My Best Friend, Jack ✓

18. Family Reunion

I walked home from school with Jack. Well, I walked beside him as he cycled slowly next to me. It didn't take us long to get home, or at least it didn't feel like it. He was chatting about his first basketball game of the season and I knew he was really nervous. Saint Valley High always used the first term as practise, before kicking off the season with an opening game before the end of term. It was in a week's time and I could tell Jack tensed up whenever he mentioned it. It wasn't like him to be this nervous, about anything. 

"You're the best basketball player I know," I said truthfully. "Honestly, I could watch you play all day." He laughed hesitantly, obviously not believing me. "It's true!"

"You're just saying that because you have too," he said, chewing on his bottom lip. 

"I don't have to say it," I argued. "If I thought you were crap, I'd say it."

"I'm sure you would."

I chuckled softly. "You know, sometimes I stand on the front porch and watch you practise on your driveway."

He looked at me momentarily, taking his eyes off the road. He swerved slightly and almost got flattened by a car, but he didn't seem too concerned. "Really? I didn't know that."

I shrugged. "Well, I don't venture over, just stay pressed against the door so you can't really see me. But you look so elegant when you play. I can see it in your eyes how much you love it, how much the game means to you. You just look, happy. Like it's where you belong. It makes me happy just watching you. It makes me happy to see you happy."

I finished talking and closed my mouth in a tight line, trying to fight the blush I felt creeping up my neck. Why the heck did I just say all that? He would think I was some kind of  best friend - slash - stalker. Instead, I was surprised to find him looking at me strangely, a mix of happiness, wonder and confusion. I wondered why he looked that way. 

"I didn't even know," he said quietly. "You could always come over, you know and say hi. You're the one person I can bare to be around all the time. In fact, I miss you when you're not there."

"Even more than Olivia?" I joked, bumping his shoulder. 

He laughed softly and kept his eyes on the road, not really answering my question. We chatted about the game next week until we made it to our road. After saying goodbye, I wandered through the front door and dropped my bag on the floor. I wandered in to the kitchen and saw mum and dad leant against the counter chatting, coffee mugs in hand. My dad had been working from home for a while at his job as a personnel manager, so he seemed to be around a whole lot more, not that I was complaining. 

"Hey," I greeted them both, walking over to the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of water and a chocolate muffin. 

"Hi, Honey," they both said. 

I took no time taking the cake out of the case and devouring it in one bite. It was delicious and just the type of sugary pick me-up I needed. Licking my lips, I walked back over to the refrigerator, intending to pick a second one out of the packet.

"No more cake for you," Dad scolded, walking over and shutting the fridge door. 

I pouted and leant against the kitchen counter in protest, my arms folded. "Why not? You never mind me having two?"

"Because," my mum interrupted. "Eleanor has invited all of us over for dinner tonight and we've said yes."

"Jack's mum?" I asked. "Why?"

"Well, I think at the moment she'd just like some company," my mum said. "I think sometimes she gets a little bit lonely. She does keep herself to herself quite a lot."