Falling

T W E N T Y - E I G H T

Loud chatter fills my ears the second Will and I set foot into the school hallway. I lead the way through the busy foot traffic with two to-go coffee cups in my hands.

As we get closer to my locker, I begin to see each of our friends huddled around it, forming a small circle as they all talk and laugh.

With a glance over my shoulder to make sure I haven't lost Will, I continue forward until I come to a complete stop beside my friends. They expand their circle to make room for Will and I.

"Hey guys!" I cheer. "Look, we got you all coffee." I point to the coffee carrier in Will's hands.

"Ooh, this is just what I needed." April claps her hands together and then shoves her way through the circle to pluck a cup out of Will's carrier.

Peyton follows her movements, taking two cups. One for her and one for Wyatt. "That was nice of you guys, thank you."

My eyes meet Mason's sad, pouty eyes.

I already know why he's got that pouty look on his face. "And for Masey, we got a hot chocolate!" I grin, holding his hot chocolate cup out to him.

I watch in amusement as his features light up like a little kid on Christmas morning. "You guys remembered me!" He gushes before happily taking a sip from his cup.

I share a look with Will before we both burst out laughing. "I told you he would be excited." He tells me.

Turning back to Mason I tell him, "We got it with double whip too." Mason just grins in response.

"What's the occasion?" April asks suspiciously, blowing into her cup to cool down the steaming hot liquid.

Will speaks before I can, "Well we were already stopping to get ourselves coffee on our way here but this one," he gestures to me, "practically had an emotional break down in the car saying that you guys probably think she doesn't love you anymore and that she's been a bad friend lately because she hasn't done anything nice for you in a while." By the end of his speech, Peyton and April are both looking at me knowingly.

"Oh, Aunt Flo's in town." April states.

I try to shake my head discreetly so that neither of them say something that will embarrass me but they both just stare back at me with smiles on their faces like they're trying to not laugh.

"You have an Aunt Flo, too?" Mason says in surprise.  "I've never met mine but my mom is always talking about her. I think she's from my dads side but he must not like her because he always gets annoyed when mom brings her up."

We all become stiff as a board as we process what Mason just said. And then all at once, we slowly turn to face him, silently. He stands there sipping on his hot chocolate, totally innocent to what he just said.

His eyes travel around the circle in confusion. "What'd I say?" He asks awkwardly.

Finally, April breaks the silence for all of us. "Aunt Flo isn't a person, Mason." She pauses to study him, waiting for him to have a lightbulb moment. "It's a girls monthly visitor."

Mason just ends up looking majorly confused with his eyebrows furrowed.

"She gets over emotional about things when it's her 'time of the month' and the side of her that cares so deeply about people just wants to do good." April explains to Will.

My cheeks flush in embarrassment, "you didn't need to tell him that!" I squeak. I started last night after Will left from family dinner.

April waves me off, "Class is starting soon, we better get going." She turns to everyone else in the group, including a still confused Mason. They all start walking away in the opposite direction of mine and Will's classes.