"O.K., you ready?" my mother asked, about to ring the doorbell to the Hanson home. I sighed, nodding. "Are you alright? You don't seem like you normally are."
"I'll be fine, I just don't feel all that well. I'm O.K." She shrugged and rang the doorbell. I fixed my jet black hair with my fingers, trying to make my appearance a little bit better then from the paleness that had come over me.
A blonde woman opened the door, and gave us a smile. "Hi! You must be Miss Moore, come on in. I'm Diana."
"Call me Kelly. This is my daughter, Tini." Diana gave me a smile as we stepped in. I took my time, ignoring the fact that Diana was giving me strange looks.
"Ignore her," my mom said, "she's not feeling well and she decided she would tell me once we got here. I would of left her at home so she could get better." Diana nodded.
I didn't pay much attention, I was busy walking slowly in a straight line so I wouldn't lose it and my head would burst open. I hated headaches, they controlled my life, popping up at the worst times.
I stared at the ground, following my mother slowly. They seemed to be walking too fast. As I continued to walk, I noticed a pair of yellow Doc Marten boots that were tied all wrong stop in front of me.
"Hi," the owner of the shoes' voice said. I looked up. There was Zachary Hanson, the boy I had been admiring for nearly two years now, standing in front of me with his shoes tied wrong.
"Your shoes are tied wrong," I unwillingly said. That was just the headache talking, but I wasn't able to tell him that. He gave me a strange look. "Your shoes. You tied them wrong, the bow is supposed to be horizontal, not vertical."
"I tied them quickly, I really don't care if I tie them wrong, you're the only person I've met who's seemed to notice." I gave him a timid smile. "Are you O.K.?"
"Yes."
"I don't know, you look really pale. Or is that the way you're supposed to be?" I shrugged. I decided not to tell him that the way he parted his hair was wrong too.
Just then Taylor walked by. Now that's a guy who takes care of himself. I checked his shoes, and they were tied right, and tied neatly. His hair was parted neatly down the middle, and brushed, his shirt didn't have any wrinkles, and his pants were pleated well. His watch was in proper order, not with the flap hanging out or anything. He was a proper.
I looked back to Zac. His shirt was wrinkled and half of it was hanging out, and half was tucked in. His pants looked like they'd survived a tornado, with a huge hole in the left knee. His shoes were tied carelessly, his socks didn't match perfectly, his hair was sloppy and parted in seven different places. His watch flap was hanging out, and his fingernails were pitiful.
"What's your name?" he asked me.
"Tini Moore, my mom's your new math tutor. Why?"
"Well I figured since you're in my house then I might as well know your name." I looked at him again and walked off to the kitchen where my mother was.
She was sitting with Diana, discussing whatever they were discussing, and ignoring me. I sat down, not really caring, and folded my knees to my chest.
Diana looked alright. She wasn't a slob, she wasn't proper, but she was alright. This was always my first judgment of people. They were either slobs, proper, or alright. And I always checked to see how their shoes were tied.
But of course, I couldn't tell from Diana because she was wearing sandals. I figured that would be fine, as long as she wore a pair that tied in the future.
And I never wore shoes that tied, I didn't like them. If I wore shoes at all, I wore Adidas slip-on sandal things. They never looked good when I wore a formal dress, so I always wore dresses that covered my feet so I could get into a place without wearing shoes.
As a matter of fact, I wasn't wearing any shoes then. Some teenagers at my age, 17 and still growing, hate their feet but I love mine. I say they're the best part of my body.
Yes, I'm 17. I guess I forgot to tell y'all that. I'll be 18 November 5. I look like I'm 13 but I'm not. I've been driving, I have my own car, everything. I just look younger. I think that's why Zac approached me.
I'm a full 5'3, nothing taller. I've always been short, and it's odd because my mother's 5'11 and my father was 6'4.
I had been ignoring Diana and my mom, and my mom knew it. If I was in a room and I was sitting like that, she could say anything as loud as she wants and I wouldn't hear a word of it.
"Well, we've covered everything I need to know," my mother said, "but now I'm going to tell you something you need to know. It's about Tini."
"We're going to talk about her with her in the room?" Diana asked.
"Tini can't hear us. Whenever you see her sitting like that, with that far away look on her face, she's in her own world and she can't hear anything. It doesn't matter if you scream in her ear, she can't hear a thing. But the thing with her is that she's been diagnosed with some condition. She gets really nervous if you ask her to do something more than once in a six hour period, and when she does something she has to do it the way she wants it or it's not done right and she gets really paranoid."
"O.K. How old is she?" Diana asked.
"17."
"She looks much younger." My mother nodded.
"I know. She looks 13, but she really is 17. Actually, she'll be 18 in a few days."
"So basically, she looks Zac's age, but she's actually Isaac's." My mother nodded again. "O.K., I got that. And not to ask her to do something more than once in a six hour period and we have to do things her way."
"Yeah. It's strange, a few years ago I thought it was just an attitude she was pulling so she didn't have to do the dishes but then when we went to a doctor for a check-up he found something wrong and it turned out to be a disorder somewhere in her brain that sends her body into panic."
"Strange�"
"Are you talking about me?" I asked, snapping out of my world and hearing the last half of what my mother said. She turned to me.
"No, dear. Why don't you find the boys and go introduce yourself to them?" my mother said.
"I found Zac. His shoelaces were tied wrong," I said, getting up and then walking out of the room. My mom gave a 'see?' look to Diana. I walked out of the room, and just wandered around, my fingers trailing on the walls and I walked by, still sort of dazed. I guess I hadn't really come out of my far away state yet.
"Who are you?" Taylor asked, almost running into me. I looked over and smiled.
"Tini Moore."
"Why are you here, Tini?"
"My mom's your new math tutor," I told him, still smiling. He nodded, and finally returned the smile. I could be nice to him and smile because he was proper.
"How long have you been here?" he asked.
"I don't know, about an hour I guess," I told him. His smile grew and he gave me a queer look.
"Strange, I didn't notice you before." I only shrugged. "Well, since you probably will be along a lot, would you like the Grand Tour?" he asked me.
"Yes I would." He offered me his arm, and I took it, the smile still dancing on my face. He started to show me around, telling me each of the rooms and a little about them. But my attention was more on him then the rooms. He was cute, I had to admit he was. And he was proper. My two qualities that have to be there. He has to be cute, and he has to be proper.
He was perfect for me.
The last stop we made was his room, that he shared with his brothers. Before he opened the door he apologized for the mess, he hadn't been expecting anyone and that it was all his brothers' fault. I believed him.
He opened the door and Zac was lying on the top bunk reading a book, with his wrongly tied shoes on. I shook my head. You don't go on a bed with shoes on, and you definitely don't go on a bed with wrongly tied shoes on.
I looked at each bed that was there. Three were unmade, and one was neatly made, each corner tucked in, folded into a triangle shape. "I gather you bed is the one that is made?" I asked Taylor.
"You're right. And that's Zac on the bed up there." I saw Taylor shake his head and I almost had to kiss him right there. "With his shoes on!" he added, raising his voice.
Zac looked up and gave me a nasty glare. "We've met," I told Taylor, ignoring the glare.
"Zac, don't be rude," Taylor said.
"Yeah, yeah. Hi Tini." It was so strange. Looking at Taylor I saw everything I wanted in a boyfriend. He was perfect. Then I looked to Zac and he was everything I hated, everything I didn't want. He was the farthest thing from perfect that I had ever known. And something about that drew me to him.
"Hi Zac," I responded, impulsively. Common reflex that I did everything I heard someone say hello to me, no matter how sarcastic or rude to formal and polite it may be. He gave me an odd look, then shook his head, taking a deep breath.
"Ignore him, he'll never be the way you want him to be," Taylor said. That threw me off�back onto Zac. He was wearing a black shirt with white stripes on the sleeves, hideous yellow pants, and yellow Doc Marten boots. It was the worst outfit I had ever seen. I say Zac is disgracing the color black with those pants but he seemed to be comfortable in them. And I'd much rather wear a hideous outfit and be comfortable than wear the latest fashion and not be able to move.
He was imperfect, something I could barely handle, but something drew me to him. The attitude, it had to be the attitude. The 'I don't care what you think' attitude that drew me to him and made me want him more than Taylor.
Strange.
A sudden shout for Taylor from downstairs caused me to be alone with Zac. Once Taylor left, and I knew he had left, I turned to Zac who had ignored everything. "You know, Zac," I said, walking towards him, making sure I stepped over the piles of stuff on the floor, "Your attitude towards me is sort of intriguing."
I could tell he stopped reading and was listening to me now, even though he covered it up. "So?" he asked.
I stopped at the base of the bottom bunk, looking up to him. "Are you just going to stay up there and pretend to read that book or come down here and actually talk to me?"
Zac had been defeated, he knew it, so he closed his book and hopped down, facing me. "Yeah?"
"Zac, you're everything I hate in a guy, and yet I still want to be around you. Everything you do annoys me, everything you say just seems so wrong�"
"I feel the exact same way about you. You're everything I hate in a girl." I looked up at him, no real emotion on my face.
He kissed me.
Of course I kissed back, this is what I wanted. So we were there, to complete strangers who hated each other, kissing. Thin line between love and hate, one actually draws the other.
Taylor walked back in, and his mouth dropped. He stood there in amazement, in shock, and in envy. Finally he just ran out of the room and downstairs.
We didn't go any further, even though I knew by the way he held me that Zac would if I didn't stop him. I pulled away from him, basically telling him that I didn't want anymore than that. For now, at least.
"I was expecting that from the minute I walked in the room," I said.
"I was planning it the minute you walked in the room." I smiled, and kissed him again. I was interrupted by my mother screaming for me. I rolled my eyes.
"I'm really starting to hate that woman," I stated and walked out of the room and downstairs. My mother took me aside. "What?"
"Tini, you're going to be 18 in a few days, Zac is only 13. When you turn 18 everyone is going to be against you. You can't even look at him without getting in trouble with the federal law. I suggest you quit while you're ahead."
"I'm willing to risk it."
"Well I'm not. You're taking the doctor's words way too seriously. He said for me to lay off you for a few things, not to have you roam completely free." I bit my lip. "And don't try to pull a panic attack on me, Tini. I know you, you bundle up your nerves on purpose and pull something on me in public and make me look bad. Don't try it."
"Fine." I stopped biting my lip, and sat down on the bottom stair to calm myself down. It took a while, but I finally calmed down. "O.K., can I go back up now?"
"No, we're leaving. We have to pack so we can go with them to Los Angeles."
"Ma, we're all packed. We never unpacked. Well, I don't know about you, but I'm fine."
"And you don't know your way home, so you're coming with me." She pulled me up and we left, me not being able to say goodbye to anyone.