Remington
I've been paranoid for the last two weeks. Every time I hear a cop siren I get scared.
Tomorrow is homecoming. It's what everyone has been talking about. Instead of being in our cafeteria like it usually is, it's on this humongous boat on the Allenville river.
I was hesitant in going. But I decided to just go. My father isn't happy that I'm going, because he thinks I can just spend that time studying. I somewhat agree, but I need to get out of this house.
"Remington! There's someone at the gate for you!" my mother screams.
I'm shocked. No one is ever really at our gate, especially for me. Amelia and Poppy usually just come in. It could be Nancy, but we agreed to talk next week.
"Who is it?"
"I don't know! Some boy!"
"I'm coming!" No one I know could be at this gate.
I walk down the long spiral staircase into the main living room. My mother is sitting on the couch, reading a magazine. I like how she's less sophisticated than my father.
I walk outside and see our gardener cutting my father's initials in a bush. Typical.
I walk down the long stony pathway to the gate. There is Warren, just kicking the small pebbles outside the gate.
"Let him in," I say to the guard that's in the guard post.
The guard opens the gate and Warren looks up and sees me. An instant smile comes across his face.
"Hi," he says.
"Hi." This couldn't be more awkward.
"I'm sorry that I came without a warning. Amelia told me where you lived."
"That's okay."
"It's just, I'm still kind of new to this town. I want to explore the town and stuff. Nolan doesn't really want to do anything. So my best option was you," Warren says.
"Yeah, sure. Let me just get my stuff. You can come in if you want."
He nods and we walk side by side up the pathway.
"I can't believe this is your house."
"Yeah, neither can I."
I open the door. My mother is still sitting down on the velvet couch.
"Mom, this is Warren. Warren this is my mother."
"Hello Warren. It is a pleasure to meet you," my mother says, standing up to shake his hand.
"Hello Mrs. Pierce, the pleasure is all mine."
"Oh, an accent. Where are you from?"
"Australia. I just moved here about a month ago."
"I love Australia. I was just there in June."
"I miss it. But I like it here so far."
"Allenville is a great place to live."
"We're just going to go walk around. If that's okay," I say, interrupting their conversation.
"Of course that's okay. Have fun," my mother says, excited that I'm actually doing real teenager stuff.
Me and Warren go up the stairs. We walk down the long hallway with all the guests bedrooms, then take a left to the hallway with my father's library and my mother's sanctuary. Then we go take a right to where my room is.
"I would get lost in this house," Warren says.
"Trust me, I have."
We walk into my room.
"You can sit down, I just need to get my wallet," I tell Warren. He sits down on my bed.
I reach into one of my coat pockets and pull out my wallet. I quickly put it in my pant pocket.
"Okay, we can go."
I'm trying to get out of here as quickly as possible. I don't really want my father showing up while Warren is here.
By the time we're outside, I'm already sweating. Being with Warren has that effect on me. He's cute but he's most likely straight. It's not like it matters, I don't have much time for dating.
"So, where do you want to go to first?" I ask him.
"I don't really know. I'm kind of hungry. Do you know any good places?"
"Have you been to Ivanna's yet?"
"No, what's that?" he asks.
"You've been here a month and you haven't been to Ivanna's?"
"Like I said, Nolan doesn't like showing me around."
"Ivanna's is only the best place to eat around here. We're definitely eating there."
I love going to Ivanna's. One, because the subs are great. Two, because I just love the area. The closest we have to a mall here is Franklin Hills. If you don't feel like going to Ocean Side for the real mall, you always go to Franklin Hills. Not that I spend much time 'hanging out' or whatever.
Franklin Hills is a strip mall with about twenty stores. It's a large circle, with a fountain in the middle. Ivanna's is right in front of the fountain.
Luckily everything around Allenville is walking distance. So we walk to Ivanna's.
"This is amazing," Warren says as he's gulping down his sub.
"I told you."
"How have I never come here?"
"I honestly don't know."
"Are you going to homecoming tomorrow?" Warren asks.
"Yeah, you?"
"Yup."
"Did you ask anyone?"
"I'm going with Nancy. She's been acting super weird lately. Like she asked me to pretend to be her boyfriend. It was only supposed to be for a week but she's asked me to keep it up longer so we're going to homecoming together."
I'm relieved he's going with Nancy and no one else. But Nancy is pretty, he might actually end up liking her. I know I would if I was straight.
I haven't spoken to Nancy. I need to. The contents on that video can break us both. It isn't enough that what happened that night has given me nightmare for the past two years. I still wake up screaming. Every time I see a woman that even looks like her, I get nervous. I don't even like leaving the house unless I'm with someone. But now that this video is out and there's two people trying to get to me, I'm not sure if I'm going to be okay.
"Are you going with anyone?"
"Not really. Just Poppy. But we're going as friends," I reply.
"Poppy's nice."
"Yeah, she's been my best friend for a long time."
"What about Amelia?"
"Amelia, well um, she's definitely something," I say.
"You can phrase it like that."
This should be normal. Just two friends eating subs together. Except it's not. Because I'm starting to fall for him more and more and I know he'll never feel the same way.