Page 62 of Waiting for Friday Night

He wore those aviator sunglasses he seemed to favor. She hated that she couldn’t see his eyes but could feel his stare from behind the lenses. She felt open to his scrutiny and didn’t like it.

“I’m good,” she said in a tight voice. “Let’s go, Shania. I’ve got a lot to do to prepare for tomorrow, so we’ll go eat at the Fresh Place Inn. I’ve already emailed Tracey and she says it’s cool. Shirley made enough for us to have seconds.”

Shania’s face lit up. “Sounds good. I’ve got some homework that I need to do, even though it’s the first day of school.”

“Then we’ll get the food to go and head home. Quinton, we’ll see you this weekend?”

He nodded. “You will.”

She nodded. “Until then.” She looked away and got into the car. Shania talked to him for a few seconds before getting in the backseat of the car.

“Are you mad at Coach Q?” Shania asked as she put on her seat belt.

Halle didn’t look at Quinton as she drove away. “No, why would I be mad at him? I just had a long day and we’ve got a lot of stuff to do. School is back in session, and we’ll be busy.”

“I know, but I think he wanted to talk to you about something.”

She glanced at Shania. “About what?”

“I don’t know. You know he doesn’t usually walk me to your car to keep people from making things weird.”

“Are the kids on the team making things weird still? Did anyone say anything else?”

Shania sat back in the seat. Her fingers tugged on her shorts. “There were some whispers at school today, but nothing too bad.”

Halle placed her hand over Shania’s. “I’m sorry. Who said anything? You know you can go to the principal.”

“I know, but there’s no need. No one said anything to me. Besides, there’s some girl drama happening online that is more interesting than me right now.”

“What type of girl drama?” Halle asked, concerned. She knew how quickly online disputes could spill over into a fight at the school.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t involve me and I’m staying out of it. I keep to my cousins and stay out of the drama. So, no need to worry.”

“Still, if you hear anything let me know.”

Halle would call Jeremiah and give him a heads-up. No need to have him blindsided if anything did blow up at his school. They went by the Fresh Place Inn. Tracey was busy getting a new tenant set up in their room, so she grabbed the food from Shirley and headed home. They ate dinner and then Shania showered and went to her room to do homework. Halle spread out her paperwork on the kitchen table and went over the list of things she needed to prepare before the next morning. The people to call and the maintenance items to follow up on. She’d hoped the district could cover the cost of repairs. Otherwise, the school’s maintenance budget would go over.

Her cell phone rang around eight that night. Quinton’s number. Frowning, she answered. “Is everything okay?”

“It is, but I wanted to run something by you. You got a second?”

She looked at the papers on the table, but suddenly the issues didn’t seem as important. Quinton didn’t call her unless it was important. “I do.”

“I’m in the neighborhood. Can I stop by?”

Halle glanced around the room. She’d changed and was in her after-work, no-bra outfit. A pair of pajama pants that might have a hole in the crotch and an old T-shirt. “Um...give me about ten minutes or so.”

“That’s fine. See you in a bit.”

Halle hurried to her room and put on a sports bra. She peeped in on Shania, but her daughter was already in the bed, out like a light. Between first day of school and football practice she wasn’t surprised to find her already knocked out.

She went on the porch to wait for Quinton. She didn’t want the doorbell to wake up Shania. Quinton’s truck pulled into her driveway soon after she went out. He got out of the car and walked toward her. The shades from earlier were gone but his expression still wasn’t easily readable. He looked good in the basketball shorts and sports shirt that clung to his shoulders.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” He held out a bag. “I brought these for you.”

She looked at the bag from the Sweet Treats bakery. “What is it?”

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