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Chapter 2: Proximity is Everything
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiebaI5TOOM
After school, Mark was up in his room lying on his bed. He was throwing a rubber ball against the wall, catching it with the other hand, then throwing it back with the other.
Sometimes he did this to help him think, and other times to relieve stress. Periodically Mark would pick up his notebook lying next to him, the one that Jeanie had written on earlier, and he studied her handwriting.
Mark wanted to call her right now. But he knew that would make him look desperate, so he continuously talked himself out of it.
Mark would periodically keep checking to ensure her signature and number were still on his notebook and not an illusion that would fade away and disappear like a mirage after so much time between glances.
Mark had already rewritten Jeanie’s number on a Post-it in case anything happened to his notebook.
Then Mark wrote down her name and number a third time and hid that piece of paper in a shoe box on top of his closet.
Everything about Jeanie was sexy. Her signature: is light, soft, and feminine. Mark constantly needed to prove to himself that everything that happened earlier wasn’t a dream and that Jeanie was real, and he had her handwriting note memorized.
He was still thinking about the images he saw about Jeanie and desperately wanted to know if any of it was true. Was Jeanie a witch? And that’s when he heard his mother calling him from downstairs.
“Mark, can you come down here, please? You have company.”
Mark was annoyed. He didn’t want to go anywhere. Mark thought it was just one of his guy friends, Carlos or Kyle.
“Just send them up, Mom?” he replied. “You don’t need to keep me in suspense.”
“No, you’re going to have to come down here,” his mom answered.
What the hell was going on, Mark thought.
Mark only had on his shorts and sandals as he walked down the stairs heavily, then turned the corner that led into the hallway that connected him with the kitchen, and that’s when he saw Jeanie sitting in his kitchen. He was stunned.
Instantly everything felt surreal. Mark couldn’t even talk for a second, and when he studied Jeanie from his position, the sun shone through the cracks between the blinds, which outlined her body and cast an aura of white, an aura that made her look like an angel, except for the wings.
Mark was mesmerized and continued staring at Jeanie until she was uncomfortable. His mother, Beth, who was folding laundry, turned around, and when he saw him staring, she cleared her throat.
“Is it Saturday already?” Mark asked abruptly, pretending to shake the cobwebs out of his head.
Jeanie laughed but would not look at him directly because he only had on his shorts, and she blushed from his semi-nakedness.”
“No, I’m early,” Jeanie replied.
Beth threw Mark a clean shirt, which hit him in the head, covering his face, and he pulled it down in slow-motion.
Jeannie laughed again but still avoided eye contact until he finished dressing.
“I’m sorry, Jeannie. I thought it was one of my stupid guy friends.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Jeanie said, smiling.
“I was just on my bed thinking about you,” he said. 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1cJdAKZpI
