First Glance

Blueberry Pocky

I grabbed a cup of coffee from the Starbucks near our school for Layla, the girl needs her daily dose of caffeine so she doesn't go on a rampage. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the student council room as Layla opened the lid of the cup to take in a waft of her favourite drink. 

"Have I ever told you how much I appreciate you? Because you're literally the best, I can't thank you enough." Layla immediately cheered up and started gliding through all her urgent paperwork for the election. "Yes, you tell me that every single day Lay." I laughed, taking a sip of my own chocolate Frap. 

"Oh, how could I ever repay you?" Layla said dramatically while skimming through the documents in hand, highlighting all the important points. "Hm, let's see... You could... Give me all the Hershey's in your locker." I grabbed one of the papers on the desk, filled with candidates for the election. 

"Ellie, I can't do that. Gary would kill me, you know he loves his Hershey's." Layla sighed. "No fair, can't he buy his own snacks? He's your brother anyways." I frowned, disappointed in Layla's words. Layla let out a soft chuckle and concentrated on her work.

While browsing through the name list, one particular name caught my eye. "Seriously? Angela Miller is running for Student Body Pres?" I said in disgust. Angela was one of the bitchy ones, thinking she owns the school just because she's rich, pretty and the most cliché part, captain of the cheerleading team. I honestly don't even know why she's in the Student Council, she barely does any work anyway. I'd probably say I'm in here and helping out more than she is.

"Unfortunately, yes. And she actually might win since she's so popular." Layla took her eyes off the papers she was working on and leaned back in her seat. "She's been trying so hard to be all friendly with me, it's kinda scary." Layla continued. 

"Well, you kind of are the one in charge here. Everyone listens to you and the teachers certainly wouldn't approve of a president that you don't favour." I put the piece of paper back neatly into the pile of reports on the desk. "What? That's not true." Layla shrugged and shook her head, unaware of how influential she is in this school. "Whatever you say, Lay. I'm heading out, catch ya later." I turned to the door and showed myself out of the student council room. 

"No, no! Please! Please! Please don't leave me! I love you!" Liv's loud voice rang clearly in the theatre. "And, scene! Great job today. Pack up and we'll continue after school. Thank you!" Mr Cooper yelled out to the cast members. 

"Ellie! How's my baby?" Liv spotted me near the door, waiting for her to finish rehearsal. "Hey, I brought you some Starbucks." I lifted the paper bag that contained Liv's drink in it. "Is it the Raspberry Blackcurrant Frap? If it isn't I don't want it." Liv said sarcastically while making her way towards me. 

"Yes ma'am. How could I ever get your drink wrong?" I pulled the Frap out of the bag and handed it to Liv. Her eyes lit up at the sight it as if she'd just seen her soulmate and in one quick motion, she snatched it away from my hand. "Thanks so much, Ellie. This is just what I needed after that long session." Liv wiped some sweat away from her forehead while taking a big sip of her Frap. 

"Anyways, did you see Ridgecrest Boy today?" Liv asked, her tone filled with curiosity. I told her what happened this morning, about the bus being filled and him having to sit next to me. "Oh my God, Ellie! You're so lucky, I'm jealous." Liv gave me a big hug, feeling like a proud mother. 

"It's not that big of a deal, he just sat next to me." I hugged her back while her Frap was freezing my back off during the hug. "Seriously? You do realize one of the cutest guys on planet Earth just talked to you, right?" Liv looked at me, not believing what she heard coming out of my mouth. We joked around about it and made our way to Layla's locker, knowing it's almost time for class, to get our early morning snack.

"Hey, Lay." Liv and I said in unison while approaching Layla's field of view. "Hey girls, what would you like today?" Layla smiled, knowing we'd raid her whole locker.

"Ooh, what's the special for today?" Liv asked while trying to peek into Layla's locker. "Hmm, we have all types of Kitkat, Pocky, Ramune candy, rice crackers and boba gummies. My parents brought them back from their trip to Japan last night." Layla listed the snacks while rummaging through the snack tray in her locker. "I'll take the yam KitKat... And maybe a matcha Pocky." Liv helped herself by grabbing multiple items from the locker. 

"Hey, hand me a strawberry cheesecake KitKat." A deep voice spoke into my ear, sending shivers down my spine. "Gary, I swear you're going to give me a heart attack one day," I said, turning to him and handing him what he asked for. He merely chuckled and popped the Kitkat into his mouth and looked at what I was holding in my hand. "No way..." Gary gasped. "What?" I asked, clearly confused. 

"That's my favourite... Why didn't you get me one?" Gary acted as if he was offended by the fact that I didn't get him a drink when everyone else was holding a cup. "One sip." I rolled my eyes, shoving my drink into his hand while I grabbed rice crackers and a blueberry Pocky from Layla's locker. I stuffed the Pocky in my bag, saving it for my trip to school tomorrow. 

"I swear Layla has the coolest parents. They met in a dream or something like that right?" Liv asked.

"Yeah, something along those lines, I guess." Layla smiled. "Do you think Mr and Mrs Hawley would mind if we stayed over someday?" Liv nudged Layla with her elbow. "They'd probably be cool with it, I'll ask them when I get home." Layla's usually really private about her personal details but we've known her long enough to know about her family background. It may not seem like much but it's a big thing for Layla to talk about her parents.

The school bell rang, indicating the first lesson of the day. "Shit. I have Math now, gotta run before Mrs Brown kills me." Gary glanced at his watch and quickly walked away. "Gary! My Frap!" I yelled across the hall. "I'll get you another one tomorrow!" he yelled back.

Another day, another 7 hours of boring classes. The day flew by like it was nothing but by the time school ended, I was worn out and lock myself in my room. I tried to complete as much work as I could and review some of the classes I had before eventually passing out at my study-table. 

"Ugh..." I groaned when my alarm rang, forcing myself awake so I wouldn't be late for school. I studied too much last night. I threw on my uniform and put on some light makeup to seem less dead on the outside as I was on the inside. I had a quick breakfast with my family and made my way to the bus I took to get to school daily. Sitting in my usual spot, right by the window. 

The sight of white, fluffy clouds drifting across the sky was calming. However, the radiant golden rays of sunshine, not so much. A few stops later, I felt the cushion of the seat sink, evident someone had sat down next to me. 

I looked over to my right, a familiar face. "Hey," I said, slightly surprised as his usual seat wasn't taken by anyone today. Our eyes met and he simply nodded as a greeting, quickly turning his gaze back to his phone and shuffling his playlist. Doesn't like to talk, I guess. 

I pulled out the Pocky I had saved from the day before for this mundane journey to Hell. 'Should I offer him some? Would that be weird?' I thought to myself, hesitating to talk to him. Whatever, it's not like I have any more dignity to lose. I turned to him once again and asked if he wanted some of the Pocky I was having, assuming he wouldn't mind. I mean, who would turn down free food? He nodded, muttering a soft thanks and bit onto the stick of Pocky he took. He ate it bit by bit without even touching it as he was tapping away on the keyboard of his phone, focused on whatever he was doing. 

Just like yesterday, I gestured that I had to leave when I reached my stop. While I was leaving, I turned back and handed him the rest of the Pocky that we didn't finish during the trip and smiled at him. I got off the bus quickly without waiting for him to give any reaction.