Solo (14 page)

This was exactly how I wanted to spend the rest of my time here—no worries, just happy-go-lucky. Life became so much easier when I avoided everyone.

For the next week, I focused on my studies and worked on the restoration project with Gramps. Before I knew it, Friday was here and my bicycle parts were in. My plan was to pick them up that afternoon. I was in a great mood when I got to school. Casey waited like normal at my locker. I could tell she'd noticed my chipper mood.

"So what's up with you this morning?" She tried to pump information from me.

"I'm just excited it's Friday."

The morning sped by with Casey constantly talking about her birthday gathering. I remembered that I still needed to buy her a present. I figured I'd get her something in the morning. She'd said she didn't want anyone to buy her anything, but no way was I showing up empty handed.

At lunch, I headed toward the bleachers. I passed two of the guys on the baseball team, Dylan Reed and Lucas' friend, Rob.

"Hey Eliana, what's up?" Rob asked.

"Not much," I answered, and continued walking.

Dylan Reed started walking next to me. "So, Eliana, I know it's only two weeks away, but if you don't have a date, I was wondering if you'd go to prom with me?"

I stopped walking. I was confused because Rob had been with us the night Lucas asked me to prom. I figured everyone on the team would have known we were going together. Unless, of course, Lucas had changed his mind.

"Well, someone already asked me and I said yes. Sorry." I turned and quickly walked away. I felt nauseous. Too many thoughts were running through my head. I hadn't talked to Lucas in almost two weeks. He had to be somewhere at the school because his stupid truck was in the parking lot. I was getting irritated. I wanted to confront him and ask straight out if he had changed his mind.

I sat on the bleachers to get away from everyone and everything. I needed to collect my thoughts. I decided to ask Casey if she'd heard anything because she went to all the games. Maybe Jack had said something.

Casey was waiting for me after lunch. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"You don't look so good. You look sick," she said.

"I'll be okay." I paused for a second. "Hey, Casey, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Well, the strangest thing happened at lunch. Dylan Reed asked me to go to prom with him."

"What's strange about that?" Casey smiled, "Jack said he's one of the guys on the team that likes you."

"Well, he was with Rob. I figured Lucas would have talked to the guys on the team about taking me." I shook my head. "I was curious if you'd heard anything?"

"Hmm, I see what you're talking about. That
is
kind of strange." Casey looked perplexed. "I'll check with Jack to see if anyone said anything."

"Well, please don't make it obvious that you're asking for me."

"Don't worry; I'll be discreet. By the way, I asked Lucas to come to my birthday tomorrow, and he said he'd try to make it."

"You asked him to come?" I said shocked.

"Yeah, he didn't say no, so I figured he'd really try to come."

"I'm so confused. I just don't get him."

I went through the rest of the day in a daze. It was as if everything was moving around me, but I stood still. I don't remember gym at all. Study hall was also a blur. I couldn't concentrate on my homework if my life depended on it. I was glad it was Friday so I'd have the weekend to get it done. Lucas once again was not present in study hall. I still couldn't believe he could be so upset over one little comment. It was so juvenile.

A folded piece of paper pinned under one of my wipers caught my attention when I walked toward my car. I opened it to see a short note from Lucas.

Hey Eliana, I can't believe we haven't talked in almost two weeks. I'm not trying to avoid you. I've just been really busy with baseball. I'd like to talk to you, but we've never exchanged numbers. When you get a chance, please call me at 541-555-0198.
—
Lucas

I didn't know what to do with the note. I almost wanted to throw it away, but I resisted. I couldn't believe it came down to us passing notes. I figured two could play that game, so I wrote him a short note back.

 
Lucas, I hadn't realized how many days it's been since we last talked. Thanks for your number. Since you seem to be the one with such a packed schedule, you can call me. I don't want to interrupt anything important. My cell is 661-555-0146. Have a great weekend.
—
Eliana

I drove past his truck and hurried to tuck it under his wiper. I didn't feel like talking to him in person.

My thoughts were still wrapped around Lucas when I pulled into my driveway and suddenly realized I'd forgotten to pick up my order from the sporting goods store. Since I was already there, I ran into the house to tell Mom I had to go back to town. She decided to make a small shopping list for me.

My first stop was the sporting goods store and since the clerk had to collect my order from the stock room, I strolled through the aisles. I grabbed a new pair of running shoes while I waited. The clerk put everything in a box so it would be easier to carry and offered to take it to my car. I told him I could handle it. The weight of the box surprised me. I think he was waiting for me to tip over backwards.

"Have a nice evening, Miss Davis," he said, as he held the door open.

"Thanks, you too."

While I struggled carrying the heavy box, I caught sight of something that made my whole body go limp. Lucas was with Sadie Sullivan, one of the prettiest girls in school. Casey had said she was one of the girls Lucas casually dated on a regular basis. He had his hand on the small of her back, leading her into a diner right in front of me.

I didn't know the box had hit the ground until the objects crashed all over the sidewalk. My heartbeat sped up and my ears started ringing. That sick, nauseous feeling was hitting me full force. I had no reason to be this upset. I was the one who didn't want a relationship. Lucas was free to date whomever he wanted. But for some reason, seeing him with Sadie really affected me.

I knelt to the ground to pick up the scattered mess. My hands were trembling so bad I couldn't gather the items fast enough.

"Here you go." Lucas handed me the bag that contained the new bicycle chain.

"Thanks, but I can handle this." I snatched the bag away from him and continued picking up the parts. I looked over to see Sadie waiting for him.

"Are you sure? I can take it to your car," he said.

I could feel my eyes swell with tears so I stared at the ground, shaking my head. "No, thanks anyway."

He placed the new seat and handle grips in the box and then turned and walked away.

I waited until I didn't see their feet anymore before I looked up. They were headed back to the diner. He didn't turn around like he usually would. I knew this was a real date. She definitely wasn't his cousin.

I finished collecting the parts and heaved the box into my car. Then I grabbed my iPod before walking to the market. Music always made me feel better and I could avoid talking to anyone. I didn't think I could hold back my tears if I actually had to speak.

I took my time at the market. I wanted to calm down before returning to my grandparents' house. I found the magazine aisle and shuffled through the tabloids, which was mind numbing all by itself. A woman giving birth to a half lizard baby made all my troubles seem insignificant. I felt a little better so I grabbed the things on my mom's list and a few extras for myself. I needed chocolate, chocolate, and you guessed it—chocolate.

I had to control my urge to look inside the diner window when I walked back to my car. I didn't want to get worked up again. I turned the volume up on my iPod and ate a chocolate bar.

During the drive to my grandparents' house, I started thinking that I finally had my answer about prom. I had no right to feel jealous—but I did. I regretted the statements I'd made, but it was too late now. Lucas didn't have a reason to talk to me. I'd seen with my own eyes why he'd been so
busy
the past two weeks. Why was I jealous? I just didn't get it.

Back at the house, I quickly changed so I could get a few hours of work done on the bike. Gramps was already in the yard attaching some of the smaller parts. I felt bad that I'd taken so long in town.

"Sorry Gramps, they had a hard time finding all the parts in the stockroom." I didn't like lying, but it was easier than the truth.

"That's okay." He started going through the box.

The parts looked shiny and new next to the rusty old bike. We did a great job cleaning the rust off the chrome and bringing the blue back to life. We only saw two tiny chipped paint spots and Gramps sprayed a clear seal on them so they wouldn't get worse. In fact, he sprayed all the blue parts to preserve the beautiful color. I couldn't wait to see our finished bike. I grabbed my notebook and step-by-step, we put it back together.

Mom and my grandmother came outside to watch the bike's assembly. They seemed more anxious than Gramps and me. We were bringing their memories back to life.

Piece by piece the parts started to form the bicycle. Mom took more pictures. The last thing we had to do was attach the new vintage seat. By the time we'd finished, Gramps had a youthful glow in his eyes and I felt ecstatic.

"We did a great job, Gramps!" I gave him a hug.

"Yep. I sure had fun doing this with you." He kissed the top of my head. "So what's our next project?"

I laughed. "Well, let's take a little break; maybe we can find something to do this summer."

"I'm going to hold you to that," he chuckled.

"Okay you two, stand behind the bike. I want to take a picture." Mom held up her camera.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Gramps slowly climbed the porch steps and went into the house.

Mom and I looked questioningly at each other.

He came back with a little white metal basket. "I got this for you. This one shouldn't disintegrate anytime soon."

Mom and my grandmother both had tears in their eyes as they watched him attach the basket to the front of my new wheels. From Gramps stories, I knew my mom had wonderful memories. I couldn't imagine what memories my grandmother had, but maybe she hadn't always been so stern.

"Okay, let's take this picture while I can still focus." Mom's voice cracked.

"Mom, don't be sad, you can borrow my bike whenever you want," I joked. My comment actually made tears stream down her cheeks.

Gramps and I stood behind the bike with our arms around each other while she snapped pictures and swiped at her eyes.

"Okay, let's test her out." I pushed up the kickstand and climbed on the bike.

"Take it easy; don't go too fast until you know all the pieces are working together," Gramps hollered as I took off.

I turned onto the main road. It took me back to my younger years before I could drive, but my bike back then was nowhere near as cool as this gem. I turned around when I reached the curve heading into the mountains. Racing back to the driveway, I tested my new wheels for speed. The bike was so smooth. Everything worked great and there were no wobbly parts.

"It rides great!" I announced, peddling up the driveway. "Come on Mom, try it out."

"No, I'll pass," she said, shaking her head.

"Gramps and I worked for two weeks on this vintage beauty; aren't you just itching to ride her?" I taunted

"Oh, okay," Mom giggled. She sailed down the driveway. She looked so graceful. I picked up her camera and took a few snapshots to send to Dad. I knew he would enjoy seeing her on her old bike. She came back up the driveway grinning and handed the bike back to me.

I told Mom I was going to ride some more before dinner and grabbed my iPod out of my car. The fresh air blowing against my face sent my hair into swirls. I felt at peace.

My blissfulness instantly changed when Lucas drove down the road. I was grateful I had my music on. I stared at the ground when he passed. He slowed down. A few seconds later I felt my phone vibrate. I pulled it out of my pocket thinking it might be my mom. It was Lucas. I looked around to see him standing outside his truck waving his cell phone in the air. Darn, now I couldn't act like I didn't see him. I'm sure he'd thought of that when he called. I turned off my music and rode back to him.

"Hi, Eliana."

"Hey there." I stopped and straddled my bike.

"Nice bike. Were those parts for it?"

"Yeah, my gramps and I spent the last two weeks restoring it. We finished this afternoon."

"So, that's what you've been up to lately, huh?"

"Yep." I stared at the ground, waiting for him to get to the point.

"Are you going to Casey's tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to be there. She's the one friend I seem to have here. So I don't want to burn that bridge." I kicked some rocks around on the ground.