Chapter Six

Over the past month, Ada and Ewan had become very good friends. Not only did they walk to and from school with each other, but they also spent time with each other after school so Ada could help him with his studies, which led to them hanging out over the weekend. Most of the time, they would hang out at night since either of them slept, or have been sleeping very little.

Any time she had a nightmare; Ewan was there for her, at any hour. He didn’t mind coming to soothe her. It was something that Ada appreciated and she found it to be very helpful. Another interesting thing she found out about Ewan was that she didn’t start hyperventilating or spin off into a panic attack if he touched her. She didn’t fully understand the significance of this, nor did she think too much about it. Ada was just happy that Ewan didn’t have to witness this.

Ada also managed to become close friends with Kacey. They went to the movies to watch the latest sci-fi flicks and would go to the arcade. One day they even ventured to the mall to do normal “girly” things for once. They’ve even been planning to have a sleepover sometime soon.

The lunchroom at school is filled with a lot of people. The long wooden tables with metal stools attached lined the entirety of the room. It was always loud, with nearly every student socializing with each other. The lunchroom was a place where you could talk without worrying about anyone being able to hear what you were saying. This is where Ada finally decides to let Kacey in on the list she made.

“So I’ve been making this list of everything I want to do before I die.” She began. “I think I finally thought of everything I wanted to do.”

Kacey looked at her with deep concern. “Are you dying?”

“What?” She questioned shocked by her friend’s reaction. “No.”

“Do I need to call someone? Is this a red flag?”

“Oh my God! No!” Ada laughs at Kacey’s deranged sense of humor. “It’s just that after what happened, I thought about how short life truly is.” She stated quietly, becoming embarrassed. “You never know when you will go or if it will be natural causes or at the hand of some maniac.”

Kacey didn’t appear to be as alarmed by the list anymore. “I get it. But you know, just because you went that horrible incident doesn’t mean that death is out to get you.”

Ada looks at her, feeling a bit silly.

“Well, let me see this list.”

“No, it’s stupid,” Ada states, a bit self-conscious.

“It’s not. There are a lot of people with bucket lists, maybe not as young as us, but whatever. Kacey states reassuringly. “So let’s see it.”

Ada lets out a deep breath and hands over the list.

Kacey looks up at her puzzled. “Um. Ada, you’ve never kissed anyone?”

Ada’s face starts to burn. “No.”

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Kacey responds quickly, seeing Ada’s face turn red. “Some people just don’t want to kiss anyone they are forced to be around all the time. I mean, most of the people we go to school with, we’ve had to know since we were kids and that’s not always pleasant.”

“To be honest, I was mostly more worried about keeping my mom happy.” Ada begins. “My mother isn’t strict per se, but ever since my dad left us, love and relationships have always been on the back burner. It’s something that, I feel, my mom would consider a distraction that will lead nowhere.”

“That has got to be the most depressing thing I’ve heard a teenage girl say,” Kacey replied, staring at Ada speechless.

Ada shrugged. “But even if I wanted to disobey her, I would feel extremely guilty with how hard she works.” She takes a sip of her soda. “I mean, she is never home since she is always working. But I feel like right now, it doesn’t matter. The guilt I’ll feel afterward would be worth having a semblance of something normal during my teenage years.”

Kacey plops a grape in her mouth. “It’s our job to disappoint and screw things up when it comes to our parents.” She takes a sip of her drink. “So, which item are we going to cross off your list first?”

Ada blushed. “I’m not sure.” She pauses, a thought forming. “To be honest, I don’t even care if the person I kiss is someone that I have a connection with. I don’t care if we are in a relationship or if anything comes to fruition.”

Kacey almost spits out her drink. “Even if you were to have sex?” She stared at her as if someone just slapped her across the face. “That’s walking a dangerous line, Ada.”

She shrugs in response. “Is it though?”

“You don’t need to do anything you will regret.” Kacey pleads. “I mean, think about it Ada, what if Ewan wasn’t there to prevent Jessie from doing that?”

Ada could taste bile in her mouth after hearing the name ‘Jessie.’ Clearing her throat, she started, “That was before. This is now. With this, it will be consensual.”

“How are you going to do any of this stuff if you have a panic attack any time someone touches you?” She replies curiously.

Ada pauses, staring at her friend in disbelief. It was something that she hadn’t thought of. “I’ve been slowly trying to work my way through that. I’m sure I’ll be okay after I’ve had time to master it.”

Kacey starts playing with the food on her plate while she was lost in thought. “What if you tried this stuff out with Ewan?”

Ada blushes. “I doubt that there is any possible way that could ever happen.”

“No possible way that what could happen?” Ewan’s voice questions behind Ada, making her jump.

“Nothing,” Ada says quickly.

Kacey just smirks at both of them.

Ewan stares at the girls questioningly. “Okay, I won’t ask.” He sat down beside Ada. “I was wondering if you would want to reschedule our study date tonight.”

“Sure, that’s fine,” Ada replied. “Is something wrong?”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that.” He responded with a smile. “I was just wondering if you and Kacey would rather hang out with me and Hal. I didn’t think taking a break from studying would be such a bad idea.”

The girls look at each other for a second and answered as if they discussed this telepathically. “Yes.” They responded in unison.

“Alright. I’ll pick you both up at your house after school.” He replied, with his handsome smile, before walking away.

“Are you sure you can’t ask him to help you clear some things off your list?” Kacey asked as she watched Ewan walk away.

Ada could feel herself blushing. “I honestly don’t think that is in the cards for me.”

“You tell me one person that he pays as much attention to as you.” Kacey countered. “I mean, seriously, how do you not see it?”

“See what?”

“Exactly,” Kacey states astounded.