| Mondays. They suck.
Across the school students move just a little slower than usual. Teachers talk just a little heavier. Even the birds outside the lunchroom seem less inclined to sing despite the clear blue skies and warm spring sunshine.
Seated at his typical table, a book open in front of him, Abe yawns lazily as he flips a page. Biology is the flavor of the day. A sour flavor judging by the scowl he sends it. His bag is on the ground near his feet, his lunch pushed away and of course his phone rests on the table next to him. For once, he seems to be mostly alone this lunch period. Even the normal crowd of popular kids are nowhere to be seen.
Yet.
Yes, Biology. Saya's in Abe's class, actually - which is held at the end of the day. She sits down at the table next to him, looking curiously at the book. Today her hair is in two thick braids draped over her shoulders, and the theme of her wardrobe is bright blue. "Hey," she says, opening her lunch box and taking out a wholesome-looking meal in various baggies and small plastic containers. "Didn't you read the homework?" she asks. "Quick, what's apoptosis?" She gives him a teasing sort of grin.
Donny makes his way into the lunch room. He keeps his guitar at home, since it makes him a target. He finds a seat at a nearby table, not looking to bother anyone of upper class. He pulls out a notebook with his lunch and jots things down as they come to mind.
Abe laughs, lowering his eyes back to the book again, but just for a few clicks. "Uhm...43." His answer is rather stereotypical of someone who has no idea how he's going to fake it this week. "I /completely/ blanked on this homework. Plus I skipped Friday's last hour and I'm pretty sure that any sympathy I could have wrung out of this is spent on that." He grins though not to very broken up about it. He also sends a glance toward the boy as he drops down nearby. He gets a nod, but Abe's hardly one to insert himself into someone's business.
Saya is duly not bothered by Donny. She grins at Abe, and laughs at his answer. She makes a buzzer noise. "Ehhh! Wrong! The correct answer is cellular death," she tells him, flipping to a prior page and pointing out a nice illustration with a caption and everything, explaining just that. "If you forget to read a chapter, I've found the best thing to do is just...study all the pictures and their captions, and read all the vocabulary word, and then skim. It'll get you through class at least, and then you can catch up and really read it, later." She has a bite to eat, and then glances over at Donny when Abe nods at him. "He a friend?" she asks curiously.
Abe chuckles, though he also allows her a rather appreciative nod. "That maybe will get me through. I can actually read tonight." Distractions are everywhere, including at the nearby table. Not too distracting though, as his attention easily returns to Saya. "No, not really. He's some musician guy..I know he lives on my street and that he dates a girl that reminds me of Meadow but that's about all I got on him." He shrugs. Abe isn't exactly prone to making friends. Nice as he is. Shyness keeps him at bay.
"Mm, good luck," Saya says. "Hopefully there won't be a pop quiz. Anyway...where were you on Friday?" she asks curiously. "We got to use the microscopes, it was kind of neat." She has a few more bites of her lunch, and then glances over at him. After several seconds a blush blooms on her cheeks, and she can't quite meet his eyes.
Abe chuckles, though it's clear he's not a biology fan, based on the look he sends her. A mix of amusement and slight disinterest to the idea of microscopes. As she asks about where he was though, he earns a much more thoughtful expression, one that draws him to finally open the soda on the table next to him. "I had a really bad headache and an equally bad day so Meadow and I went and ate and skipped. All I really did was nap while she went on and on about endangered south African orange treefrogs...or...something." He doesn't seem too sure on the topic. Just that he took a nap. "We're neighbors." He then adds with a laugh. "Not exactly the best excuse for Coach though."
Saya looks at him while he talks about skipping with Meadow, and her blush fades. "Tree frogs," she says quietly. She pushes her potato salad around with her fork, quiet for a few moments. "So...do you like her?" she asks. "I mean, /like/ like her?" she says, emphasizing the first 'like' so that he should understand she means to ask if he likes Meadow as more than just friends.
Abe squints, his lips quirking gently. "Meadow and me? I couldn't imagine that she would have any interest in me. I don't recycle and I'm pretty sure that I'm single-handedly responsible for one of the holes in the ozone." He laughs, trying to ease the girl's nerves. "I really don't spend much time thinking about dating. I can't imagine anyone that would want to deal with me and my weirdness for very long."
"But if she was interested, would you be interested back?" Saya asks, opening her eyes wide and staring at him intently. "Or...what would you do if someone told you that they could totally deal with your weirdness?" she asks him. "Like -- like, who would you date if you could? Or take to the prom at least?"
Abe shrugs. "I don't not like her. She's pretty..but lots of girls are pretty. I guess if she asked me out I would go, same as if anyone else asked or wanted to. But I don't see why going on a date has to be a committed relationship right out of the box." He frowns. Even he is aware that he's missing loads of things in this conversation. "If you can't tell, I'm not good with those whole 'dating' ordeal. I guess I just never caught the bug. Or the prom bug. I don't know if I'm even going to go."
Saya says, "No one has asked me. My mom keeps going, 'Saya, we need to shop for your prom dress, soon. Aren't you going?'" She stops imitating her mother and then sighs a little. "No one's asked me. All my friends already have prom dates." She frowns down at her lunch. "I'll probably just go stag like all the pathetic losers," she mumbles. "But I really do want to go. It's supposed to be fun and all. With lots of dancing."
"I'm sure someone will ask you." He chuckles, his eyes narrowing gently toward her. "Some of us have a hard time in crowds and /some/ of us also don't dance." He nudges her just as lightly. "Anyway, stag doesn't mean loser. Stag means you can do anything you want. It could be fun..not that I expect it will be an issue."
Saya just kind of looks at him. "Sure," she says flatly. She clearly doesn't actually believe that. "Any minute now someone nice and hot will ask me to the prom," she says. "Like Doug, maybe." She rolls her eyes. "Well...lunch is about over. Gotta get going. See you in biology." She stands up.
Abe sighs, his head lowering as a hand reaches to rub at the back of his neck. "Okay Saya.." Yet again he seems to have missed something pretty big, and again Saya has left him with another bad taste in his mouth. "Later." Damn females.
|
