FicWad

Chapter Thirty-Seven

“Hi Joanna,” Mrs O’Connor smiled as Joanna slid into the car. “You sleeping over?”
”I’m going to call my parents from yours if that’s okay?” Joanna replied as Maria clambered into the car.
“Hey Mom,” Maria said. “Anna’s gonna ask her parents at ours, ‘kay?”
Her mom laughed, as she pulled away from the kerb. “Yes. We’ve just had this discussion Maria.”
“Oh.” Maria paused. “Cool,” she shrugged, tucking her long brown hair behind her ear, before turning to face Joanna. “Is Will teaching you guitar?”
__________________

I guess Maria didn’t always call her step mom, Mom two to her face. And yes, I know how confusing that sentence is. Maria lived in the suburbs of town, and as we drove I watched as the grey buildings, and the grey streets and the grey people glide by.
I liked Maria’s step mom. She was cool, and nice, and funny and didn’t care how often I was at their house. And she was Lucy’s Mom. How could you fail to adore anyone who gave birth to someone as cute as Lucy?
__________________

“Maria!” A small girl came hurtling down the stairs and launched herself at Maria.
“Hey squirt,” Maria laughed, ruffling Lucy’s deep brown hair, as Lucy hugged Maria’s knees. “How was the ballet class?”
Lucy looked up at her older sister, her blue eyes wide with innocence that only young children seem to have. “It was really good,” she replied seriously. “And Miss Christa said that I can take my exam soon.”
“Yeah?” Maria asked, pride evident in her voice.
“And, and, and, Mom got me a new leotard,” Lucy continued, excitement creeping into her voice.
“Well,” Maria began, kneeling down so she was level with Lucy. “Do you want to go and put it on to show Anna?” Lucy nodded so enthusiastically that Joanna was worried that her head would fall off. “Go on then,” Maria prompted, and Lucy disappeared up the stairs, almost tripping over in her haste. Maria got to her feet and grinned. “It’s almost understandable how Rick let her put eyeliner on him.” She shrugged. “Almost.” Joanna laughed as she dropped her bag on the floor. “Anyway, phone.” Maria crossed to the phone and picking up the receiver offered it to Joanna.
Joanna walked over and quickly dialled her home number.
“Hello?”
“Dad?” Joanna frowned into the receiver.
“Yeah Joanna?”
“Where’s Mom?”
“I don’t honestly know. She’s out, wherever that may be.”
Joanna thought her Dad sounded tired. “Uh, I was just phoning to ask if I could stay over at Maria’s? I know it’s a school night but-“
“Yeah that’s fine. Just get to sleep at a reasonable time.”
“We will,” Joanna promised, smiling at Maria who was admiring Lucy’s new leotard.
“Okay, have fun,” And he hung up.
“Bye,” Joanna finished, even though he’d gone.
“Anna! Look!” Lucy insisted, as Joanna replaced the receiver. She was in a pale blue leotard. Joann smiled, letting herself be absorbed into Lucy’s six-year-old world.
__________________

I’d meant to ask Trina where our mothers had gone, but I’d forgotten what with the English disaster, the guitar playing, and the Scarlet meet and greet. So Mom was out again. But where?
__________________

“Mom!” Maria yelled, leaning out of Lucy’s bedroom door. “Is Dad three back yet?”
”Yes!” Mr O’Connor bellowed back. “I am home!”
Joanna smiled as Maria muttered ‘oops’, but quickly recovered herself.
“Dad?”
”That’s me!”
“Can I have a lift to the cinemas on Saturday?
“Who are you going with?”
During the shouted conversation Lucy began to undress her Barbie, saying that the outfit was so uncool. Maria looked back at Joanna. “Chuck asked me to go to the cinema with him. Do you and Rick wanna, like, double date?”
“What you gonna see?” Asked Joanna, handing a pair of white platforms to Lucy for the Barbie.
“Dunno. Doesn’t really matter though does it?” Maria asked with a grin. “’Cause I was thinking back row.”
“Maria, you are such a skank!” Joanna laughed, before nodding. “Yeah, sure. Why not?”
“I’m going with Joanna Dad!” Maria yelled down the stairs.
“Okay!” Was the shouted response.
“Anna?” The two teenagers turned to see Lucy looking at them innocently. “What’s a skank?” She asked sweetly.
__________________

Maybe I needed to watch I said around Lucy, just a tad bit more. So, it wasn’t till Lucy finally wore herself out and let herself be put to bed that me and Maria got chance to talk.
We adjourned into her room. She had a big room, but then again her whole house was large. So yeah, Maria’s room, had four walls, three off which were cream and the fourth, the one against which the headboard of her bed rested, was deep purple. Her bed was a double and had lilac sheets with a crushed velvet purple comforter over the top. Her carpet was also deep purple. She had a full length mirror that was almost as wide as it was tall on a wall, next to a window with a window seat, that was also cream with dark purple cushions.
__________________

Maria turned off the lights before flicking a switch.
“Wow,” Joanna breathed from where she stood in front of the mirror. “When did you get the fairy lights?” Wound around the mirror and the window were pink fairy lights casting a soft glow around the said items. Maria smiled
“Since the other day,” she replied, curling up onto the window seat. Joanna walked to the other half of the seat and sat down, hugging a cushion to her chest.
“Anna?”
“Yeah?” Joanna asked sleepily.
“What did you think of Scarlet?” Maria’s voice was no louder than a murmur.
”She’s, um, she seems nice,” Joanna began.
“You do know that Rick doesn’t like her like that?”
“Yeah!” Joanna slowly closed her eyes as she leaned against the wall. “Yeah she seems nice.”
__________________

I fell asleep soon after that. I guess everything through out the day had worn me out. The last thing I remember is Maria telling me about Chuck.
__________________

Unaware that her friend had fallen asleep, Maria continued to talk. “Anna? I don’t know whether I should be telling you this, but I was talking to Mikey, and he told me something…He thinks he’s in -…Anna? You awake?” When she received no reply, she sighed. “Night,” she sighed, as she left the window seat and her sleeping friend, and crossed to her bed. When she was under the cover she sat up and looked towards the window.
“Anna. Mikey thinks he’s in love with you.”
__________________________________

Hi guys. Thanks for waiting while I read those books. Just for the record, if anyone's read City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, I think Jace is better than Edward. But Jasper's pretty close.