Behind the Books | ✔

03. Competition

ELIAS

"YOU SHOULDN'T WALK and draw at the same time," Cannon suggested with a facepalm I could see with the corner of my eye. "You might bump into something . . . or someone."

It's already the second day of school and I'm already sketching random lines in the back of one of my notebooks. During my entire high school experience so far, I've been sketching in notebooks and loose papers whenever I feel bored in school, which clearly is right now.

Ayden "Cannon" Daniels, my best friend, has always been there to warn me not to do so. Of course, I always find a way to do the opposite. We've been friends for as long as I remember. Maybe kindergarten or first grade. We became friends just by speaking with each other. During lunch, we traded sandwiches our mothers made for us. During recess, we drew whatever we could think of on the sidewalk outside our school with chalk.

Cannon always gave off bright vibes, like colors on a rainbow that reflect throughout sunlight. He almost always found a light through everything, no matter how dark it may be.

Now that we're seniors in high school, it's time to be a bit more serious about everything, starting with me not sketching something on whatever paper I could find.

"I know I shouldn't walk and draw at the same time, Cannon," I chuckled, closing the cover of my spiral notebook. "I just can't help it."

"I get that, but when you bump into someone or something, don't say I didn't warn you," he tutted.

"I won't," I said before stuffing my notebook into my backpack.

If I hadn't put away my notebook, I probably visually wouldn't have noticed that we were almost at the cafeteria for lunch. People crowded through the doors, chatting and joking with each other loudly with each other. Cannon and I squeezed our way through the doors, making a beeline towards the back. The smell of freshly cooked food prickled my nose, automatically causing my stomach to roar. 

We joined the line, which only had a few people in it for the time being. I reached to the front pocket of my backpack, rummaging through everything in it to see if I could find a few dollars. There was my tangled earbuds and crumpled sticky notes filled with random sketches, but no money. Not even a penny. I should've made sure I had a few dollars in my backpack this morning, but I guess I forgot.

"Cannon, can I borrow five dollars? I forgot my money at home," I questioned, clutching my fingers together. "I'll pay you back tomorrow."

"Of course you can have some money, Eli," Cannon tutted, reaching towards the pocket of his bright blue jeans. He fished a five dollar bill out of it. "Don't worry about paying me back."

"Thank you so much," I accepted the dollar from his hand.

"No problem," he said, gesturing towards the moving line in front of us.

It's now my turn to order what I want for lunch. The food they serve here at Crews isn't the best, but it isn't the worst. Overall, I'd rather order something to eat from a restaurant or grab something from home instead of eating food from here, but that isn't possible right now. I requested for a hamburger, fries, apple slices, along with a water bottle. The lunch lady that worked at the register charged me four dollars and fifty cents. It's the perfect price, considering that I only have five dollars. 

I handed her the money and she gave me my change before stuffing it into my back pocket. I grasped my fingers tightly against my tray, stepping aside a bit to allow the lunch line to move on. After Cannon paid for his meal, we strutted across the cafeteria, searching for an empty table to sit at. The only idle table that we could see was near the large windows . . . which is also where the trash cans are. The unpleasant odor of the trash cans invaded the area, along with a few flies that buzzed around. Gross.