“Not that soon. Don’t you want to be alone for a while?” he asked, his voice full of disappointment. “I thought you’d want to be alone with me, and that was why you agreed to come with me.”
“It’s getting late. I think we’d better return to the party.”
He looked at me with confusion. “Why are you getting so upset? All I did—”
“Let’s just go back, Kent. Please.”
He smirked, looked down a moment, and then stood up. “Yeah, let’s just go back,” he said, and walked quickly toward the door. I had to hurry to keep up with him, and he was silent all the way back into the house.
The party did seem to be getting more raucous. Someone had talked Eddie into spiking his soda, too, and he looked dazed and unaffected by the way the older students were banging into the furniture and spilling drinks. The kitchen looked as if it had been hit by a hurricane—the plastic forks on the floor as well as the counters, the garbage can overflowing, half-eaten pieces of pizza on the counters and even one smashed into the tile.
“Eddie’s parents are going to be pissed,” Kent muttered. He looked at his watch. “Maybe my father is here. Let’s take a look.”
I followed him to the door. We heard Noel call to us, but Kent ignored him and walked out. We stood in the entryway, looking down the driveway. One of the older boys was kissing Kaley Lester by a parked car. Kaley was in our class and usually very quiet and to herself, but the boy she was with was all over her, and even from this distance, we could see that his right hand was under her skirt.
“I guess she’s not as shy as we all thought,” Kent muttered. I was going to suggest that someone might have spiked her soda, but before I could reply, he said, “There’s my father.”
We walked down the sidewalk to the driveway, and Kent practically lunged for the rear car door when his father stopped. I got in quickly, and he followed.
“How was it?”
“Okay,” Kent said.
His father hesitated and then nodded at the house.
“Everything all right in there? The music sounds pretty loud.”
“They’re celebrating a great school victory, Dad,” Kent said sharply.
His father nodded and started away. The silence between us made him uncomfortable. “You guys tired?”
“I guess,” Kent said.
“The great thing about being young is that you can burn the candle on both ends for a while, but believe me, it catches up with you.”
“Dad …”
“I know, I know. You guys have a right to make your own mistakes. Is that what you tell your parents, Semantha?”
I looked at Kent, who was looking out the window. “No, Mr. Pearson.”
“Good for you,” he said, and we drove almost the remainder of the way in silence. When we turned into our gated entrance, Kent muttered under his breath.
“What?” I asked.
“No wonder you’re a princess. You live in a castle,” he said.
I felt tears coming, but I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“I’m not a princess, Kent.”
Before he could get out to open my door, I opened it myself this time.
“Good night, Mr. Pearson, and thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Semantha.”
I went up the steps and didn’t turn around until they were nearly at the end of our long driveway. The moment I entered, Daddy came up from his den office.