Both Sides | ✓

Chapter 3

Cleo's POV

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Andrew had offered me a ride home, like usual, but I turned him down. I didn't want to admit that I was going to tutoring. The fact that I couldn't even pass biology was embarrassing enough, but I don't think I'd be able to look him in the eye and say that I was being taught by another student.

I drove into Olivia's neighborhood and peered at the bright houses. It was all paneled windows and clean walls; Neatly mowed lawns and well-groomed flower gardens. It looked somewhere in between a sitcom scene and a dystopian society. All of the houses were somewhat identical, and Olivia's was huge. This light blue thing with dots of white here and there. I gulped looking up at the sight.

I closed the car door and slung my backpack over my shoulder. Olivia Hansen's front door had one of those "Hello!" welcome mats laid out in front of it. I slid it to the left just so one part of her house wasn't even, and then rang the doorbell.

"Hey, " a girl said as she opened the front door. "Can I help you?" She had the same red hair and green eyes as Olivia. A little bit taller than her and a lot less put together.

"Oh, uh, I'm here for... Olivia. She's, uh-"

"Oh you're the girl she's tutoring! Yeah, c'mon in."

Her house was almost uncomfortably neat. The kind of clean where you know the family's a little crazy. The foyer was decorated with framed family portraits including Olivia, the girl that opened the door, and her parents. Every shot that had her mom and dad in it had to have been 5 years old, at least.

"I'm Allison, by the way, " she said. "Olivia's sister."

"Cleo, " I replied.

"She should be down in a second. You can wait in the living room."

I nodded and walked past the brightly lit kitchen and dining room. The living room was large and connected to a winding staircase. I felt a bit like I was going to pass out. I never went over to other peoples houses, besides Andrew, but even that was rare. Sometimes, I forgot that not everyone lived like I did.

"Oh, hey you're here, " Olivia called as she began down the stairs.

"Hi," I said, standing. There was an incredibly awkward pause before Allison popped her head back in.

"Mom's not home by the way, Via," she called, which left Olivia to release a breath and begin up the staircase again.

"Come on up, we can work in my room."

I pulled the straps of my backpack tighter onto my shoulders and walked to Olivia Hansen's bedroom door. It was a large room with two windows on the back wall. There weren't any records or stuffed animals or posters hung up. I hardly believed she lived there. The entire thing was obsessively organized, as if it was under a microscope. I honestly felt overwhelmed by the sheer cleanliness.

"Woah, your room is really, uh, neat, " I said, setting down my backpack. Olivia nodded and took the bag I had placed by the door, hanging it on an empty hook.

"Thanks," Olivia continued, finally looking me in the eye for the first time since I had arrived. "Let's get started."

"You don't waste any time, do you?"