Page 14 of Minor Trouble
He grunted and nodded. I wondered how much of his limited communication had to do with him still getting his head around everything that had happened to him. It was a lot for a teenager to take in—losing a parent, uprooting your life to move to another state, and starting anew with a father you were barely familiar with. Perhaps I could recommend he speak to a bereavement counselor or a therapist.
“Give me a sec and I’ll take you to your first class. We have plenty of time.” I dumped my laptop bag and purse on my desk, then rifled through the papers there to find Noah’s schedule. First class was English in one of the other buildings. I pursed my lips, trying to remember exactly where that was. Lyla had shown me around, but we’d been so busy talking, I hadn’t really taken in the locations of all the buildings. With a sigh I realized I’d have to wing it.
“Here you go.” I handed Noah the sheet of paper. “We’ll take a look at how things are going after a week or so, but if you’re struggling in the meantime, I’m here. For anything,” I added. I didn’t want him to think I was only here for school stuff.
“Thanks, Ms. Coren.” The tiniest of smiles tugged at the corners of his mouth, and I took it as the tiniest of wins.
We headed into the corridor and started walking towards what I thought was the English and Languages building.
“Um, shouldn’t we be going the other way?” Noah pointed at a sign on the wall which said we ought to be going in the opposite direction. “Remind me how long you’ve been at this school?”
I laughed. “Okay, okay, about as long as you have.” I did an about face and went past my office, near the door to the greenway. “You’re not the only one finding your way. But Idoknow you’re never supposed to go out that door.” I pointed. “Detention awaits if I ever catch you doing that.”
He nodded solemnly, eyeing the door with some suspicion.
“Ah, Ainsley, glad I’ve caught you.” Principal Collins walked up to us. “I need to speak with you about the school fundraiser.” She glanced at Noah. “Sorry, are you in the middle of something?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Pepper Smart, the girl I’d made one of my priorities yesterday. She would be able to get Noah to class a hell of a lot quicker than me.
I turned to Principal Collins. “Yes, I’ll be right with you. Pepper?” I called.
Pepper glanced over her shoulder. Slightly shorter than Noah, she had blonde hair streaked with green and round, owl-like glasses. When she saw the principal and me, she straightened to attention, pushing her glasses up her nose. “Yes, Ms. Coren?”
Nudging Noah in her direction, I answered. “Could you do me a favor and take Noah with you to English class? That’s where you’re going now, isn’t it?”
The girl nodded. “Sure. Hey, Noah.” She flashed a shy smile, and Noah stepped alongside her.
I watched them go, quietly exchanging a few words with each other on their way to class. It looked like I’d just found Noah his first friend.
Taking a second small win in a matter of minutes, I swung back to Principal Collins. “So, the school fundraiser.”
Seven
Seth
Ainsley Coren’s bright orange Fiat taunted me from the corner of the garage. I couldn’t be sure if I’d deliberately delayed the work on it because she pissed me off on our first meeting or whether the longer I kept it, the more I thought about her.
It had been there since Monday, and it was now Friday.
Another weekend of trying to get Noah to open up to me loomed. Aside from the usual “how was school—fine” conversations, there hadn’t been much communication. I was slowly getting to know what food he would eat, much of which was the same as I would have done at his age: pizza, burgers, pasta, tacos, but that was about it. Evenings were spent with him gaming, me scrolling through my phone, and occasionally us both watchingThe SimpsonsorSouth Park. He still hadn’t indicated if sports were a thing for him.
“How long is that orange monstrosity going to be there for?” Maddox complained. “It’s hurting my eyes. I thought you said it wasn’t a difficult job.”
I stopped what I was doing and looked over at him. “It’s not. Just haven’t gotten around to it, is all. There have been other more important jobs.”
Maddox narrowed his eyes. “Like what? You said it was a simple oil change, a few hours tops. And surely Ainsley wants it back?”
I drummed my fingers on the side of the car I was working on. “Yeah, true.”
“Come on, Seth, I don’t want Riley’s getting a bad rep because you can’t do a job on time. I know we don’t exactly have a lot of competition around here, but y’know, word gets out. Plus, Lyla is chewing my ear off because she’s having to get up extra early to take Ainsley to school.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll try and get to it this afternoon.”
The door to the garage crashed open, and Noah flew in, rushing past both of us and stomping upstairs to the apartment without saying a word. Maddox and I exchanged a glance. Silence wasn’t unusual, but the heavy footsteps were.
“Go.” Maddox jerked his chin in Noah’s direction. “Noah’s more important.”
“Thanks, buddy.” I wiped my hands with a cloth and followed Noah upstairs.
