreling into Foster's chest.
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I'm glad we decided to hang out over here. I don't know how I would feel about meeting C's mom. I also don't know how C's mom would feel about me hanging around her 'young impressionable daughter.' Hopefully, her mom is chill, but you never know with middle-aged women.
Halfway through the movie, a gruesome scene pops up. C looks pretty disgusted. I'm surprised she is still so into this movie. I'm having fun. When was the last time I had fun like this? It's been a while. I have other 'friends' at school but they never hang out anymore. They just want to queue up for different video games. I don't mind playing video games; it just isn't my cup of tea. I suck so bad. My hand-eye coordination isn't great, and my attention span is even worse. I'm shaken from my thoughts when C hides her face in my chest. My face heats up a bit. Why's it so hot in here? I can feel her breath on my chest. I get goosebumps. After a minute or so she turns her attention back towards the movie, sticking close to me for security. I don't mind. She smells nice and her hair is soft.
The movie ends sooner than I was hoping it would. C turns to me, looking for an answer regarding what we should do next. I look up at the clock and notice that it's only six-forty. Still pretty early. I suggest another movie. C looks hesitant but agrees. It's another scary one, but also a sad one. Again, C is instantly sucked into the film and has no awareness of her surroundings or my comments. I could honestly do this forever. It's nice. I don't mind being a shield between her and whatever creepy monster is up on the screen. I rub the back of my neck and try to focus my attention back on the movie that I have been ignoring this whole time. Right when I try to do that, C squeaks and hides against me. My face heats up again. What is going on with me today?
I turn my attention away from the attractive girl that's in my bedroom and back to the TV. It is too early in our friendship to do anything silly like getting feelings. I'm not trying to fuck this up before I really get to know her.
After about two hours our second movie ends. C is still clutching my chest with wide eyes. I shake her shoulders a bit to bring her back to reality. It's getting late and although it's Friday night, it still isn't safe to walk home too late.
"C are you ready to head home for the night? I can walk you. I don't want you staying too late at a boy's house. I'm not trying to get on your mom's bad side already. I already look suspicious enough on my own," I chuckle, finally getting her attention on me.
"Yeah, I guess it is pretty late. Are you really okay with walking me home? I don't want you to go home by yourself in the dark. I don't want you to get like kidnapped or something."
"Do I look kidnapable? I feel like I look like the one who does the kidnapping." C shoots me a fake glare and stands up from my bed. The bed shifts a bit because of the change in weight distribution. I reluctantly get up beside her and walk towards my bedroom door, opening it and ushering her outside. I mentally prepare myself to bring this fun night to an end before walking her back home.