Now Cole was curious about that girl. Poor boy spent three hours trying to find her page on social networks. He tried all possible nicknames he could come up with. He failed. Then he asked all his friends (all three of them). Dylan, his classmate, was subscribed to her account. But theres nothing interesting, he said.
Ok, lets see. Cole opened Ivys page. There were only 6 posts. The first one was made more than two years ago. It showed Ivys photo where she was standing near the sea and looking at the sunset. She was wearing a nice dress. Cole almost felt the warmth of that day. Summer breeze was waving Ivys hair and touching something deep inside Coles heart.
In the second post Ivy shared a list of her favourite books. Thats intriguing, Cole thought. He found The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Vol de nuit by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in the list.
Ahh, French again, Cole sighed. Ok, maybe I should start learning it, or, at least, read some French books. The third one was The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle. Oh, this one is really worthy. I love it! Cole was into reading science fiction stories.
The next post presented a short video where Ivy was trying to play the guitar. The location was tagged Lake Michigan. It was a kind of a camping with a few tents and a campfire. Ivy pretended to be a rockstar that was hilarious and cute. She was laughing and singing. She looked free and careless very attractive
Dinner's ready! Cole heard his moms voice. Ok, Im going to see the rest later, Cole switched the phone off.
How are you, son? Coles mother asked when he appeared in the dining room.
Everythings alright. Hows your work? His mother owned a flower shop.
Ahh, plenty of work! I think Ill need your help tomorrow. Are you free after school?
Sure.
Great! You can also bring your friends with you.
Cole liked the flower fragrance that he could smell from his mother. Her name was Sheryl. She had dark hair, green eyes. Cole looked a lot like her. He had green eyes too. Sheryl was always positive and sensitive. Cole adored her. She was an example of a woman for him.
After dinner the boy had to do some household chores and forgot to investigate Ivys page. Anyway, he didnt have time for it.
The next day Cole looked through the rest of the posts. There was a photo of Ivy and her friend whose name was signed as Cami. They were best friends, but Ivy had to move to another city.
She must be lonely here, he supposed.
The last two posts were about some events. There were advertisements which didnt interest Cole. He didnt even read them.
The bell rang and Cole had to go. He had a PE lesson. He was good at sports and liked to train. Doing sports also helped him to abstract from the constant process of thinking. It was necessary sometimes.
Vocabulary
judgemental adj осуждающий
speak out v высказываться
doubt v сомневаться
envy v завидовать
reveal v раскрывать
weakness n слабость
come up with v придумывать
fail v потерпеть неудачу
warmth n теплота
tag v помечать
hilarious adj веселый
fragrance n аромат
constant adj постоянный
IV
At the end of that school day Ivy realized that she had left her jacket in the dressing room. She headed there and, all of a sudden, saw Cole coming out of the gym. He was putting his T-shirt on and didnt notice Ivy. The girl stopped and smiled. Cole saw her and froze for a moment.
Hmm Hey! she said.
Hi
Youre Cole, right?
Yeah.
Im Ivy.
I know, Cole felt confused.
Well, I would never think youre good at sports.
Im not.
But you look really athletic.
Maybe a little.
Ok, Ive left my jacket here. Ive got to find it.
I see. Cole was going to walk away.
Wait, Cole What are you doing after school? Ivy kept shocking the boy.
I need to help my mother at her flower shop. Why?
Cool! Can I go with you?
Hmm WellWhy not? Cole couldnt understand why she was acting like that.
Fine! Just a minute. Ill take my jacket!
Ivy left, Cole stayed shocked.
The girl was back in five minutes and they headed to the shop. Ivy turned out to be a talkative girl. On their way to the shop Ivy was telling stories about her previous school and friends. Cole was listening and wondering why she was telling him all that stuff. First, he was feeling nervous. He even doubted if he had done the right thing to let Ivy go with him. Cole wasnt used to hanging out with other peers, especially girls. He didnt know what to say and felt embarrassed. But Cole relaxed some time later. He realized that Ivy wasnt like other girls he had ever known. At least, she doesnt get on my nerves anymore. Plus, she seems to be smart. Meanwhile, Ivy was laughing at her own joke. Cole missed it but smiled. He asked, Do you have friends here?
Nope. And you?
I have three mates. Jacob is my best friend. You might have heard of him. He is our school president.
Ah, okay.
They came to Sheryl shop.
Wow! What a surprise! She greeted them. Hello!
This is Ivy, this is my mom. Cole introduced them.
Im Sheryl.
Im happy to meet you, Sheryl. Ivy was polite.
Come on! Sheryl told them to follow her.
What are we going to do? Cole asked.
As you know, Valentines Day is coming up in three days.
Oh, right. Its in three days.
Yes. So, we need to prepare bouquets and create flower decorations. Also, theres some work with orders, logistics, and loading.