When Death Won't Take You

11: On the topic of high school

Ethel lived in a two-story apartment building a few miles away from the cafe where Tadashi lived. It was an old, brick building with an intricate iron fence and a lumpy lawn. A huge maple that belonged to the adjacent house shaded the whole place with a mysterious air.

Tadashi and Cinna, who were at the time fourteen and thirteen, respectfully, walked up the cobbled sidewalk to the front door. It was snowing slightly, though the flakes melted before they reached the ground.

Tadashi texted Ethel, while Cinna stood waiting, catching snowflakes on her tongue.

"She'll come down and let us in," Tadashi said, turning around to face Cinna. 

Cinna smiled at him and spun around on the landing outside the door, her arms held out. Her feet veered toward the stairs, and before she could stop herself, she fell down off of the landing onto the sidewalk.

Tadashi laughed and climbed down the stairs, offering his hand to her. "What's with the spinning, Cin?"

"I love winter." Cinna replied dreamily, clasping Tadashi's hand in hers and pulling herself up. 

"Winter? I thought you said you loved fall," said Ethel, catching Cinna's last comment as she opened the apartment's door.

"And you can't love two seasons?" Cinna said, ascending the stairs and gliding through the open door.

Tadashi followed Cinna through the door, murmuring a quick 'thank you' to Ethel as he passed her. Ethel closed the door behind her as she whisked inside, rushing to lead the way to her upstairs apartment.

Ethel's apartment was a little haphazard, reflecting perfectly the busy lives of her parents in its clutter of papers on the kitchen table and scatter of thick, dusty books on the couch in the living room. Ethel led the way to her room, which contained more stuff than it was made to hold, prohibiting there to be a single inch of spare space anywhere. 

"Don't you ever clean?" Tadashi said, still not quite used to the mess, even after a whole year of being friends with Ethel and Cinna.

"Yeah, of course. It's just that most of my stuff belongs on the floor." Ethel said as she flopped down onto her bed.

"But what if you want to use your floor?" Tadashi asked.

"I don't. I just use my bed." Ethel replied, rolling onto her stomach to make room for Cinna and Tadashi on the bed.

"Well, what if you need to find something?" Tadashi pushed.

"She doesn't, she just gets a replacement." Cinna broke in with a laugh, laying down with a sigh next to Ethel.

"I don't! I know where everything is because everything's in its place!" Ethel said to Cinna, annoyed.

"Hey, I'm joking, bestie. I've known you for years and you've never lost anything!" Cinna said, lightly punching Ethel's shoulder. "Now, down to business. Tadashi, what did we come here for again?"

"You don't remember why we came?" Tadashi said. He had been about to launch into a short summary of the reason they had come to inform Ethel, but now he paused, slightly annoyed.

"Well, I don't have a great memory." Cinna replied.

"But I've told you like five times! Well, I was going to tell Ethel anyway." Tadashi pulled his laptop out of his backpack and flipped it open, absentmindedly sitting down next to Ethel and Cinna.

"We've been friends for nearly a year now," Tadashi began. "But in all that time, we've never talked about what we'll  be in high school, and high school's coming on us fas--"

"You came here to talk about high school?" Ethel asked. "Way to ruin my good mood."

"You were in a good mood?" Cinna asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Shut up, Cinna," Ethel said dismissively without looking at her friend. "I'll let you know I am not talking about high school half a year before it starts."

"Then when are we going to talk about it?" Tadashi asked, sounding dumbfounded.

"Never," Cinna whispered dramatically.

"I might just drop out of high school," Ethel said, flopping back down on her bed.

"Not me, I'm making it to, and past, high school, thank you very much," Cinna replied, crossing her arms.

"Why can't we just talk about high school?" Tadashi asked, exasperated. "Like I said, it's coming on us fast--"

"Stop saying that, idiot!" Ethel said. "I'm not discussing high school! End of discussion!" She walked out of the room, then came back in. "On second thought, I'm not leaving you in here alone. Get out of my room!"

Cinna hopped off the bed and out of Ethel's room, and Tadashi followed slowly. 

"I literally came here to talk about high school!" Tadashi said as he went out into the kitchen. "Why am I even here if we're not going to do that?"

"I don't know. You could leave. I'm not making you stay," Ethel replied flatly.

"Fine, then! I'll leave!" Tadashi said, stalking out of the apartment.

As the door shut behind him, Ethel looked over at Cinna.

"Why is he still your boyfriend, again?" she asked.

Cinna shrugged. 

"Are you leaving, too?" Ethel said.

"Nah, I think I'll stay."

🏫

Tadashi stalked out of the building. The cold air felt good on his hot face. Cinna was so weird, never taking his side. Why were they still together, again? 

"Because I love her," Tadashi muttered to himself in response to that question that kept popping into his head at random moments. "We don't have to always agree to be able to love each other. Honestly, it's probably better if we don't always agree, every time that's happened to me before, I broke up shortly after with whoever it was I kept agreeing with."

As Tadashi walked down the steps that Cinna had recently fallen down, he realized he had forgotten his laptop back in the apartment. He didn't want to go back now, they'd just laugh at him. Just as he was about to head back up, the door to the building opened and Cinna came out. She handed him his laptop, then went back inside, the door locking behind her.