Coloring Outside the Lines

Chapter Two

Chapter 2

"Hey, Sheryl."

"Hi, Jordan! Why don't you work the counter today? I'm going to go order some more books. That alright?" She asks me.

"Yeah, sure."

I take my place behind the counter. There isn't much to do when nobody's here. After a while, I find myself absentmindedly spinning around in the chair.

I didn't notice the bell ring before, but somebody's in here now. I feel my face going red. Of course. The worker in this glorious bookstore spends her free time spinning in a chair like a three year old. Real great impression.

But then I notice that it is just Lizzie. Her light hair is pulled into two French braids down her head. She wears a pink and green dress and golden shoes. She smiles up at me.

"Hi Jordan," she says.

"Hello."

"I finished the book. I stayed up all night reading it. Can I get another please?" She asks.

"Of course." I walk back to the bookshelf and grab another book off. I hand it to Lizzie and she looks at it.

"Socks," she reads.

"Yes. This is another one I loved," I say.

"Good." Then her smile fades. She looks down, frowning at her feet.

"What is it?" I ask.

"I don't have any money," she mumbles.

"You can just read it here. There's a really nice comfy chair over there. It's calling your name," I say, pointing to the chair.

"Okay." She laughs a little. Then she walks over to it and opens the book.

**********************************

Lizzie's grandma shows up about an hour later. She looks frantic.

"Have you seen- oh, Lizzie! Come here right now. You never told me you were leaving. I thought you were kidnapped. You can't do that," the lady said.

"I just wanted to come tell Jordan about my book I finished. She said I could stay and read if I wanted," Lizzie explains.

Her grandma looks over in my direction and sighs. Then she walks over to the couch by the chair and sits down. Lizzie continues to read Socks.

The bell jingles again and a man and a woman walk in. They laugh and talk to each other. I watch them curiously as they walk through the store. Then I decide I am being rather stalker-like and look away.

**********************************

"Hey, Jordan. How are you?" My mom asks when I walk into the kitchen.

"I'm good."

"Good, eh?" She seems unconvinced with my answer.

A strangely awkward silence interrupts our conversation.

"How is the book store coming along?" Mom asks.

"It's doing great. I love it there."

"And school?" She asks.

"School is school. Not necessarily my favorite thing ever. Its kind of important for my future though, so I am sort of forced to try my best," I say.

"Ah, I see. Any new friends?" My moms sudden serious interest in my life surprises me.

"Uh, not really..."

"I'm sorry. I just... I need to make up for all the time I lose with out you when I work full time. I'm sorry," she says, shaking her head.

"It's okay, mom. Really."

She pulls me into a hug. We stay that way for a while. My mom works full time as a nurse, so I don't get to see much of her. I really only talk to her on weekends.

"I love you, Jordan," she says.

"Love you too, mom."

***********************************

"Please have these essays here on Friday. I will not accept them late, so get to it!" Mrs. Layton says just as the bell rings.

I'm about to walk out when Mrs. Layton stops me.

"How is tutoring going, Jordan?" She asks.

"It's going great," I lie. "I'm actually headed there now."

"Glad to hear it. If Jack causes you any troubles, just let me know. See you tomorrow."

I hurry through the huge crowd of people. The empty classroom that I tutor Jack in is empty. I walk in, turn on the light, and throw my stuff down on the table.

I sit and wait for a while. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Picking at your cuticles really only gets you so far until you get impatient. At first I thought he was just late, but apparently not. I get up and walk out of the class and through the hallways in search of Jack.

He is nowhere to be found. I've looked everywhere. That is, except for the boys bathroom. Maybe he's in there hiding from me. I decide that it's really not worth it to go in there. Isn't that, like, illegal? Maybe not, but you know what? Not gonna risk it.

Then a boy with brown, curly hair and chocolate eyes walks by. He is carrying a book, and I am curious to see what it is he is reading. Book store worker habits... He seems to be walking to class, but I stop him anyways.

"Excuse me?" I ask.

He looks at me, startled. "Hi there."

"Can I ask a favor?"

"Sure?" He says, but it is more of a question.

"Can you go into the guys bathroom and see if a guy named Jack is in there?" I ask.

"Why, your boyfriend needs a whooping?" He asks, amused.

"No, he's a stupid sophomore who I'm supposed to be tutoring," I say. The idea of Jack and I dating is mortifying.

"Alrighty then. Be right back," he says, then he walks inside.

I stand and tap my foot for about a minute before the boy comes back out, an annoyed Jack behind him.

"This the guy you're lookin' for?" The boy asks.

"Why, yes. He is. Thanks. Let's go Jack," I say. I start walking down the hallway with Jacks wrist in my hand, basically dragging him to the classroom. Then I shove him into his seat.

"Where's your homework?" I ask.

"I ate it."

"Really, where is it?" I ask.

"I told you."

"What kind of idiot do you think I am?" I ask.

"I'm being serious. At lunch, I was dared to eat my homework. So I did."

I sigh and pull out a paper from my backpack. I draw out my own problem on the paper and hand it to him to solve. It takes him about twenty minutes and a ton of hints, but eventually he answers it correctly.

When the bell rings, I hurry out to meet Sierra in the hallway.

"How was it today?" She asks.

"About the same. Except for the fact that I had some random guy drag Jack out of the guys bathroom since he was hiding from me half of the period," I say with a laugh.

Then I begin my wonderful journey to the bookstore through the cold.