The Summer at Camazotz

Twenty-Seven

Jordan's house is much nicer than mine. The grey bricked house stands tall in the evening light, towering over me. The grass is clipped and a vibrant green unlike the half dead grass of my lawn. Flowers decorate the porch and the interlocked pathway. Not too much to be overwhelming and not too little to look awkward. Needless to say, his house is rather intimidating.

Mom only complimented the flower choices when she dropped me off. She told me to have fun and sped off without another word.

I've been standing at the front door for five minutes, suddenly very nervous for my first date. Jordan and I had decided that we wouldn't go all out for our first date. We wanted it to be more laid back and casual so we wouldn't feel too much pressure about making it perfect.

Picking out an outfit, though, was especially hard. Since we aren't doing anything fancy, I wasn't sure how casual was too casual. I also didn't want to arouse suspicion from my family by dressing too nicely. I ended up going with olive green linen pants and a simple white tee. Looking down at my outfit now, I'm hoping I made the right decision.

Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I ring the doorbell and cringe at how loud it sounds from out here. The door is opening within seconds and I suddenly remember that Jordan isn't the only one who lives here.

A girl opens the door. Her dirty blonde hair is pulled back in a messy bun with one strand dangling in front of her eyes. She has the same green eyes as Jordan that seem to look right into my soul.

"Oh, hi. Are you Jordan's friend?"

"Yeah. I'm Carter." I smile in the hopes that she's friendly and won't write me off before I even enter the house.

Instead, her face lights up with a warm smile and her eyes sparkle. "Right! Come on in." she opens the door and moves out of the way. "Jordan's just upstairs, he'll be right down."

"Okay, thanks. . ."

"Savannah," she chirps.

I smile. "Nice to meet you Savannah."

Savannah grins like she knows something I don't. She clasps her hands together and ushers me farther into the house. "I'll be leaving in a few minutes so you guys won't have to worry about me. Our parents are out on date night—ironic, I know! So if someone tries to sneak in around midnight, it's probably them. They have, like, zero alcohol tolerance and think they're some kind of ninjas when they're drunk."

I chuckle at her rambling. She's exactly like Jordan. It's not hard to tell that they're related.

"Sav, leave the poor guy alone."

Savannah and I turn towards the entrance to the living room where Jordan is standing. He's dressed in light wash jeans and a button down shirt. There are little animals that look something like pandas covering his shirt. It looks as though he ditched his hair products and is going for a surfer boy hairstyle.

He looks better than I do, that's for sure.

"Someone had to keep him company," Savannah retorts. "You were too busy styling yourself like a Ken doll to do it."

Jordan's jaw drops at her words. "I think I look way better than a Ken doll."

Savannah shrugs and places her hands on her hips. "Whatever. I'm heading out, so don't do anything stupid, please. I'm too young to be mothering someone."

"You can never start too soon," he teases as she walks out of the room. Savannah swats the back of his head in passing and waves goodbye to me.

I smile at Jordan, desperately trying to get my nerves under control. "Your sister is. . ."