To shift my point of view

 

How did Junie do it? Mattie was exhausted going everywhere with Rafe. And then there was the Sunday brunch at the coffee shop. He was there too. Always lending a hand.

"Maybe he thinks you're an invalid," Junie cracked up as if Mattie better get to bed.

"I don't know why I'm so tired," Mattie winced as she put her books on her desk. Really, her room was a mess. It felt like she never had any time for herself.

Naturally, Junie was crunching on some almonds and looking through her messages from Darry. 

Mattie had lost track of those two. Rafe told her it was better off that way. Of course, Rafe texted her and said he would be there in a minute or two.

Mattie closed her eyes, what was he up to now? Of course, he gave her a jolt of reality. Yet her back hurt. She felt so old. 

Junie didn't stay home long after school. She was meeting up with Darry at the Youth Center for something.

"You better not eat pizza!" Mattie yelped. She heard Junie's mother this morning. Junie was spending too much of her allowance these days. It seemed Junie was the one who was buying things for Darry.

"I know!" Junie yelped back even if she was out the door with barely a coat on. 

It wasn't long until Rafe showed up. He had a way of planning a whole day into thirty minutes. A lot of times, most of it didn't pan out. Like visiting Lily's gram.

"Are you sure, you just want to see her Gram," Mattie had asked the time that Rafe wanted to introduce Mattie at Thanksgiving to Lily's Gram.

"She and I are tight," he'd said, but she wondered if he still thought about Lily. Not that it bothered her that much. But Lily certainly didn't want to be around them. It was as if she was in a league of her own. Somehow, Mattie thought it would be hard to live up to Lily. 

Having a part-time job was taking a toll on Mattie, even if it was one day a week. Of course, having Rafe around was a full-time job. She wanted to tell him they needed to take a break, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings, either.

It wasn't long until she heard his scooter. He raced in and was in her room before she had time to tidy anything.

"You're not sick are you?" He looked around at the piled clothes on the floor.

She shook her head, no. This was her chance to tell him how she felt, but he was folding clothes in a minute. He had them so organized and could fit tight in a drawer. She almost choked on a laugh. How come she hadn't thought of this before?

"How did you learn to do that?" She wanted to know.

"My dad does it this way," he shrugged as if it was no big deal. He had the clothes put away. Undies included.

"I really don't feel like doing anything," she admitted.

"That's fine," he smiled. "You know I like doing nothing with you anyway."

Maybe it was best not to know how long low energy and high energy could suffice together.