If the table had erupted when Jake got near it, it absolutely imploded after the girls heard what he said. Lissa didn't have a moment to think about what he said. And they all went on so much that it was just one excited jumble of noise. Nothing intelligible came from it, but the girls had fun giggling and screeching.
Lissa spent the afternoon fighting the urge to psycho analyze her exchange with Jake, especially the part at the end where he went out the doors that are never used. If you went out the cafeteria side, you had to walk way out and around the building, since it was on the ground level. No one ever used the door, unless as a class you cut through the cafeteria to get outside for a lesson or something.
He was hurried in his speech too and it seemed to surreal. He said that his crush on her was almost too real. What does that even mean? Lissa kept trying to just wave it off, but it wasn't much use.
It was in her nature to analyze. Or perhaps it was nurtured into her by her scientist father. Either way she liked to break things apart and dig for deeper meanings. She like literature for that same reason. She could look at the words an author chose and dig into the layers of meaning there.
Jake going out those doors in the cafeteria made no sense. If it had been Leo disappearing into the fog, that would make sense. Leo was dark and creepy. He wore a duster. He was the kind of kid who disappeared into the fog. Jake was the kind of kid who got lost in the fog. Jake was the kind of kid who got lost in the grocery store.
Lissa was trying not to make too much out of it all. Jake was hot and interested and that was worth a lot considering she had never had a boyfriend. All of her hard work was paying off. She wanted Jake to notice her and Jake did notice her. She wanted to have a cute date to prom. Given prom was a long way out but it would be here soon enough.
Of course her calculations were a bit off. She figured it would take a little longer to reel him in. In her estimate, a relationship wouldn't start until after Christmas break, probably not until after Valentine's day.
Mid November to mid February was a serious danger zone for any relationship. She just wanted to hover on the fringe and then swoop in after Valentine's day. Nevertheless, he had admitted to having a crush on her. That seemed like a good sign.
Of course, what if she wasn't who he thought she was? What if he had a crush on some idea of her that she just wasn't? That kind of thing happened all the time. You see someone, you get an idea about who they are, and the less time you spend with the person the more you build up the idea. You overlook things that don't fit into your concept of the person, and then you really spend some time with them.
At first, they are exactly like you imagined. But little by little the image you've projected on the person starts to dim and the real person starts to show through. She hoped that it wouldn't happen to her. If Jake got to know her and didn't like her, she'd be back to square one for prom.
She would probably make it to the semi-formal at Christmas. At least she'd have some nice pictures from that. Lissa scolded herself for even thinking like that. She knew it was ridiculous. She had such a bad habit of over analyzing everything. At least she didn't imagine this relationship going on to marriage and children. Of course, she had no plans for Jake beyond prom.
She figured that was keeping her from playing the scenario out to that extreme. Still he didn't really know her and anything could happen. He did say he had a crush on her. And no matter what the version of her he had was, it had to be close to the truth. After all, she wasn't the kind of girl who did herself up like a porcelain doll.
She was a plain girl who was very much, what you see is what you get. If he was really crushing on her, then who knows they might be dating come spring. Then again, Jake never seemed to date anyone. Maybe the relationship, if one was to come, would take time to develop.
She didn't know for sure, but she was struggling not to think too much on it. She needed a distraction, but she wasn't getting one. Soon the last bell rang and she headed to her dad's classroom.
Mr. Morris was just as distracted as Lissa. He was moving around his lab resetting materials and picking up loose ends. Lissa slid into one of the tables and watched as her dad busied himself around his classroom. His distracted behavior was almost a distraction for her as she tried to find the root of it.
"I'll be ready to go in a few minutes, Lissa," Mr. Morris said.
"No worries," Lissa said rooting through her book bag. She knew she had written down her homework assignments, but she wasn't sure what they were. She flipped through her planner looking for the annotations.
Some problems for calculus, little reading for English, and that looked like about it. A relatively light night for homework. She was thankful for that. She needed a lazy night and some rest.
Mr. Morris finished straightening up and packed his bag to go home. He walked over to the table where Lissa was and looked down at her. He couldn't help but notice how distracted she seemed.
He slid into the seat across from her and unshouldered his bag. He needed to lay it all on the line so he could move on, so they could move on.
"Listen, Kid. What I have to say. What I need to say is not easy. But I need to just lay it all on the line. Clear the air. Any number of cliched expressions that mean come clean," Mr. Morris said in a rush.
"Dad, you're making me kind of nervous right now," Lissa said, trying to figure out exactly what her father had done.
"I don't know where to start is the problem. You've done nothing, and well your mom can't leave us again. So really you have little to worry about. I've just done somethings I guess I'm not proud of," Mr. Morris said.
"Well, you always tell me to start at the beginning," Lissa said reaching across the table and taking her dads hand in hers, "start there."
"Okay, well for starters, Leo is the mystery man who saved me from the attack being any worse at Sheetz. That's now something I can be certain about. And when I thought that he was the one, well I wanted to know why and I wanted to know why he didn't want to be named," Mr. Morris said suddenly on a roll.
Lissa wanted to interrupt and ask questions, but she knew that if she let him go she would get a lot more out of him. If she interrupted and his flow was interrupted he's get lost and leave things out.
Mr. Morris continued, "When you saw me at Mr. Andrews room, I wasn't trying to get him to make Leo your lab partner, I was getting Leo's home address. I wanted to speak with him, his parents, someone who I could figure this kid out some."
Lissa could sense the hesitation, the calculations, in what her father was saying. She hedged her bets and interrupted, "You said you were coming clean."
"I did, didn't I?" Mr. Morris said. He hated being called out. He wasn't lying, but he was withholding information which was the same as lying in the grand scheme of things.
"I went over there to see that the kid was just as much of an animal as I've always thought. I went over to prove my harsh and maybe somewhat unfounded impression of him right," Mr. Morris said.
"And did you?" Lissa asked.
"Not exactly, but eventually. I never saw his parents or him for that matter. I met a whole cast of interesting characters. There was a butlerish girl, an event planner, a cook and her son," Mr. Morris said more like a question than a statement.
"Whoa, back up. An event planner? What does Leo or his parents need with an event planner?" Lissa asked.
"See that's the thing. I go the distinct impression that there are no parents at that house. I think Leo is on his own, well besides the servants or workers or whatever you call them. I think. I don't know, but I think there's something really dark going on there. I heard thrashing and stomping coming from an upper level in the house. I think it was Leo trashing something. Mrs. Potts said he never came down for regular meals."
Lissa interrupted again, she just couldn't help herself, "Mrs. Potts? Is she the cook?"
"Yes," Mr. Morris answered, "and her son Chip lives there too. A much younger boy. It was weird the servants, Samantha, Jessica, Mrs. Potts, and Chip seemed to be very much a family unit. And they referenced the way things had been. But then I was rushed out of the house."
"That is weird," Lissa said. "I mean who has servants these days. Like royalty or something but not here. And like live in servants. It doesn't seem real. I mean I know it is but you know it seems crazy. Sorry go on."
"Right, so that's where I was when you were having your study session here. Which is why I was so shocked to see Leo here when I got back. He must have left his house right after me and took some shorted route here. I don't even know how he knew our address. And while I didn't respond well to his presence in our house, he had every right to invade our our home after I had invaded his," Mr. Morris said.
"Wow, Dad, that's a lot to weigh on a person. So what will you do?" Lissa asked.
"Well, I confronted him. I wanted to be here early today to try and find him and squash this thing," Mr. Morris said.
"And?" Lissa asked.
"He sort of asked for a favor which I said I was not at liberty to grant," Mr. Morris said, turing his gaze to his hands on the table. He stated to pick at his cuticles.
"Like?" Lissa asked.
"You," Mr. Morris said looking up to gauge her response.
"He wants me? Like WANT want or what?" Lissa asked.
"Well, he would like to spend time with you. Hang out or whatever you kids call it. I told him that that wasn't something I could make you do. And he said that I could encourage it. But I don't know if I can. I mean he still gives me a very bad vibe. I'm not comfortable with you spending time with him," Mr. Morris said.
"Well, to be fair, he did save your life, which saved my life. At least as I know it. So I'd say that we do owe him something. And while I do agree that he buries the creepy needle, I imagine he's not really dangerous. It's not like he's a real werewolf or vampire or any of the other weird stories people tell about him. Daddy, he saved your life," Lissa said.
"I know, Lissa, but we don't really owe him anything," Mr. Morris said.
"Daddy, you don't really believe that and neither do I. If spending time with him is a way I can thank him for still having you around then it's the least I can do," Lissa said. She thought, besides I'm curious about him anyway.
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