Intrepid » n.h. au

Chapter 10

It's raining outside; they said it'd be snowing by the beginning of next week. I couldn't finish a presentation for school today. The cafeteria at school was full so I had to sit with Leanne. They didn't have Coke so now I'm drinking Pepsi. I'm at her work place when she isn't.

I sigh after finally ungluing my eyes from the window, and look down at my glass; nothing is going right today.

Everything is actually so wrong, that I'm beginning to imagine what things would be like if I'd stayed in Ireland now. Maybe school would be going better. Maybe more people would understand me when I'm speaking. Maybe girls would be still classified as a simple subject. Maybe-

Maybe I wouldn't be seeing her running inside the small diner, with a newspaper over her head – even though she's wearing a beanie – and cussing loudly despite quite a few people that are inside too.

A smile appears on my face – for probably one of the first times today, as I watch her walk to the counter; no, I definitely wouldn't be seeing this if I'd stayed in Ireland. It's amazing how she can brighten my shitty day by just being in my sight.

I lean to the right, deciding not to call her over. She's talking to the blonde, curly-haired girl whom I've told to let Angel know I'm here – and as if on cue, she looks over her shoulder and our eyes meet for a few seconds, during which I send her a small wave and a smile, and she rolls her eyes.

Looks like I'm not the only one having a bad day, then. "What are you even doing here?" She asks, still walking toward me, and shaking her head too. I knew that would be her first question.

"Came for another lobster," I tell her, narrowing my eyes a little. "What the hell do you think I'm doing?"

She sighs a little, and flops down on the red bench across from me, facing the right. "I thought you'd given up," She says in a flat tone, and purses her lips after to make it seem even more casual.

"What do you mean?" I ask, leaning back in my own seat.

"I mean, I thought you'd given up."

"On what?"

"On me."

I'm surprised that her tone is a little angry; almost like she's pissed that I haven't given up. "You should have known better," I say, almost ask, as I continue looking at her. While she, naturally, isn't looking at me at all.

"No, but after Friday night... that's the only reasonable thing you could have done."

I blink a couple times, "I have so many questions about what you just said," I say, almost through a laugh as I think about her words. Somehow I always have to decode them; like now, I'm wondering whether she thinks like that because there's a reason she didn't want anything to happen between us that night, or because of the guy that's knocked on her door while I was there, or maybe because of who the guy was. And about fifteen thousand other things, but these are the main three.

Angel rolls her eyes and keeps them focused on the ceiling for a few moments. "Don't you always?" She mutters and surprises me as she turns toward me, making eye contact all of a sudden. "Since I'm in a relatively good mood, give me one of them."

I smile, amused; this is what she calls a relatively good mood? "Well, since I'm polite, first I'm gonna ask you how's your day been, and-"

I cut myself off, and lean over the table, scanning her face with a frown. "And what happened to your face?"

"Nothing," She says – more like shoots the words out of a shotgun, and leans away from me, covering her left cheekbone with her hand. The exact spot I was asking about.