Amity, Boscha, Willow and I were all seated in a nearby café.
"I didn't know about this place. It's nice and quiet." Boscha said as she sat her things down beside her.
"Welcome." The waitress greeted as she set our glasses of water on the table, "Weren't you here the other day?" She said, eyes focused on Amity and I.
"Wow, you remember me even though I've only been here once!" Amity seemed impressed.
"We don't get many high schoolers here, and I'd never forget someone as cute as you." The waitress smiled. Amity chuckled with a slight blush showing.
"Manager, the bill please." A middle-aged man standing near the counter said.
"Oh, yes, I'll be right there sir." The woman turned around and walked over to him.
"She's the manager?" I asked, confused, "She seems so young, I thought she'd be a waitress."
It was now time to discuss the play and how this script thing was going to work.
"Now then, Willow, was it?"
"Yes." I could sense Willow was nervous, but her facial expression managed to stay blank.
"Thank you for agreeing to write the script for us." Amity smiled.
"Don't mention it." Willow said.
"The novel you wrote was really good, so I'm glad that we've got you on board." Amity said as she took a sip of her water.
"I just wanted to practice writing stories, and I figured that working with others would be a good opportunity to do that." Willow said as her eyes kept averting to the side, obviously still nervous.
Amity smiled, "Thanks."
My attention on Willow and Amity's discussion was momentarily interrupted by an strangely familiar woman walking into the café.
"Welcome home." I hear the manager say. Home?
"Did they let you off of work early today?" The manager asked the woman.
"Yeah, it does happen sometimes." The smaller brunette responded. Wait a minute...
It took me a few seconds to process who it was, but when I got a closer look I finally figured it out. It's my teacher from last year!
"Eda!" I blurted.
Amity turned around, "Oh, you're right."
"Hello." Boscha greeted.
"Hey kid! Haven't seen you in a while." Eda said as she walked over and hugged me. She's always been like a second mom to me, it's good to see her again.
"What brings you and your friends here?" She asked.
"We're having a student council meeting. We're discussing the school festival play." I said.
"Play, huh?"
"Um, Ms. Clawthorne, do you know the manager here?" Boscha asked, "I heard her say "welcome home."
When Boscha finished her sentence, Eda immediately straightened her posture and blushed, "Oh, uh, well, I've known the manager here since university. I come by here a lot. She's just joking around."
Eda eventually finished up the convo and cut it short for some reason. I just brushed it off though.
"You know her? You seem to be close if you're calling her by her first name." Amity turned to me.
"Yeah. She was my teacher in junior high. She was also like a second mom to me. How do you know her?" I asked.
"She's actually the new student council advisor." Amity said.
"Really?! That's awesome!" Looks like I'll be seeing Eda more often again.
-
"Alright then. Bye." We all waved to each other and went our separate ways towards our houses. I decided to walk with Amity back.
I stared at her for a while. She turned to me, "Uh, is something wrong?" She asked.
"Oh, no." I said as I faced forward, "Today Willow asked me, "What kind of person is Amity?". I didn't know how to answer." I said as I thought back to earlier.
"Yeah, that is a difficult question." Amity said.
"You bet it is! I didn't even know what to say." I whined.
"You seem pretty close to Willow." Amity mumbled, I heard her though.
"I've know her since junior high... and she stops by the store a lot since she likes books. I only recently found out that she writes books herself, though." I said.
"I see."
--
No Ones POV
"Eda, I finished taking my shower. What are you looking for?" Riko asked.
"A DVD of a play." Eda said as she scavenged through her drawer, "I thought I'd lend it to the girls."
"Mm, so you're helping out after all?" Riko asked, "You didn't say anything at the café, so I didn't think you were going to... Even though you advised the drama club at your old school."
Eda turned to Riko with scrunched eyebrows, "You said "welcome home" without a second thought. I stayed quiet so they wouldn't bring it up again."
"Sorry." Riko apologized.
"It's nice that this place is close to the school, but it also brings problems..." Eda sighed.
"Are you going to bed early tonight?" Riko asked Eda.
"Maybe. I just have a bit more work to do." Eda smiled.
Riko walked closer to Eda and planted a kiss on her lips, "Okay, I'm going to bed then."
"Good night."
-
Boscha's POV
I thought back to when we parted ways yesterday at the café.
I've never seen Amity get that close to someone before. It's almost like...
I sighed.
No matter how close Amity and Luz become, they won't form a special, concrete relationship. Amity won't belong to anyone. It's Amity we're talking about, after all.
I entered the coffee shop we had went to yesterday, this time, alone.
"Why, hello." The manager greeted me.
"Hi. May I sit at the counter?" I asked.
"Of course." She said, "Just you today?"
"Yes." I said, "House blend, please."
"Coming right up." The woman said as she walked off.
I got too lost in my thoughts I wasn't quite there to hear the lady talk to me at first.
"How is the play coming along?" She asked. I quickly looked up.
"Huh?"
"Your student council is putting on a play, correct?" She asked to be sure. She sat down a cup of coffee for me.
I thought for a moment and then hesitated, but finally deciding to speak, "Um, excuse me. Could I ask you something?"
The manager turned around and made a "hmm?" sound, "Yes?"
"I know this is awfully rude of me, and I'm sorry if I'm mistaken, but..." I hesitated for a moment, but then decided to be brave for a few seconds, "Are you dating Ms. Clawthorne?" I blurted.
She just stared at me for a few moments, trying to process the question. The silence was making me anxious and regretful. But she finally answered my question with the answer I suspected,
"Yeah, I am. She's my girlfriend." She slightly smiled and tilted her head. She looked so proud about it, too. My eyes instantly lit up.
"Oh, and uh, don't tell Eda I told you. She'll get angry at me." She put a finger over her mouth. She then looked at me and saw me intensely staring in shock.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"Nothing." I uncrossed my fingers.
"That's what you thought the answer would be, right?"
"Oh, I'm sorry." I apologized, "I didn't expect you to tell me so easily." I said as I stared at my reflection in the coffee cup.
The manager leaned over the table, "Well, when I was your age, I thought I had to keep it a secret too."
There was a short silence.
"So, is there a girl you like?" She asked unexpectedly.
I took a second to think about it.
"Y-Yes." I said, "I thought I wouldn't fall in love with a girl again. Which is why I even chose a co-ed school. But when I met her, I simply accepted everything." I started blushing.
"What do you like about her?" The woman asked.
"Huh? Oh, well, her face?" I pressed my fist to my chin. The woman chuckled.
"Yeah, the face is important." She said jokingly.
"And also how skilled she is. How she's always a step ahead of me. I like seeing her work to achieve her ideals." I took a sip of my coffee while still thinking.
"You really do love her, huh?" The manager smiled.
"I'm sorry for going on like this." I apologized, "I think I just needed to talk to someone."
"Don't worry. I like listening to customers talk." She said.
"So you're girlfriends..." I asked her again, "I'm jealous."
"Not planning on confessing?" She asked me.
"...I can't do that." I looked into my now empty coffee cup.
"Is she not into girls?" The manager asked.
"That's one thing I'm scared of, but there's an even bigger problem." I said.
"And what is that?" She asked.
"She's unable to accept the affection of others. If I told her how I feel, it would only add to the pressure already on her. I'd like to stay as we are now rather than risk destroying everything. She needs me as her closest friend." I said. There was a short silence.
"Does hiding my true feelings in order to stay by her side... make me a coward?" I sighed. I then heard another cup of coffee being set in front of me. I looked up at the manager.
"It's on the house." She smiled, "Since you're a nice girl."
"Nice girl?" I asked.
"She wants to remain friends, and you prioritize her feelings over your own, correct? Then that makes you a nice girl." The woman said.
"Even if... I'm just afraid of not being able to stay by her side?" I asked.
"Even so, it's not easy to hold back your true feelings. So... yeah?"
I thought about it and smiled.
"Thank you."
---