Teenage Mischief

13 Inner Turmoil

Amanda yanks the bags from August's grip before turning to her mother with a scowl.

"Mandy—" Evelyn tries to speak but her seething daughter doesn't grant her permission.

"I thought I would help you go shopping today. You went alone again. If you need help, ask me, call me, heck even demand me to come. Don't just ask..." her voice trails off as she eyes the amused guy next to her. "Don't just ask anyone you see."

"It's not just anyone. It's August."

"Even him." Amanda asserts. "We don't want to bother our poor neighbour."

"I'm not bothered at all," August says, desperately holding in a laugh. The little fireball is at it again and he refrains from leaning on the door to enjoy her hot temper. Should he push her buttons some more? "I'm practically a part of the family now." He smirks.

"The hell you are!" Amanda snaps.

"Amanda!" Evelyn gasps. "What is wrong with you?"

Amanda gives her mother the same agitated glare she gives August. She realises there's no point in arguing since the innocent woman is oblivious to their neighbour's wicked personality.

"Hmph!" She huffs and gets inside the building with the bags.

"Don't you "hmph" me, young lady," Evelyn shouts after her but of no use. "Sorry about that, August. She gets cranky like that once in a while. Maybe something didn't go her way at school."

"It's no problem," August reassures. After all, he might just know why her daughter is being cranky. Now, he can't wait to be alone with her so he can make her beg for forgiveness.

That night

Amanda works on her assignments and anything close to a deadline. She skims through her to-do list one last time to make sure she isn't forgetting anything. She's not. Everything is in order which she's happy about.

Aside from the little incident outside their apartment a few hours ago, her day was relatively good for it being a Monday. During the student council meeting, Clara didn't bother her much. They usually have one of the other teachers monitoring them but today it was Miss Johnson which Amanda was happy about. After their conversation a few days ago, she's been opening up to the woman and her admiration for her has grown as well.

Her visit to the church went well as well. She confessed to her sins but she also went through all the ways she'll fight back to get her neighbour off her ass. It's one of the reasons she's still to reply to any of his messages. She doesn't even bother looking at them. She prayed and prayed not to get fired and had a cup of tea with the priest since they had not seen each other in a long time. She's been going to that church for years and everyone there knows her.

Now that she feels more at peace, all she has to do is prepare a convincing enough speech to her manager so she's not fired. After that, she'll have to patiently wait a few more days until Doris' brothers are back in town. She hopes they'll scare her neighbour straight and get him to delete everything he has on her.

Content with her plans, Amanda exits her room, twirling around and humming popular songs. The mouth-watering smell of newly baked lasagna forced her out of her room. She licks her lips as she imagines how her first bite will taste.

"Mommy," she beams as she enters the kitchen. "Let me help you set the..." She doesn't finish her sentence as she makes contact with her new-found vexation. What is he doing here? Most importantly, where is her mom?

August grins, his eyes swirling with mischief as they slide over her entire being. Her golden hair is scooped to one side of her neck and the orange crop tee she's wearing ends right below her chest. The low-waisted black sweatpants showcase more of her toned abdomen. His eyes travel lower to her feet, but this time, she's wearing a pair of black socks.