Compositions of Us

06 · The Key to Confidence

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06 · The Key to Confidence

After a rather hectic week that ranged from Remy's to Joshua Anderson's mysterious ambush left unsaid, I was looking forward to the weekend once Friday came around. 

Joshua was sitting beside me at the lunch table. He had been joining us for lunch for the past week, yet I still had no idea what kind of person Joshua really was besides the narcissistic jerk he liked to project at me and the polite, well-kept boy he showcased to others. Joshua's bruises on his face did start to fade out a little, but the smiley-face bandaid was long gone. It would be pretty gross if he kept it until now. 

It was safe to say that Eric was better than how he was acting before. He still hasn't told me what was bothering him. Right now, our class president was showing signs of anxiety since he had to pick up his grandma later tonight. 

When Joshua noticed how Eric hadn't bothered to touch his lunch, he leaned in a bit closer to me. Not expecting the sudden proximity, I flinched which caused Joshua's lips to shift into a faint grin from amusement.

He asked, "Is his grandma that bad?"

Assuming that Eric told Joshua about his grandma's incoming arrival while they were working, I shook my head. "She's a kind lady. Eric's just blind sometimes."

Overhearing my words since I did answer in a joking tone, Eric's eyes jumped at me. 

He frowned, certainly not pleased by my humor. "That's because she's nicer to you and Mikaela. If I don't get accepted to a good school, I swear I'm going to be done —"

Calming my tensed friend, I motivated, "Eric, you're going to be fine. They don't send out letters until March or April. You applied to almost every prestigious school there is. You have a great record and a solid plan for your future. Panicking is not going to help your situation."  

As I pushed his tray closer, I insisted that he should start eating since lunch would be over in fifteen minutes. Following my suggestion, Eric sighed before he unraveled the chicken wrap he bought earlier. 

Smiling contently, the lunch table fell silent for the time being. It did feel incomplete since Mikaela wasn't here with us. She had to polish her cheer routine since the competition was near.

"Where's Mikaela by the way?" Joshua observed out loud.

Sometimes, I was beginning to think that Joshua could read my mind.

Eric muttered out, "Probably with her boyfriend."

Knitting my eyebrows at Eric, it seemed like that was his favorite excuse for Mikaela nowadays: 

She was "always" with Trevor. 

Hearing him say that, as if Mikaela was a love sick puppy, made me upset. Even though Mikaela really liked Trevor, she was full of dedication when it came to cheerleading. I had to get that straight to Eric's head. 

"She's not with Trevor. You know, if you bothered to talk to Mikaela, you would have known she's at practice right now." I bit my tongue, forgetting that Joshua was here with us.

Eric's dark brown eyes remained emotionless as he dropped his attention to his half eaten lunch. After a few seconds, Eric rewrapped his chicken wrap to its yellow packaging and stood up from his seat. Grabbing his belongings, he left without saying a word. 

Releasing a groan while we watched Eric stalk off, he was already in a bad mood. I just had to keep adding gasoline to the flames. I just never understood why he was connecting this sudden frustration to Mikaela. She didn't even do anything to him.