New York Dreams • mnz

Chapter 7

I shovel another bit of my salad into my mouth with the fork in my right hand while double-tapping my iPhone screen with my left, liking another photo. I didn't usually have the habit of scrolling through my phone while eating, but I was having lunch alone today since both Chloe and Sophia had other classes to attend and I didn't want to look lonely. Suddenly, I hear a tray sliding onto the table opposite me and look up in surprise, my eyes meeting Corey's navy blue ones. "Can I sit here?" he asks with a smile. "Sure!" I reply, glad to not be alone anymore. Corey settles himself opposite me and quickly starts gobbling down his lunch. "Don't choke," I warn him as I watched the food on his plate disappearing rapidly. He pauses and laughs, consciously slowing down his eating after that.

"So who are you planning to audition for?" Corey asks, referring to Cinderella. "Cinderella, duh. I bet every single girl in that studio wants to take that role," I answer. He nods thoughtfully, finishing up his food and moving on to the soda. "What about you? What are you auditioning for?" I ask back. Corey simply shrugs with what seemed like a suspicious smile. "Why? are you gonna audition for a girl part?" I tease. "Are you implying that you think I'm gay?" he laughs. "Perhaps it's your childhood dream to dance in a tutu. Isn't that why you took up ballet in the first place, to wear a tutu?" I jokingly continue. "Is that why you joined dance? To wear a tutu?" he asks incredulously. "No! I joined because I wanted to be as graceful as those Swan Lake dancers I saw as a kid!" I deny. "Really? That's it?" Corey prods playfully. "Oh wait! I just remembered another reason!" I exclaim. Corey raises his eyebrows, waiting for me to spill. "Even as a kid, I knew we had to live a healthy lifestyle and I was smart enough to realize that dance was an awesome form of exercise!" I explain, trying to keep a straight face. Corey immediately bursts out laughing, his laugh deep and joyous, making me drop my serious composure to laugh along with him.

~

I'm having my usual evening yogurt in the kitchen when Chloe comes downstairs. Her face lights up when she sees me and she hurries over. "So?" she prompted. "So?" I reply, pretending that I didn't know what she wanted to hear about. "So, a little birdie perched on my shoulder this afternoon and told me you had lunch with Corey?" she continues, raising an eyebrow. "So?" I simply replied, unwilling to give her what she wanted to hear. "So, this little birdie also told me you made him laugh?" she adds. "So?" I replied again, purposely trying to irritate Chloe. "You managed to cheer him up," Chloe states. I look at her with confusion. Cheer up? Corey had always appeared to be reasonably cheerful. "I mean, he's been smiling non-stop since you came over," Chloe babbles, oblivious to my expression. "But Corey seems like a really cheery person. I can't even imagine him upset. That guy has limitless joy," I say confusedly. Chloe glances at me, noticing my look. "Sometimes the most depressed people may seem like the happiest people," she simply tells me before leaving me to finish my yogurt alone.

Depressed? Corey was depressed?

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Omg sorry I forgot to update (for the second consecutively time)! I already had the chapter ready I just didn't publish it. But some good news for you guys, I finally got round to continuing my chapter plan so now I have about 25 chapters planned out so it'll be easier for me when I get round to the writing part. Hopefully, this will mean faster updates when I'm free!