The Study Group - Part 5

“Do you want a cheeseburger, Michael?” Annie asked.  “Or something else.  They have chicken.”

A blank stare was her only response.

“Michael?”  She spoke louder.

His eyes seemed to focus on her. 

“Do you want a cheeseburger?”

“I like McDonalds,” he said.

“You’re in luck.  That’s where we are.”  As soon as they got into his car, Jake had assured Annie that he still intended to pay for the expanded party.  When William asked to go to the inexpensive fast food place, Annie readily agreed.  Few people would call it romantic.  She ordered for herself and Michael and the four of them soon sat down with a tray of food.

Jake turned to William, who was sitting next to him.  “So,” he said, “you were going to tell me about Annie dropping the lasagna.”

William began to chew faster so he could talk. 

“It’s not a story,” Annie said first.  “I dropped it.  There was a huge mess.  The end.”

“But it was funny,” William said, still chewing.

“Because you didn’t have to clean it up.”

“Neither did you.  Mom did.”

“She made me help.”  Jake was watching the two of them with amusement and Annie realized that her kid brother was bringing out her juvenile side.  “Okay,” she said.  “Tell the story.”

“Annie wanted to make this fancy lasagna.  It had, I don’t know, this green stuff and a weird runny cheese and…”  William was waving a chicken nugget around and he set it back in the box as he planned to talk awhile before getting another bite.  “And she spent forever chopping things up and making layers and then… there was this commotion.  I came into the kitchen when Annie screamed.  Mom and Dad were arguing over something and Michael was just standing in the corner yelling, ‘Hot, hot!’  Then I figured out that Mom and Dad were trying to decide if any of the lasagna was still edible.  The pan was upside down on the oven door and white and red stuff was oozing out all around it.  Annie was at the sink crying.”

“Did you burn yourself?” Jake interrupted with a concerned expression.

“A little,” Annie said.  “That’s what made me drop it.  But the tears were just… It was nearly two hours of work wasted.”

Jake nodded slowly.  “When did this happen?”

“A long time ago,” William said.

Annie tried to remember.  “I think I was fifteen.”

Jake must have decided that was enough time for her to be over it.  He turned back to William.  “Is your sister still a terrible cook?”

A somewhat nasty grin popped up on William’s face, mostly for Annie’s benefit.  Then he dropped it.  “Not really.  I actually like it when Annie cooks more than Mom most of the time.  She’s gotten better.”

Annie smiled at her brother to acknowledge the compliment.  Then she noticed that Jake also seemed to approve.  She needed William to start listing her faults.  She didn’t know how to do that without asking straight out.

“Can I have your fries?”  Michael was already reaching in front of Annie as he spoke.

“I, uh, I guess.”  Annie saw that Michael had already finished every scrap of food she’d put in front of him.  It shouldn’t have surprised her.  He normally inhaled his food.

He tipped the box too far as he took it and all the fries slid out onto the tray.  “Ohhh.”  He stretched the word, clearly unsure how to handle the mistake.

“I got it.”  Annie scooped the fries back into the box and handed it to her brother.  She left a few on the tray for herself.  Then she looked across the table at Jake to see if he noticed her greediness.

He smiled and bumped his eyebrows playfully before he took one of those fries for himself.  He still had half of his fries left.  The glance he sent Annie dared her to say something before he looked at Michael.  “What can you tell me about Annie?” he asked.

Michael turned to his sister.

Jake said, “Yes, that Annie.”

William snickered.

“She’s my sister,” Michael said.

“I know.”  Jake looked between them.  “You two look a bit alike.”

“I’m Michael.”

“I know.  Your hair is the same shade of brown and your noses are similar.”

“I’m Michael.”

Jake nodded and moved on.  “What can you tell me about Annie?”

“Annie likes pink.”

“I do,” Annie said.  “I have two brothers.  I have to assert my girliness now and then.”

The interview continued.  “What else does she like?”

William jumped in.  “Not roller coasters!  When we go to Cedar Point, she won’t ride anything good.  She likes…”  He paused to insert a shudder.  “…the carousel.”

Jake laughed.

Annie defended her choice.  “Not the regular carousel.  Cedar Downs.  The one with race horses.”

“I ride the horses.”  Michael tipped his head dreamily.  “I ride horses fast.”

“We ride that carousel a lot,” Annie said.  “There’s usually a short line.” 

William rolled his eyes.  “I bet you don’t show your face next year.”

“Oh, they won’t recognize us or anything.”

“Wait, wait.”  Jake waved his hand between them.  “What happened?”

“Michael had a seizure.  I kept him from falling off.  But I had to carry him when we left the ride.  Someone said he fell and the employees called someone.  We spent two hours at the first aid station convincing them that he wasn’t injured on the ride.  We had to wait for them to find Mom and Dad to verify our story.”

William elbowed Jake.  “The carousel is at least better than the first aid station ride.”

“Yeah, do you…”  Jake looked at Michael with equal parts surprise and confusion.  “Is he asleep?”

Annie gave Michael a nudge with her arm.  He was sleeping hard and gave no sign that he’d felt the nudge.  “The meds make him drowsy,” she said.  “Guess you’re not going to get dirt on me from him.”

“No need,” Jake said.  “William is helping.”

“Oh, yeah.”  William’s eyes lit up.  “I can tell you about the time Annie went to school in costume… on the wrong day!”

Annie put her head in her hands and groaned.  She knew that story would come up.  Showing up for Oregon Trail day a week early wasn’t just her most embarrassing moment of ninth grade but of her entire life.  Her mom had brought her a change of clothes so she’d endured only two periods of snickering.

William relished telling the story.  He barely remembered it, and that was evident in his questionable facts.  Annie let him talk because Jake seemed to know when he was exaggerating.  William regaled them with a few other stories before Jake shared some from his life.  The three of them were laughing after every last fry had been eaten.

Annie shook Michael awake when it was time to leave.  She was a bit reluctant since she was enjoying herself.  She’d forgotten she was trying to make a poor impression on Jake.  But she’d also forgotten it was supposed to be a date.  Hopefully, Jake had as well.

The Study Group - Part 4

Annie looked out the window for Jake.  He wasn’t late.  He said he’d be there around 11 am and that was still a half hour away.  She’d decided to wait until the last minute to tell her parents that someone was coming over.  But she didn’t want to wait until he was pulling in the driveway either.

It wasn’t that she was worried her parents would embarrass her, or Jake.  They were fairly reasonable people.  Coming to meet the parents gave a date vibe to the situation that she didn’t want because it wasn’t a date.  She wished she’d been clearer with Jake about that.  Now she was hoping that if she waited long enough to say something, the rest of her family would conveniently need to run an errand right before he showed up.

Annie came away from the window and soon found her mom flipping through the pages of a magazine.  Her ten-year-old brother was slumped against her arm, sound asleep.  Annie took a seat across the room from them and picked up a puzzle book from the coffee table.  Restlessness kept it closed in her lap.  She fiddled with the cover as she watched the minutes slink past.  If she waited much longer, Jake could be early and show up before she warned anyone.

“Mom?”

Diana looked up at her daughter.

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m going out for lunch.  A friend from school is coming to pick me up soon.”

“Oh!”  Diana smiled with interest.  “What’s his name?”

 Annie wanted to scowl at her mom for assuming the friend was a guy.  But she was trying to act as though that didn’t matter.  “Jake,” she said.

“How long have you know him?”

“He’s part of the study group we started from church this year.”

“And what is he studying?”

“Mom, you don’t have to grill me.  He’s just a friend.  We’re just having lunch.  Please don’t treat him like a date when he gets here.”

“When who gets here?”  Annie’s dad, Cliff, had walked into the room while she was talking.

Diana smiled up at her husband.  “A boy from school is coming to take Annie out to lunch.”

“Really?”  Cliff pulled himself up straight as he folded his arms across his chest.  “Do I know this boy?”

“You can meet him when he gets here,” Annie said, “as long as you don’t act like that.”

He breathed in to puff up his chest.  “Like what?  I need to be sure this boy knows how to treat my baby.”

“I’m not a baby.  He’s a nice guy.  And it’s not a date.”

Diana reached up and patted her husband’s arm.  “It does sound as though she’s known him for a while.”

Annie’s dad continued his intimidating posture.  She thought he might only be doing it to tease her, but she wasn’t positive.  Before she could decide which approach to use to get him to cooperate, another person entered the room, her 13-year-old brother William.

“Hey,” he said.  “A car just pulled into the driveway.”

“Annie is expecting a friend to take her to lunch,” Diana explained.

“Can I come!?”

His mom chuckled.  “I don’t think Annie wants you tagging along on her date.”

“It’s not a date,” Annie hissed.  And it certainly wouldn’t be if she brought her little brother.  “Sure, William, you can come.”

“Cool,” he said.  “I got to find my shoes.”

The doorbell rang as he ran up the stairs.

“I’ll get it,” Annie said, before anyone else could make a move.  Her eyes pleaded with her dad to relax as she walked away.  He frowned a bit deeper.

The first thing she noticed when she opened the door was that Jake was holding a bunch of small colorful flowers.

“Hi,” he said.  He seemed to follow her eyes and lowered the bouquet to make his other had more prominent.  It was holding a package of M&Ms.  “These are for you.”  He handed her the M&Ms, which she knew he got because he’d seen her snacking on them at the study group.

“Thanks,” she said.

“You didn’t sound excited about flowers, but I brought some because you said it was your mom’s birthday.”  He lowered his voice to a whisper.  “Does she like flowers?”

Annie nodded.  It wasn’t going to do him any good to ingratiate himself with her parents.  But her mom did like flowers.  “Come on in.”  She motioned Jake to follow her to the living room.  She made very quick introductions before she said, “And he brought birthday flowers for mom.”

“Oh, how nice.”  Diana got up to take the flowers.  Michael woke up as she pulled herself out from under him.

Cliff had refolded his arms after he shook Jake’s hand.  He was silently staring at him.

“Dad,” Annie said, “can you please tone it down?  I’m sure Jake would answer a few questions if you like and that would be more productive than you trying to look scary.”

Cliff slowly cracked a smile as he lowered his arms.  “I suppose I don’t need to be intimidating since you’re bringing a chaperone.”

Jake looked at Annie for clarification.

“My brother wanted to come with us,” she said, “and I told him that was okay.  I hope you don’t mind.”

“No.  No, that’s fine.”  Jake looked at Michael.  “You’re coming to lunch with us?”

Michael grinned as he said, “I’m hungry.”

He was still rising from the couch as William bounded into the room and flung open a hall closet to grab his coat.

Jake glanced between them and seemed to realize his mistake.

Annie smiled as his expression seemed to waver between overwhelmed and entertained.  “I guess we’re all going,” she said.  “Don’t worry, I’ll pay for the boys.”

“No, I can—”

Jake was cut off by Annie’s mom.  “Michael and William can stay home.”

“But Annie said I could go,” William protested.

“I think taking both boys is a great idea,” Cliff said.

Diana shot him a disapproving look.

“So do I.”  Jake nodded as he caught up with the situation.  “I’d like to know Annie better, and I’m sure her brothers have lots of good stories.”

“Oh, I can tell you about the time Annie dropped the lasagna on the door of the oven,” William said.  “Face down.”

Annie had already grabbed her coat and Michael’s.  She was helping Michael into his.  An afternoon of listening to William list her mistakes didn’t exactly sound fun.  But it probably wasn’t what Jake had in mind either.  Surely this would give him the hint to back off.

Diana handed Annie a small envelope.  “You’ll need his noon pills if you’re sure you want to take him.”

Jake and William were halfway out the front door, chatting like old friends.  Annie put on her own coat and pushed Michael’s meds securely to the bottom of her pocket.  Her mom was looking at her with great sympathy.  Her dad was nodding approvingly at the turn of events.  Annie couldn’t decide which of them was being more annoying.  She put on a big smile and waved at both of them.

The Study Group - Part 3

Annie and Mallory were the last to show up for the next study group meeting.  It was Thursday.  Annie had a paper due on Friday.  She needed ten pages and had written four.  Her mind was solely on homework as they approached.

Then Mallory rushed the last few steps to grab a seat and leave the only empty seat right between Jake and Carlos.  Annie pulled out the chair and tried to sit herself in the exact center of the table.  Mallory said she’d been too conspicuous in her attention to Carlos so she was careful not to lean that direction.  And she didn’t want to give Jake any false encouragement so she avoided his side, too.

Annie’s grandmother was a stickler for proper posture and would have loved the straight spine she maintained while she pulled her laptop from her bag.

“Getting right to work today?” Jake asked.

Annie nodded while she tried to figure out where she’d saved her outline.  She’d only made an outline because she had to turn it in separately, but now that she was facing a short deadline she was willing to see if it would help.

“Someone’s been slacking this week.”  Mallory’s tone was gentle teasing.  “She’s been watching too much TV with me.”

“You shouldn’t have been tempting me,” Annie said.

Jake addressed Mallory.  “Doesn’t that mean you’ve been watching too much TV, too?”

“Yes,” Mallory admitted, “but I’m not the one who’s paying for it with six pages in one night.”

“Six pages?” Hannah looked sympathetic.

“Two words,” Carlos said.  “Big font.”

“Let us know if you want any help.”  Jake pushed his books a little to the side to show willingness to delay his own work.  “But I’m sure you can do it.”

Annie smiled at the support around her.  “Thanks, everyone.  I think I just need to concentrate.”

Whether the others were trying not to disturb her or just busy themselves, Annie didn’t know.  The mood stayed sober and quieter than usual either way.  She was able to listen to some occasional chitchat without letting it interrupt.

Carlos was the first to leave.  Annie acknowledged his departure with a wave and little disappointment.  She’d become too engrossed in her homework to care who was sitting on either side of her.

She’d written a few more paragraphs when Hannah said, “It’s getting late.  How’s the paper coming, Annie?”

“I’m halfway through page nine.  I think I can make it.”  Annie looked up as she answered and saw that Mallory had her coat on as well.

“How about you pack up and finish at the dorm?” Mallory asked.

“Um…”  Annie was trying to hang on to the thought she wanted to work into the paper next.  “I’m making good progress.  I think I’ll be faster if I stay put.”

“Do you mind if I tag along with these guys, or do you want me to stay until you’re done?”  Mallory’s eyes went from Hannah and Aaron – who were standing with bags over their shoulders already – to Jake – who gave her a quick nod – before they landed on Annie for an answer.

Annie paused to register the situation.  She was aware that the others were arranging to have Jake walk her to her dorm.  They might have been taking advantage of the fact that he was a nice guy.  They might also have been conspiring to leave the two of them alone.  The only thing that mattered to Annie at the moment was getting her work done.  “Go ahead,” she said to Mallory.  “I don’t think I’ll be too much longer.”

There were a few encouraging looks mixed in with the waves and Annie said goodnight while trying to think about how she could stretch a simple idea into at least two sentences.  Then she went back to typing.  Her keys seemed to click louder with only two people at the table.

Eventually, Annie’s concluding paragraph spilled a line and a half onto page eleven.  It seemed very awkward.  She stared at it for a few moments.  The document was forcing a line onto that page to keep four words from being stranded.  Maybe she could find a few words to delete to end at exactly ten pages.

Then she noticed that her battery was almost dead and the library was fifteen minutes from closing.  The paper stopped feeling awkward and just felt done.  She closed the laptop.

“All done?” Jake asked.

“Yes, I’m done.”  Annie answered quickly, hoping he hadn’t noticed he’d startled her.

“Good.  You were looking relieved about something.  I was afraid I’d missed some other problem.”

“Looking relieved made you think there was a problem?”

“No.  That there was a problem.  And I missed my chance to help.”  He smiled and widened his eyes expectantly, trying to get a laugh at what was supposed to be a joke.

Somehow, the fact that it wasn’t funny made her laugh.  It might have had something to do with the way Jake was looking at her as though she could go ahead and laugh at him for making a terrible joke.

“Ready to go?” he asked.  “Or do you have other work?”

Annie didn’t have any more work.  She probably couldn’t have gotten anything done before the library closed anyway.  His manner stopped her from answering immediately though.  There was no impatience.  The only thing sitting in front of him was a closed book.  His dorm was in the opposite direction as hers.  Yet he asked if she had anything else to get done as though he wasn’t bored and going out of his way to help her.  He was exactly the kind of guy she should be looking for.

But when she looked at him… nothing.  He had light brown hair that wasn’t curly so much as just fluffy.  His ears stuck out, and he was attempting a goatee that wasn’t improving anything.  He reminded her more of Mr. Tumnus the Fawn than any dashing hero. 

“Annie?” Jake’s forehead crinkled to reinforce the question in the air.

“Oh.”  She began to put her things into her bag.  “Yeah, um, let me just get everything together.”  She buttoned up her coat and wrapped a scarf around her neck.  There were gloves in her pockets, which she took out and wiggled her fingers into as they walked out of the library.  Despite her preparations, the cold night air stung her face and made her eyes squint against it.

“I think I’m about ready for spring,” Jake said.

“Me, too.”  She adjusted the strap on her bag as she hugged herself for warmth.

“Is that bag heavy?” Jake held out a hand.  “Can I carry it for you?”

“You want to carry my bag?  What year is this?”

Jake pulled his hand back as though she’d slapped it.  “I guess it’s the year I stop offering to carry your bag.”

Annie chuckled only partly because it was a funny response.  Mostly she was relieved that he kept the mood light when he could have gotten annoyed.  She regretted snapping at the offer.  Helping someone was never outdated.  It was only because that specific idea hinted at an old fashioned courtship that she got defensive.  She didn’t want to give Jake the impression that anything had changed.  He’d asked her out just before Christmas break, suggested they get together while school was closed.  She told him they could see each other as friends.  Though he’d said that was okay with him, he hadn’t sounded at all convincing.  Annie had avoided making any specific plans.  But that didn’t mean they couldn’t be nice to each other.  “Sorry,” she said.  “I meant to say no, thank you.”

Jake smiled with some sadness.  It seemed he understood her reaction.  He apparently figured he had nothing to lose because he said, “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to spend some time with me this weekend.  Just something casual.  Maybe Saturday?”

“I’m actually going home this weekend.”  Annie was grateful to have a true excuse, even if it was an excuse.  “It’s my mom’s birthday.”

“Fremont’s not that far,” Jake said.  “I can drive over there to get you if you have a break in the family time.”

“If you showed up at my parents’ house, you’d have to come in and meet everyone and let them interrogate you and stuff.”

“Okay.”

Annie stopped laughing.  The simple and very quick response caught her off guard.  She’d been ready to joke about how awful that would be for him.  But he was willing to face her parents as if he was a date when he wasn’t a date?

“I could treat you to lunch or dinner on Saturday.”  Jake pressed ahead while she was mentally stumbling.  “Would one of those work?”

She thought lunch sounded less romantic and that’s what she’d say if Mallory was there telling her to give him a chance.  Then she heard herself say, “Lunch,” when Mallory wasn’t there.

Jake was there.  He looked surprised but extremely happy.  “Great,” he said.  “Great.”  Then he started telling her a story about something that happened in one of his classes. 

Annie enjoyed the story.  She let it distract her from the cold walk.  But in the back of her mind, lunch on Saturday was distracting her as well.  She wasn’t entirely sure how or why she’d agreed to something that was not a good idea.

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The Study Group - Part 4 will be posted soon. Thanks for reading.