Out of This World

Andy

Of course not, here, lean in! Mary put her arm around Andy's shoulders, and they smiled up at the camera together as she took the selfie. Do you have anywhere to sit today at lunch?

No... she looked down, embarrassed.

You should come sit with me and my friends! We have an empty seat!

Andy smiled. This year wasn't going to be so bad after all.

Andromeda. Andromeda.

She opened her eyes in history class, listening to Mr. Strickler lecture and watching Jim Lake glare daggers at him from across the room. She wasn't sure what his deal was, honestly. He used to really like Mr. Strickler, and he used to be the teacher's favorite student. Something in their relationship had changed as of late, the tension between them was so thick it seemed you might be able to cut it with a knife.

There was something clearer about this memory. She couldn't quite put her finger on it... maybe it was because it was more recent. This one felt less hazy, less like a dream, less like she was sleepwalking. This felt real, concrete, solid.

She jotted down a few notes as the teacher lectured, watching the awkward exchange between Jim and Strickler, almost as if their friendship had turned into a rivalry. She would have to ask Jim about it after school.

The rest of the day passed pretty quickly, and soon she was unlocking her bike from the bike rack in the courtyard. Her car was in the shop right now (the radiator needed working on) so she had to ride her bike to school. It wasn't that big a deal though, she lived close.

Jim came out of the building and unlocked his bike right next to her. He looked lost in thought.

"Hey Jim!" she chirped cheerfully.

"Oh! Hey Andy," he said, snapping out of his daze and turning to smile at her. "Is your family still coming over for dinner tonight?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling. "Say, are you alright?"

"Uh... yeah! What makes you think otherwise?" He gave her a pained, nervous smile. He was kind of a terrible liar. She knew for some time now that he was hiding something, she just hadn't been able to figure out what it was.

"Woman's intuition," she fibbed.

Dinnertime at the Lake domicile came and went, and soon Andy and Jim were lying on his bedroom floor, looking up at the ceiling. She remembered when they were here, age thirteen, and he had confessed that he had a crush on her. He had kissed her on the cheek and she had panicked and ran out of the room. She giggled.

"What?" he asked, not turning his head.

"Remember when you liked me?"

"Oh my God."

She giggled in response.

"You suck!" he laughed, sounding embarrassed, smacking her arm.

"And you kissed me on the cheek and I flipped out and ran out o-"

He cut her off. "Oh my Lord, Andy, please, I am begging you. Spare me," he groaned, putting his arm over his eyes.

"You've got your eyes on Claire now though, don't you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Oh my God," he said, sounding embarrassed. He put his hands on his face and dragged them down in a mortified manner. "How did you know?"

"How do I know? How do I know? Seriously, Jim? Are you freaking kidding me?"

"Is it that obvious?" He sounded mortified.

"Toby told me," she said, giggling.

"I'm gonna fucking kill him," Jim laughed.