Thirteen

Oh, so her mother still hasn't improved in the kitchen. Okoh's Mama can't be trusted in the kitchen. She either burns things or under-cooks them or just destroys them altogether. Said muffins usually are as hard as a rock, maybe instead of baking powder she uses cement as the core ingredient.
"It's okay, I'm here now. It's okay. Shh." I speak against her neck because I'm ashamed of how weak my voice sounds. "You're my best friend, okay? And nothing could ever come between us. Not even distance. Especially distance."
"I know," she says, her voice soft as it always is, but it's strangely flat.
Why does this worry me?
Her fingers massage my bald head.
"I missed you too, I hope you know that." This sounds like a line from the movies. It's rehearsed. I've been imagining saying this for so long that I'm starting to believe it even though initially I hated her for giving up on our friendship. That she could easily replace me with someone like Katie. I mean, seriously?
Her voice is tender. "I'm so glad I followed you after school. I wasn't sure you'd want to speak with me after two long years. I was about — wait... isn't that Skylar?"
"Zoe's strange brother from lunch?" I whip my head around in time to see a shadow disappearing behind the big rocks that are on the shore. Skylar is with Eric. Eric is the frog faced boy from school with yawn-inducing social skills and a fashion sense only starving rats would be in awe of. In middle school he was usually the last person to get picked up when we were working in pairs and the fact that he picked his nose, in the middle of the class, with everyone obviously watching him didn't help.
"You don't think he's following you, do you? You think this is a coincidence?"
I frown. "I'm sure it isn't that big of a deal. I mean, our neighbourhood isn't that big, right?"
Okoh isn't looking at me when she answers. It doesn't even seem like she is paying attention to me anymore. She is staring at the small space Skylar and Eric disappeared to. "Hmm..."
"What is it?"
"I think he's definitely following you." She smiles. Her enthusiasm is troubling. She might start getting ideas. She loves to think she's cupid sometimes. "You guys could be cute together."
"I think he's creepy. Cute? Definitely. But not enough to be my boyfriend."
"You think he's stalking you, don't you?
I shrug. "Who knows?"
We spend the rest of the afternoon throwing rocks into the ocean and taking lazy strolls along the shore while catching up. I can see that Okoh is still unsettled about what happened earlier with Skylar. I understand why she's worried. I am too, but I can't let her see that. I'm not good with feelings. And besides, between us, I've always been the stronger friend both emotionally and physically, if I show weakness now, it wouldn't do either of us any good.
"I'm so hungry I could eat a whole cow," I say. "Plus, Papa will be pissed if I don't cook supper. We should get back."
"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot we have lives."
We walk back home in silence for a while. When we've just crossed the road separating the houses from the ocean and forest, a truck drives past and splashes water all over Okoh. She is so mad she cusses under her breath. I startle for a second. I've never heard her utter profanities before. A lot has happened since I left.
A royal blue Audi stops, and the window rolls down to reveal a woman in her late fifties with a burning cigarette between her left fingers that quickly burns out because of the windy rain.
"You have some guts young lady, swearing, on the middle of the road." she shakes her head disapprovingly. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, sies!"
How the hell did she hear Okoh?
With that she drives off and I frown, just how much guts does the woman have? She stopped her car, rolled her window, in the pouring rain for fuck' sake, to scold a teenager she will never see again( probably wouldn't be able to recognise Okoh again even if she did).
"That was interesting," I say.
"Yeah, and very weird. How did she hear me over this traffic?"
"Perhaps she read your lips?" I offer, just as bit as confused as Okoh.
The lines of worry deepen on her forehead. "And why would she even be looking at me for so long and giving me that much attention?"
I shrug. "Beats me. It's really weird though. I thought — you know what? Never mind."
"You thought what?"
I hesitate. "Never mind."
"C'mom, Kaycee, if you don't tell me, I'll just worry more."
I sigh. "I thought that car looks familiar."
"I thought so too. What are the odds? The same colour as Skylar's Audi?"
A million knots tangle in my stomach. "This is getting creepy." I let out a breath. "Maybe I'll confront him tomorrow at school."
I won't. Okoh doesn't need to know that.
She nods with a distant look in her eyes. "We don't want to jump the gun. It could be purely innocent."
"I hope so."
"Me too. But it'd be smart if we wait until we are sure there is something to worry about." She stops suddenly. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah, why?"
"You're limping."
I force a smile for her benefit. "I cut myself while hiking the Forest yesterday."
"You still do that barefoot?"
I swallow my guilt. "You know me well."
When we are half a mile away from my house, she takes my hand and I raise an eyebrow. Under normal circumstances I'd have let her hand drop, but I hold my ground. It feels weird... to let her touch me like this. Okay, fine, more than weird, to have her hand in mine. My left leg twitches.
"Can I ask you something?" She takes a breath. "Please don't be offended, I'm just curious."
I squeeze her hand. "You can ask me anything."
"Do you find guys, er, the male species I mean, attractive?" She gulps.
There it is again, the feeling that my head is going to explode and my stomach is twisted into a billion knots. The feeling so intense that I don’t know how to deal with it.
"... At all?"
I'm so shocked, I stop walking. But just for a moment. My leg is shaking now. She needs to stop touching me. I can feel the small hairs in the back of her hand. They're driving me nuts. "Where's this coming from?"
"You said you don't find Skylar attractive. Unless you're gay, I don't see how that can be. Plus you aren't involved with anyone. I've never even heard you talking boys."