Sliding into his seat, Lucas had momentarily wondered where this friendship – if it could be called that – had come up from, but then the images of all their little meetings flashed in his mind and he stopped. Just as the ocean was made of millions, gazillions of little droplets, the ‘hey’s and the ‘how’s it going?’s had contributed towards their friendship, he knew. On a few occasions, they’d also talked about other things- hobbies, interests, and Lucas had come to learn that Drake had a passion for music and theatre, that he’d taken Drama and Music, as well as Biology and Chemistry that semester, and was, unsurprisingly, a member of the school band. His other interests lay in activities such as rollerblading and soccer, but was generally lazy, and if given the choice, would live on the couch in front of the TV all weekend long.
“Let’s go to the park, then.”
Drake’s voice alerted him to the fact that they still hadn’t decided – he’d been listening half-heartedly, his mind more focused on why this discussion was being held with him around.
“Too childish. Any ideas, Lucas?”
He was dumbfounded; Gillian was asking him?
Before his silence could serve to make things awkward, Parker answered for him. “Of course he doesn’t! You’ve shot down the theatre, food, bowling, the park and skating. What else can we do?”
“Fine,” she grumbled, “the movies, then.”
“What movie?”
“We’ll decide later,” Parker addressed Drake, throwing a wary glance at Gillian.
She ignored him. “We agree on six, then?”
A consent rose amongst the other two boys, Lucas’ silence not unnoticed. “Luke? Six today?”
He was invited, then. “Yeah, sure.”
Drake frowned. He didn’t seem very enthusiastic, but before he could ask, the bell sounded, and Lucas stood up, wincing slightly. “You alright?”
“Yeah, I, uh, told you about the sound thing, right?”
“No , that’s not what I meant. The movie, today? You’re up for it?”
Lucas blushed before affirming.
“You didn’t seem all that psyched though.” It was a question.
The red deepened. “It’s nothing. I was just, well, surprised.”
“At what?”
He shook his head but responded anyway. “At the risk of making this awkward, again,” his reference was to their detention, “I was surprised that you’d ask me to come along.”
Drake was honestly surprised. “You’re our friend too, you know.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t say that, man. You’re not some charity case.”
*
“So, what music do you like to listen to?”
Drake had noticed the face Lucas had pulled as he browsed through each radio station he personally liked to listen to, and was intrigued. He didn’t seem to like any of it, and even though he’d assured Drake that the music was fine, Drake had tried to find something they’d both enjoy. All five preset stations later he still had no success..
“It’s fine, you can put whatever you want to.”
“I’m asking what you like.”
He didn’t say anything for a minute. Eventually, “It’s stuff nobody listens to, really.”
Oddball - II
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