Chain Reaction 1.8: Head Over Heels

       I wake up to the smell of scrambled eggs and toast. For a few seconds, I'm reminded of a time when I thought Nyla loved me, when she would cook for us, giving Mom a break.
       "Morning, sis," I say in a depressed way.
       "Morning," she replies in a tired voice. "I think you should go to school today."
       I snort. "I'm hopelessly behind. What's the point? I'll just fail anyway. I'm going to take the test to get my diploma."
       "All the same, you should go. Whatever you might learn today could help with the test."
       "Yeah, right. All I'll learn is that so-and-so is good at throwing a potato across the cafeteria, and what's-his-name knows all the cuss words in Spanish."
       "Sounds like useful stuff to me," she replies cheekily.
       "I have nothing to wear," I argue.
       "I already have something picked out for you," she counters. I glare at her back.

     We sit at her table together, and she finally looks at me. "Where did you get that shirt?"
     I shrug. "I found it in the closet. It smells like a man." I give her a knowing look.
     "My ex must've left it," she says quietly. She doesn't say anything more about it, but she looks sad. I didn't even know she'd had a boyfriend. I decide not to ask.
     She gets up, goes to her room, and comes back with something. "Here," she says and puts a phone on the table, the metal lightly clanking as it gets placed on the glass. "I got this for you. I assume Mom and Dad stopped paying for your old one. I couldn't get your number transferred, but it's a phone. I want you to have it."
     For the first time in a long time, I get choked up. "Thank you," I say sincerely, looking up at her with my face still in the direction of the phone.
     A small smile crosses her face. "Thank me by wearing the clothes I got for you, going to school, and not running away again." Then she scarfs her food down, says she has to get to work, and gets up to wash her dish.
     I stare at my new phone. I know exactly who to call first, and I'm happy I memorized the number.

      "Hello?" Graham asks as he answers, obviously not recognizing the number. I smile. I'd worried he wouldn't answer like last time.
      "Guess who!" I say happily. Nyla says bye before walking out of the house.
      "Brielle?" he guesses, sounding just as happy as I am.
      "Yes! Nyla gave me a phone! She said she'd bought it for me to use."

     "Thank the Maker. So, I can put this number in as yours?" he asks, sounding relieved.
     "Yes," I reply with a smile.
     He sighs happily. "And I'm the first one you called."
     "You are. Who else would I call?" I giggle.
     "Oh, I don't know... What were their names? Alex?"

      I laugh now. "You're cute when you're jealous. They're just friends."
      "I'm always cute," he says in a playful tone. "And yeah, they're friends...male friends...that asked you to move in with them."
      I roll my eyes, smiling still. What Graham doesn't know is that I'd also be living with their parents, but I won't tell him that.

       "Oh, hey, I had a brainwave last night on the drive home," he tells me. "What if you got a job at the university? I'm sure there's something, even if it's working the register at the cafeteria. Maybe you could help in one of the offices, a receptionist or something. I could come pick you up and drive you to and from campus."
      "Isn't this a little out of your way to get to SCU?" I ask, my heart pounding. I can't get a job there because I have to go to high school!
      "For you, nothing is out of the way."
      "...falling madly in love." I take in and let out a breath, remembering his words to my sister last night.
      "Are you still there?" he asks, and I think I hear his smirk.

     "Yes, I'm still here," I answer in a dreamy way.
     "I like being able to talk to you on the phone, but it's killing me not being able to see your expression right now."
      I really do love his voice. "Too bad then," I tease, and he laughs.
      "Well, what about the job? I could ask around."
      "Graham, I don't know. One step at a time. I don't know if I can handle a job yet."
      "Don't you want to be able to leave your sister's place and get one of your own?" he asks.
      Yes, but I'm not old enough yet. I wish I were. "It's too much for me to take right now. I'm just happy to have a phone again. Oh, and she bought me clothes too. I haven't gone and looked yet. I just found what's apparently her ex-boyfriend's shirt and slept in that."

       Graham takes in and lets out a deep breath. "You're wearing nothing but a man's shirt?"
       Oh. I didn't think how what I said would sound to him. "Well, it's a button-down, and it was as long as a nightshirt, so yeah."
       "Hhhmm..." he says, and it sounds more like a whine than him thinking. He takes another breath. "Well, I'm happy she bought you some new clothes and had them waiting for you. I don't think she hates you like you implied. I did, however, notice no ecstatic sisterly affection when you showed up at her door after who knows how long. Maybe she has different ways of showing it." His voice still sounds breathy.
      "Do you think my sister is pretty?" I ask, dive-bombing him out of nowhere with the question.
      "What? Huh? Not as pretty as you. I mean, you two look alike, but you're definitely prettier. Where did that come from?" His breathing starts slowing down.

      "Well, you met her. You saw how much we look alike. She's...um... older," I grin sheepishly.
      "What's your last name, Brielle?" he asks.
      "McKinney, why?"
      "Because I've never found out, and now I can say that there's only one McKinney sister I want." I hear the smile in his voice.
      He said want. I decide to fess up. "I heard her ask you out last night."
      Graham laughs. "That, uh, took me by surprise. She scribbled her number on a piece of paper and everything. Very direct." He pauses before saying, "I need to take a shower and get going, but I don't mind putting you on speaker."
       Graham in the shower... My knees shake, and I wonder if this was his retaliation for telling him what I'm wearing. "No, that's okay. You go get ready for work. Have a good day."
     "I'll call you later, and then I want to see you tonight, if that's okay," he asks hopefully. It's so cute!
     "You've seen me every day since you met me!" I giggle.
     "Your point?" he asks, and I imagine him with his eyebrows raised and a smile on his face.
     "I guess so, but I do have friends too, and I should probably touch base with them too, since they're probably a little worried." I'll see them at school.
     "Maybe I could meet some of them," he offers. It sounds like he's put me on speaker, meaning he's getting ready to get in the shower.
      Crap! "Yeah, maybe," I lie. I have absolutely no intention of him meeting my high school friends. No way will he think we're all eighteen. Alex could pass for twelve sometimes. Hm, maybe not. His shoulders have gotten broader.
     "Then, I'll talk to you later, my beautiful girlfriend," he tells me, sounding head over heels.
      I giggle again. He makes me giggle more than any person I've ever met. "Okay. Later." I hang up.

      My inner voice doesn't have to say a word. I can sense her looking at me with her arms folded and tapping her toe impatiently.
      Leave me alone, I tell her and get up to see what my sister bought me.