They Don't Exactly Cover This Subject In Boarding School

43. Friday, January 10th

Philip's phone buzzed and he glanced at it, carefully put down the wooden spoon he was using to stir noodles in a pot, before picking it up.

George ❤?: Hey, are you busy? If you aren't, wanna come over and watch Mean Girls with me? (5:53pm)

Philip hesitated, his thumbs hovering over the screen, before tapping out an answer.

Me: Sorry, I'm busy tonight. Making dinner, then Georges wants to go to a movie. (5:56pm)

Georges did want to go to a movie, but there weren't any plans to go to one tonight.

George ❤?: That's too bad. What about tomorrow? (5:57pm)

Me: I'm busy all weekend. Maybe some other time, sorry. (6:00pm)

He did have a few shifts at The Lewis Cafe, but he did have some free time.

George ❤?: Alright, maybe some other time. (6:02pm)

Philip sighed, turned off his phone, and leaned against the counter. Then, he turned his phone back on and stared at the heart next to George's name.

Was he really going to distance himself from George because of some harmless flirting? If George had anything serious with Richard, he probably would have already told Philip.

Or maybe it was serious, and George just hadn't told him, or wasn't ready to. And maybe, in a few years, Philip would get a wedding invite, and he'd have to go, and pretend he wasn't hurting because of it.

"When is the spaghetti going to be ready?" Georges asked, appearing in the doorway to the kitchen.

Philip glanced that the pot. "Soon, probably."

Georges frowned. "What's bugging you?" Georges was good at guessing people's moods.

Philip thought for a second before speaking "If someone you liked was flirting with someone else, would you still bother to like them, or would you try to get over it and move on?"

Georges tapped his index finger against his chin, thinking. "Depends on the person." He said, finally "All you can do is trust your gut. And my gut is hungry, so please call me when the spaghetti is ready." And then Philip was left alone with his thoughts.

He turned his phone back on since it had turned itself off, hesitated, then erased the '❤?' Next to George's name.

'Better safe than sorry.' Philip thought, before focusing his attention on the noodles he had been making.

(Does this count as angst?)