Page 31 of Run Away Home: Tempered

“Hayley...” I turn toward her. “Thank you for doing that.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Stand up.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Let’s go inside. I’ll make you dinner.”

“You still want to make me dinner?”

“I do. I want to make you the best dinner.”

I offer her my hand. She grabs it.

“One, two, three.”

I pull her up. She stares at my face for a little while. I stare back at hers.

“I’m just surprised you’re not mad,” she finally says.

“I’m not mad. I’m really not mad at all. I’m the opposite of mad.”

We walk inside together.

Chapter Six

Danny

“HEY, DANNY. HOW WASextra help?” Peter asks as soon as I walk into the apartment. Hayley is plopped on the couch.

“Boring, like Scotland.” I drop my backpack on the floor.

“Put that in your room and drop the attitude.”

I roll my eyes. Oh, yeah. How could I forget that backpacks can’t go on the floor?

“I’m just saying, it was so boring that I left, and I don’t plan on going back ever.”

“Very funny, but you are going back.”

I pick up my backpack and roll my eyes again, but harder.

“I still don’t get the math. Mrs. Roland is a really bad teacher. Plus, she thought you were my dad.”

Hayley laughs.

“Hayley, are you any good at math?” Peter asks.

She laughs again, louder. What would make Peter think Hayley is good at math? She’s bad at everything. Math is a given.

“I’m assuming that’s a no,” Peter responds.

“I’m never going to be good at math, Peter. Can we just drop it? Matt keeps saying how easy the work is, and that just makes me really pissed off.”

I sit down on a dining chair and hold my backpack on my lap. Peter sits in the chair next to me.

“Wait. Your friend Matt thinks it’s easy?”

---