The Albedo Effect

03

It was simply inevitable, as Oscar Wilde had so appropriately stated. We would have spoken to each other without any introduction (it was fate as far as I believed). I am sure of that. He told me so (way in the future). He, too, felt we were destined to know each other.

"Elie, just come. You don't want to have to walk home, do you?" Frances pleaded with me. It was the last period on Friday, it was the home stretch of the first week and since my father had to take the car into town this morning, I had hitched a ride with Frances. But Frances now had cheerleading practice.

"Maybe I can just hitch a ride with Kale?"

"Football." The brunette smirked. I pursed my lips and sighed. I really had no energy left to spare for walking three miles home. She clapped her hands and dragged me to her locker to get her practice gear. Then, I waited impatiently in front of the locker room for her to change.

"Cute bow." I smirked at her as she emerged from the locker room, tightening her ponytail.

"Shut up." She shoved me slightly as we walked out to the field, giggling.

"Okay, You can sit here, unless you want to join in?" She asked me hopefully when we got to the bleachers. They looked cold and hard, and quite frankly, uncomfortable.

"I'm good. But for all the pain you are making me endure, I better get an extra large package of twizzlers at the movies," I told her before she left to get stretching for her practice. One of the only reasons why I was even considering waiting was because, every Friday, and most other days of the week when we weren't swamped with homework, we took a trip down to The Palace. It was this magical place where you could watch movies and play vintage arcade games at the same place. I'd like to say I was a wiz at them.

I took a seat on one of the middle benches, closer to the edge so that if I needed to go somewhere, mainly the bathroom since I had had a large tea at lunch, I could get out without any hassle. A few minutes after I had taken out my book and started to read, large voices filled the air. Football was also starting up practice.

"Hey, don't we have class time for that?" Some football jock had come up to me. I didn't bother looking up as I replied.

"Well, if you're like me and time seems to disappear before you can take hold of it, you too would use every second you got," I said before capturing my spot by placing a finger on the word and looked up to meet the face of a remotely familiar, handsome player decked out in his full armour. He smiled at me like I was saying some joke.

"I'm Pinn," He told me. Then I remembered where I had seen him before. His real name was Peter Kinney, but like Kale, he went by a nickname. We had gone to kindergarten together, although I wasn't going to tell him that.

"Elizabeth." I held out my hand for him to shake. He removed his glove and took it.

"I know who you are," He told me. I raised my eyebrows at him but his crooked smile was contagious and I smiled back.

"Hey Pinn! Stop flirting and get your ass out here!" I flushed at the statement saying that he was flirting with me, and looked over to see it was Kale. When he saw me looking he gave me an encouraging thumbs up. It was proficient to say that I replied with an eye roll. 

"You should do as he says and carry on with practice. I'm sure your coach wouldn't be very happy with you socializing when these precious hours are so numbered before the first game," I joked with him.

"Where's the fun in that when I could be talking to a fair lady instead? And just so you know, captains get special preference." He winked at me. I could tell that he was trying his hardest to impress me. I must say that I was continuing on with that.