Sophia POV
655 Words
Jackson was acting weird. I mean, even weirder than normal. He was on his phone all the time and when he wasn't on his phone, he was really antsy. I had never seen him so awkward or happy or annoyed before.
"Jacky," I whined. "Where are we going?"
He shook his head. "I'm going next door to see if Aunt Marie's neighbor has some corn. Why?"
I huffed. "You're just hoping that you'll find pictures of that girl, aren't you?"
He shrugged. "Sophe, why are you so concerned with this?"
"You're acting all weird! You only act weird when there's a girl involved and I've caught you staring at that picture in Alexei's room for hours on end. So, what gives?"
He blushed like crazy. "I don't stare at it. Especially not for hours." I raised my eyebrow. "I don't!"
His phone rang and he leapt for it. "Hello," he said excited. "Hey, Kitten. What are you doing up so late?"
I hissed, "HOURS ON END."
He swatted me away and said, "Sweetness, what do you mean you had a nightmare?" He paused to listen. "Kitten, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."
I heard her say, "I know. It's just...after Alexei..."
He sighed. "I know. I understand, it's rough for you, but sweet you need your sleep." He listened for about 10 minutes. "Kitten. Why don't you just call me in the morning before school?"
I heard her whine, "When are you coming back?"
He took a deep breath and whispered, "Li, what's going on?" She lowered her voice so I couldn't hear her response. "I don't know when we'll be back, Kitten. I promise, I'm trying to hurry."
He smiled softly and I poked him saying, "See? I told you so!"
He swatted me away again and said, "No, Li, it's just my little sister. Of course I can stay on the phone with you. Only for a little bit though, okay?" He covered the mic and said to me, "Go next door. See if they have a can of sweet corn. Please." He uncovered the mic. "Yes, sweetness. I'm still here. I'm sorry. Yeah of course! Just give me a minute to get to my room and we can talk about it. Promise."
I stormed off and knocked on the neighbor's door. A young girl, slightly younger than me, answered and I said, "Hello! I'm staying next door with my aunt and I was sent over to see if you guys had a can of sweet corn?"
She nodded and within moments I was back at Aunt Marie's house. I stalked to Alexei's room where Jackson was staying and handed him a picture. He looked up at me and said, "Sophe, what's this?"
"A picture of your girlfriend from a little over a year ago."
"What do you mean? Sophe, you know I don't have a girlfriend."
I raised my eyebrow at him. "The way you race to that phone every time it rings says otherwise."
He scrubbed at his face, his go to sign of feeling awkward or uncomfortable, and said, "Sophe, I'm pretty much her only friend as far as I can tell. Of course I'm going to try to answer the phone every time. She's really insecure and has issues with abandonment. She's not my girlfriend."
I shook my head. "Who are you trying to convince, big brother?" I went to leave and turned around to say, "We leave next week."
~1 week later~
"Hurry up, Sophe," Jackson lectured. "I need to get home!"
I yawned. "Jackson, you waited a month. You can wait another hour."
"Sophe! Come on! Please!"
I glared at him. "If you're in that much of a hurry, why don't you just drive?"
He whined, "Because I can't get in trouble and I'm too anxious to focus! Please please please Sophe?"
"Only if you pay for me to get my hair done."
He grinned. "Deal!"
- Writer
