Picturing Different

by Nikki Kwiatkowski

  “No, you’re not,” he chuckled. “Look, I know working with me is the last thing you want to do, but if you think I’m going to let you do this entire project by yourself, you’re crazy.”

  Ashlyn stepped around Tripp and, having no desire to be late to her next class, made her way to the door. Tripp followed her out into the hall.

  “I’m busy with my family this weekend, and Monday we have a game. So…”

  “So, today would be the only day that you could work on it?”

  “Oh, sorry. It’s Friday,” Tripp pointed out.

  Ashlyn stopped in the busy hall and turned to face him, students continuing to flow around them. “What, you have a date?”

  “No. I assumed you might.”

  Ashlyn lowered her eyes and shook her head. She was not about to mention anything more, ever, about her relationship when Tripp was around.

  He didn’t want to appear too eager. “Cool.”

  Ashlyn turned and they continued to walk down the hall together. She didn’t know what class Tripp had next, but she couldn’t ever recall leaving their class together and him going in the same direction as herself.

  When Ashlyn didn’t say anything more on the matter and appeared to be deep in thought, “Do you want to get together after school then?”

  Ashlyn bit her lip. She hated how such an innocent question about a stupid assignment made her heart thump just a little more erratically.

  “That’ll be fine. Library?”

  “The library closes at five. I guess we could go to the public library. I think it closes at seven on Fridays. What about the structure itself? We can’t exactly pack up a bunch of supplies and work on that there,” he pointed out, hoping that Ashlyn didn’t see what he was trying to do.

  “Ugh. Yeah, you’re right.” She paused and stood at a classroom, the hall growing emptier by the second. “Umm, this is me.”

  Tripp was a little surprised she hadn’t told him to get lost prior.

  “Which class is yours,” she proceeded to ask.

  “Oh, none. I have History, so–”

  Shocked, Ashlyn abruptly interrupted him. “That’s halfway across the school!”

  Tripp chuckled and nervously raked his hand through his hair. Ashlyn’s attention was immediately drawn in that direction and a knot formed in her stomach, thinking back to the library when her hands had been there.

  “Anyway, today, after school, at?”

  Ashlyn rolled her eyes. “Luckily my dad is working from home today, so you can come over.”

  Tripp couldn’t help himself. “Are you not allowed to have friends if your parents aren’t home?”

  “Boys,” Ashlyn quickly corrected. “I’m not allowed to have boys over if they’re not home. Emory’s brother is the only exception, because occasionally he’s bored and tags along.”

  Just then the warning bell signaling a minute left until the tardy bell rang out.

  Tripp began walking backwards to the direction of his class, which most definitely was nowhere near Ashlyn’s. “Just text me the address, okay?”

  Ashlyn nodded and turned to go into her room.

  It wasn’t until she sat down and began grabbing supplies from her bag that she realized what had happened. Did Tripp just walk her to her class?

  Chapter 12

  Tripp parked his G-Class on the street and looked at the painted numbers on the sidewalk. He was at the right house.

  While his parents had moved into a newer and more modern looking house, Ashlyn’s looked like something you’d see on a Christmas card, large and classic, giant oak trees, grand front porch, flowerbeds lining the front. It looked sweet and innocent, if a house could be described as such.

  Tripp glanced at his phone. The last message Ashlyn sent him was that she was running by the library to pick up a few books. They needed at least five sources and no more than two could be websites. Ever the diligent one, at some point throughout the day, she had managed to research and reserve books that she thought they’d be able to use statistics, quotes, and references from.

  Tripp also knew she wasn’t home yet because her car wasn’t there; however, several others were. Ashlyn had told him to simply wait for her, but she didn’t exactly say where.

  Adults didn’t make him nervous. With as much traveling as his father did, and occasionally attending conventions along with him, Tripp was accustomed to speaking with those much older than himself. Speaking to parents of a girl he was definitely interested in, that was a little new to him.

  He was taken aback when the front door swung open and a short and stout woman with black hair streaked with grey answered.

  “How can I help you,” she asked. Her accent was very South American; however, he couldn’t place exactly where from.

  “Hi, I’m a friend of Ash’s. I’m here to work on a project with her.”

  The woman scrunched up her nose and looked Tripp over like he had crawled out of a sewer. Once she was satisfied, and he had passed whatever test she was conducting in her head, “You’re not the boyfriend.”

  Tripp wasn’t sure if it was a statement or a question, but he awkwardly laughed. “No. We’re in science together.”

  The woman looked down at Tripp’s jeans and sneakers. “You’re cleaner than the boyfriend. I don’t let him in.”

  A male voice from inside called out. “Carmen? Do I need to sign for something? I’m expecting a document this evening.”

  “No,” she yelled back. She turned to Tripp and eyed him suspiciously. “Still wipe your feet. I just mopped. You’ll wait in the living room until Ishy gets home.”

  Miraculously, Carmen stepped aside and held the door open for Tripp. For a minute there he thought she might ask him riddles, or spray him down with Lysol. He couldn’t be too sure. He also made note to tease Ashlyn about whatever it was that the woman called her.

  “Mr. Daniel,” Carmen began, blasting by Tripp and going farther into the house. “Miss Ishy has a visitor.”

  When Tripp turned the corner along with Carmen, he was even more surprised at what he saw in the large open living room and dining room. Folders and papers flooded the place, and three men in businesslike attire poured over the documents.

  As they entered the room, the most casual of the three straightened and made his way over.

  “Thank you, Carmen,” he said, although he was looking at Tripp the entire time. Carmen quickly excused herself and disappeared in the direction they had come. The man then extended his hand, which Tripp respectfully took. “Daniel Jennings.”

  “Tripp Scott.”

  Daniel’s eyes narrowed as soon as Tripp told him his name. For a brief second, he got a little nervous, wondering if Ashlyn had said something unfavorable about him.

  “I thought you looked familiar,” Daniel said with a small smile forming.

  Tripp was more confused than ever. He was certain he had never met the man before him in his life.

  Daniel began laughing at the nervous expression plastered on Tripp’s face. “Sorry. I read your school’s little online paper, especially the pictures and articles that my daughter does.”

  “Oh, I see,” Tripp said, now feeling much more comfortable.

  “You’ve done quite well in the games this year. You should be proud of yourself,” Daniel went on.

  Tripp didn’t expect to receive such compliments from Ashlyn’s father. Sure, he didn’t know the guy, so maybe he liked to give compliments. He just had a preconception that all fathers would hate any guys showing up to their homes for their daughters, schoolwork or not.

  Ashlyn’s father went on to apologize for the mayhem. It was then that Tripp found out that Daniel was a lawyer in the city. Apparently, their entire building was being repainted, but he still had a high-profile case that needed a great deal of attention, so much so that he couldn’t spare a single day off for easily the next week. It was a crucial matter that he couldn’t go into, or so he said. Tripp had a feeling that as friendly as he was, if Tripp ask
ed the right questions, the man would happily oblige to give little details. He didn’t though. In just meeting Daniel for five minutes, he already had too much respect to pry.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Ashlyn nervously rushed through the door, only for Carmen to scream at her to wipe her feet. She pretended not to hear and went straight to the main living space. She had seen Tripp parked on the side of the street, but he wasn’t inside his vehicle. He would have had to have been insane to go into her house without her being there. Besides, Carmen would never allow him inside anyway.

  She thought that perhaps he may have gone for a walk around the block, but all the blood drained from her face when she entered the living room to tell her father that she was home, and there was Tripp, sitting off to the side from the sea of paperwork, in an armchair, with his laptop. He looked like he belonged there. Ashlyn stood speechless and confused.

  Daniel was the first to notice her. “Hey, sweetie! You’re home.”

  It was then that Tripp’s eyes shot up to meet hers. He could tell that she was rattled by the situation.

  “Oh, your friend got here a little while ago,” her father went on, noticing how Ashlyn was staring at the boy across the room.

  Ashlyn was slow to speak. “Yeah. We have a project to work on.” Looking around the dining room and living room, “When you said you were working from home, I thought you meant in your home office.”

  “I know. With the law firm closed for painting, it was easier if Josh and Seth came over here rather than trying to video conference,” her father tried to explain.

  Ashlyn sighed in defeat. “Today is the only day we have to work on this project.”

  She wished that she would have found a vaguer way to say that. Her father’s narrowed eyes let her know that he knew she had waited until the last minute.

  Without scolding his daughter, “Just work in your room.”

  Ashlyn’s jaw dropped. “What about the rule about no boys in my room,” she huffed.

  Daniel laughed. “Oh, that’s only for one boy in particular.” When he saw how Ashlyn’s faced scrunched in anger he coughed and pretended he had not just said that. “I mean, this will be a one-time thing. Just…Uh…keep the door open?” When it came to rules and raising a teenage daughter, he still was uncertain what he was supposed to do and not do.

  “Thanks, dad,” she grumbled. She was annoyed by the entire situation.

  By now, Tripp had stood and grabbed his backpack and folded his laptop under his arm. As he made his way to Ashlyn on the other side of the room, “It was nice meeting you Mr. Jennings, same goes for you two as well.” He gave a slight nod to Josh and Seth.

  “Keep up the good work on the field,” Daniel called back with a thumbs up.

  Ashlyn didn’t say a word to Tripp as she stomped up the stairs leading him to her room. Just as they reached her open doorway, she spun around to face him and nearly collided with him. So as not to make things more uncomfortable for her, Tripp instantly took a step away and distanced himself from her.

  “Whatever you do, don’t touch anything,” she hissed. She didn’t mean to sound so mad, but she was annoyed and had a hard time hiding it. Her father had only met Tripp once, for a few minutes, and already he trusted him more than Eric. It wasn’t fair.

  Tripp watched as Ashlyn entered her room and placed her bags in the corner and six books from the library on her bed. He stood in the doorway, admiring her in her own world.

  He didn’t know why he was pleasantly surprised to see that there wasn’t an ounce of pink anywhere. Ashlyn never struck him as being into a single color, much less that one. Her room was indeed colorful. To tone down all the artwork and the large area rug, her bedspread was a simple grey with no pattern whatsoever. Had it been full of various colors, it would have been too much for the room. He couldn’t help but notice the blue frog and orange seal stuffed animals that sat between the black throw pillows at the top of her bed. It was the perfect amount of innocence and cuteness.

  He slowly entered the room and placed his bag at the door.

  Ashlyn didn’t say anything as she left her room, and Tripp continued to make his way farther into a place that was just for her. On her desk there were an ungodly amount of pictures, some of flowers and landscapes, others of school activities, a lot of their baseball games. Despite her rule of no touching, he pushed them around, trying to get a glimpse of every one that she had taken.

  Soon he gave up and wandered through the rest of the room, it was then that a large easel near the blue and green curtains covering the windows caught his attention. There was a canvas on it, but it was hidden, covered with a cloth. His curiosity was piqued. He glanced back to an empty doorway and turned once more to the easel.

  Just as his fingers touched the course material of the fabric which he knew was concealing something beautiful, there was a piercing shriek.

  “What do you think you’re doing?!”

  Tripp turned only to come face to face with a fury he had never seen in Ashlyn.

  She dropped the massive amount of crafting supplies in the middle of the room and stormed over to where Tripp was standing. She slapped his hand away from the cover and yanked at his other arm, attempting to drag him away.

  “I told you not to touch anything,” Ashlyn continued to scream.

  “I’m sorry. I just wanted–”

  “I don’t care what you wanted. That’s mine! It’s private.”

  Tripp help his hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry. Truly.”

  Ashlyn shook her head. Tripp could see the hurt in her eyes. “You can’t just leave things alone can you.”

  Tripp’s right brow rose in a questioning way, and before he could change the subject, reading into a deeper meaning behind her words, Ashlyn forced herself to say something first.

  “It’s my artwork and I’m not ready to show anyone yet.”

  “Yet?”

  Ashlyn let out an exasperated breath. “Yes, yet.” She didn’t know what made her continue to ramble. “I’m trying to come up with something for the spring art show.”

  Tripp’s face held a look of interest that Ashlyn hadn’t seen in some time. Trying to be dismissive about what she had just told Tripp, she went back to the center of the room and began unfolding the painter’s cloth so that she wouldn’t make a mess on Carmen’s impeccably clean floors.

  Tripp knelt opposite Ashlyn and started to help unfold the cloth’s other end. Not wanting her to shut down about her project, “When is it?”

  “Second week in April,” she answered vaguely.

  “I’ll need a specific date closer to it, because I’m definitely coming.”

  The enthusiasm in his voice pulled at something deep inside Ashlyn and she tried to swallow down the lump in her throat.

  Ashlyn quickly changed the subject. “Anyway, the library didn’t have many books on the Fairy Chimneys, but I did find books on Turkey and the Cappadocia region where they’re mentioned. If we can find two really good websites, we should be okay.”

  “Already done,” Tripp said, standing to go retrieve his laptop. “In fact, I started working on some of the paper.” He opened his laptop and sat beside Ashlyn on the floor, watching as she placed her materials methodically.

  “I’ll start on the model and help with the paper as needed.”

  “You can make sure I have all the citations right. I’m horrible with that.” It wasn’t true, but he wasn’t going to be an egotistical jerk and tell Ashlyn that he really didn’t need any help at all.

  Thankfully, she hadn’t asked to see what he had written. He already had two full pages, single-spaced. He left blanks where he needed a quote or statistic to back up what he was saying, but after reading several articles on the Fairy Chimneys, he had already accomplished quite a lot.

  An hour passed by. Most of the time was spent in silence, but after Ashlyn got over Tripp invading her privacy, occasionally they would ask each other random questions, nothing too invasive.

/>   Ashlyn sat back on the floor against the foot of her bed with Tripp. Tripp glanced from his laptop to her project on the floor in front of him. “I don’t know how you’re so creative.”

  “I was homeschooled by my grandmother the first few years. She lived like she was stuck in the seventies. She was extremely artistic and down to earth. Needless to say, when I started school, I was horrible at math. She didn’t teach me much when it came to math and science,” Ashlyn laughed.

  Tripp wanted to ask more about her grandmother, if she got to see her a lot, if she lived nearby, but the starry and despondent look in her eyes told him better. If he asked anything more about her grandmother, he’d only hear the sad truth that she was no longer around.

  “I’m sure you need a citation here for that kind of statement,” Ashlyn said, changing the subject and pointing to the computer.

  It was a paragraph about mesothelioma and the mineral erionite.

  Tripp had the book opened nearby, but wanting to make Ashlyn laugh, he ignored it.

  “You’re right.” He talked as he hit the next few strokes on the keyboard. “Open parentheses, Scott comma Tripp.” He glanced at the time at the corner of his computer. “Five colon four seven. Period. On March–”

  Ashlyn couldn’t take it. She playfully nudged Tripp’s shoulder. “Stop it. Be serious.”

  She wasn’t at all irritated with him. He could hear the faint laughter in her voice, and he loved it.

  “Should I put location,” he asked, glancing around the bedroom.

  “You’re impossible,” she said with a smile he hadn’t seen in what felt like a long time.

  He reached for the book between them at the same time she did. When their hands touched, and neither instinctively pulled away in that moment, it felt like lightning bolts descended from the heavens and rained down on them at the very spot where the little bit of skin from their fingers touched.

  A cough from the doorway made Ashlyn the first to not only pull away, but jump to her feet as though one of those imaginary lightning bolts electrocuted her.

  “Mom. Hi.”