The Whale - 11. Part II, chapter 3

- III -

I drove straight to Faith's house, thinking that I could skip the first class, because I knew that Faith didn't have anything until almost ten in the morning. For some strange reason, I started thinking about the whale, and it occurred to me that I still didn't know her actual name. I think Faith called her Ally. Or maybe it was Annie? Ah, who cares. I was surprised that I didn't have a slightest desire to harass her now. I mean, it was like when I fell for Faith head over heels, nothing else mattered. I didn't even bother to make snorting noises when the whale would waddle by me.

I parked my car a block away from Faith's house, just in case if someone saw me. The chances for that were slim, but extra caution never hurt anyone. I walked to her house and almost dropped dead when I saw Williamson on her doorstep. What the hell?! I dove behind the bushes and watched him. Williamson rang the doorbell, and when Faith opened the door and saw him, her face became so confused that I started laughing softly behind my bushes. Her eyes immediately scanned the area, and I knew she was freaking out because she knew I was coming this morning.

Finally, she looked at Williamson, who was saying something to her, and then she started to blink rapidly. I immediately broke in cold sweat. Crap, he found out about us and now he is interrogating her! I was chewing on my fingernails when Faith finally said something, her expression very cautious, and then she smiled at him tightly. He slowly nodded and stood there for a minute or two. I wanted to whack him with something heavy. Get the hell out of here already, will you? Finally, he nodded again, and she gave him another tight smile. I almost started to sing when he walked towards his car and drove away.

I waited in the bushes for another minute, just to be safe, and then I ran to her door. I rang the bell, and Faith opened the door with slight panic in her eyes. When she saw me, she looked so relieved that I started cracking up. She pulled me inside and immediately locked the door. I pulled her towards me and started kissing her like there was no tomorrow.

"What the hell did he want?" I asked her finally, when we pulled apart for air.

"Oh my God," she breathed. "This is like a really bad soap opera... Come on, I need a cigarette."

We went out on her back porch, and she lit a cigarette and closed her eyes.

"He knows about us, doesn't he?" I asked quietly and she started to laugh.

"No," she finally said and opened her eyes.

"Then what the hell did he want?!" I frowned.

She looked at me with a mad twinkle in her eyes.

"He asked me out on a date," she said, and then she was laughing again.

I stared at her. What?! Williamson asked her out? The man is, like, forty-five, at least! Oh, Jesus bloody Christ!

"You said no, right?" I muttered, and she looked at me like it was the most idiotic question ever, which I guess it was.

"No, Luke," she said with a snort. "I said that I would go out with him, and that I would be beyond ecstatic if he lets me blow him!"

I blinked and she rolled her eyes.

"Russell," she sighed and flicked her cigarette away. "I said no to him. Of course, I said no to him. I also told him that I am in a relationship. Makes you happy now?"

"Uh huh," I said with relief, and she just chuckled.

"Dumbass," she said softly, and I glanced at my watch.

"It's eight-thirty," I said. "We have at least an hour. Let's not waste it, okay?"

She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I just lifted her up and carried her inside.

****

That morning she was almost ten minutes late for her class, and I came in ten minutes after that. Didn't want to waltz in there together, did we? She shot me a dirty look when I walked in, and pointedly looked at the clock.

"I am not going to do anything, since I was late myself," she said poisonously, and I had to bite my lip to keep myself from grinning. "But please, be on time for the next class."

"Yes, ma'am," I saluted to her and walked to my desk.

Ah, yes. This was fun. I was surprised when someone poked me in the back. I turned around. It was Kelly Lynn, the blonde airhead who I used to sleep with occasionally before I met Faith. It wasn't anything serious, and Kelly wasn't in love with me or anything, so she didn't really care when I stopped seeing her completely.

"Hey," she whispered. "Your birthday is tomorrow, right?"

"Uh huh," I nodded carefully.

She smiled at me slyly.

"Okay," she whispered again, leaning even closer to me. "I have this friend who can get us some really good stuff, you know what I mean? We can take off at, like, four or so tomorrow afternoon, and it'll be your awesomest birthday ever!"

I blinked. First, I was pretty sure that "awesomest" wasn't even a word. Second, there was no way in hell I would even think of going somewhere else besides Faith's place. And third, I never got high or drunk anymore. My only bad habit was smoking. Faith hated alcohol, and she would never do pot, because she said she did it once and it gave really bad nightmares, so she was staying away from it for the rest of her life. So I stopped doing it as well. I was never really into it. I'd get high once in a while and it was fun, but it was never a big deal for me.

"Yeah," I whispered back to Kelly. "I can't, sorry. I have plans already."

She stared at me.

"Plans?" she repeated. "Like, with other people?"

I sighed. I guess I could see why it was so hard for her to comprehend. I would never make any plans before. If she would say that she and her friend wanted to do another threesome and provide enough booze and pot to last us for a week, I'd simply nod and go there.

"Yeah," I said. "Plans. With people. Sorry..."

"Okay," she blinked. "What people?"

"None of your business," I grinned and she just sighed.

"... and I think that Mr. Russell will help us with this one," Faith said with so much poison in her voice that I immediately whirled around.

She looked at me, her eyes unreadable, her posture almost completely relaxed, but by now, I knew her well enough to tell that she was pissed. It made me feel so good that I almost grinned. I mean, she would never get jealous or anything, and it kinda bothered me. I knew that I'd go off my rocker if I saw her with someone else. I sighed and got up. I went up to the board and blinked when I saw what was on it. Jesus, she is really pissed. It wasn't even a riddle anymore. It was a freaking enigma wrapped in mystery. I took chalk out of her hand and all but scratched my head. I knew I could do it; otherwise, she'd never call on me, even if she was pissed off. I stared at the board for at almost five minutes, and finally, I could see the damn solution. It was worse than a labyrinth.

Took me almost twenty minutes to get the thing to finally click together, and when it did, I felt like I just had a crazy work-out. I was literally tired, can you believe that? I looked at Faith, and was relieved when I saw her laughing eyes. If she gives me another one of those, I'll probably die.

"I am actually impressed," she said with a slight nod. "Of course, your speed was beyond pathetic, but at least you got it right."

I narrowed my eyes at her. Pathetic? Right. Like anyone in this entire room could've solved this damn thing sooner! I shrugged indifferently.

"I like to be slow and thorough," I said with a smirk. "Makes the whole process much more worthy, don't you think?"

I almost laughed when I saw her mouth twitch at that. She knew exactly what I meant by 'slow and thorough,' and she knew that I wasn't talking about math. Oh my God, could it be?! I actually have the last word today? Oh, be still my heart!

"Yes," she said, and I felt like I was about to pass out.

She was about to say something else, and that would probably ruin my whole winning mood, but the bell rang and she never said anything. I stayed behind as usual, fumbling with my stuff until everyone left, and she shut the door and leaned on it. I walked up to her.

"Jealousy is an ugly emotion," I murmured against her ear.

"You are the one to talk," she snorted, and she was right. "What did she want?"

I immediately knew that she was talking about Kelly.

"Oh," I shrugged indifferently. "She was wondering if I could do a threesome with her and her friend tomorrow... I guess she thought it would be a great birthday present..."

Faith pushed me away and I laughed.

"I said no," I said with reproach. "And then you made me sweat for the next half an hour... You know, that's called abuse of power..."

"Uh huh," she muttered. "Abuse of power."

I laughed, and then I had an insane desire to push her against that door and rip her shirt off. I closed my eyes, thinking that it would be beyond dumb if I did that. The door in this room didn't even have a lock. I guess she felt somewhat similar, because she inhaled deeply and pushed me away for real. I walked back to my desk and grabbed my backpack.

"How many classes do you have left?" I asked her quietly.

"Two," she sighed. "Plus the lunch period."

"Okay," I said quickly. "Lunch period... You, me, car seat, somewhere away from this place."

She stared at me.

"Whose car?" she finally asked, and I started to laugh.