TIME PASSED BY quickly. Even though some days felt long, while others felt short, the clock was ticking.
Winter break slipped away easily. When the start of January came along, classes were back in session and students were excited to see one another again after two weeks of separation. Before seventh period began, Alexander and Jayden were catching up on everything — even if they spent a large majority of their winter break together.
But the school environment was just different. It was completely ideal to catch up and rewind with each other. Even with little things, like Christmas gifts and New Year's resolutions.
"I didn't expect my dad to get me a new iPhone for Christmas. That new job of his must be treating him well," Alexander remarked as his hand glided on his new, upgraded phone. The case was clear, which showed the entire reddened area of the phone. The gift was surely a grand surprise, but he was a hundred percent grateful for what he had.
"It's really nice," Jayden complimented as he closely observed the phone. "Not a fan of the red, though. Red iPhones are the absolute worse."
"Stop being a hater," Alexander tutted as he playfully shoved his best friend's shoulder. "It's just a phone."
"I'm not hating, I'm just saying that I don't like the color red on that phone. It's so . . . weird," Jayden shrugged as he slightly rose up from his chair to shove his friend back.
Alexander found himself shaking his head as Dr. Terry came to the front of the class, her hands clasped together. "Good afternoon, class. I'm hoping that you all have enjoyed your winter break," she announced with a chirp. "This semester in choir is going to be really important, so I need you all to listen up. Put all your cell phones away while you're at it."
Alexander slipped his phone into the side pocket of his backpack, and so did half a dozen other students in the choir room. Since classes were back in session, so was the choir. And this semester, they had a whole lot to do.
This upcoming March, the choir will have to participate in their festival performance — LGPE. So far, this will be their biggest and most important performance because they will be evaluated by judges. Real choir judges who will follow a strict rubric. Typically, there are three judges who sit at a table. The one to the right judges the right portion, the one to the left judges the left portion, and the one at the center judges everything.
A score of one meant an outstanding, superior performance, while a score of three meant the performance was poor. The Meadowbrook High School Chorus would compete against many other choirs across the school district, and once the scores came out, they could be accessed on the internet. For the past four years of Dr. Terry taking over Meadowbrook's chorus, all of her classes have been known to have superior ratings in evaluations like this. It wasn't out of pure luck, however. It was out of complete skill.
"I've been a choir director for years. I've directed mixed chorus, women's chorus, college show choir — you name it," Dr. Terry remarked with a curt nod. "We can get a superior rating if we work hard and practice, which we will. So, for the next two months, we will be working hard on our new music."
She then held a large basket of what seemed like black plastic folders, which she retrieved from the top of her baby grand piano. "Because the festival only accepts certain songs from their approved list, we will be singing Gloria in Excelsis Deo and The Seal Lullaby," Dr. Terry announced as she began to pass out the folders from the front to back row. "These songs are very important, so I've made everyone individualized folders. I don't want anyone to lose their music, so please keep up with it. Does everyone understand?"
"Yes, ma'am," the entire choir said in sync.
And just like that, the choir got to work. There was no time to waste, especially as the clock was ticking against their will.
In two months, they'd be competing with at least thirty other high school choirs, all just to get a superior rating. They would represent a third of Meadowbrook's Fine Arts program, and their school was counting on them to represent them well.
If only it were easier said than done.
Dollar General has always been Inez's go-to store when it comes to simple shopping. In a matter of minutes, she could find everyday items bargained at a low price, usually lower than what the same item is priced at a bigger store like Walmart.
It was always convenient for the sake of Inez's wallet, considering she didn't have an actual paying job yet and heavily relied on her monthly allowance gifted by her parents.
Frankly, Inez always loved shopping. Especially after school. It was always refreshing to wind down a little bit by exploring stores. Even if a small retail chain like Dollar General didn't have a wide variety of things, like clothes and shoes, shopping was still fun. Especially if it was peaceful — without anyone to irritate her throughout the process.
As she strolled through an aisle that contained self-care products, like body wash and hair conditioner, she held her bright yellow shopping basket in her hand carefully, rocking it back and forth as she walked. Perhaps she put too much force into it because in all of a sudden, the shopping basket flung forward. Soon enough, the contents spilled right on the aged, white tiled floor.
A deep exhale escaped Inez's lips as she began to bend down right there in the middle of the aisle.
"Clean up on aisle four!" A voice called out from inches away, followed by a snicker.
Inez's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she found herself glancing up at whoever made the really corny joke. Alexander stood meters ahead, dressed up in a black polo shirt with Dollar General's yellow logo plastered across the upper right, black jeans, and black and white sneakers to top it off.
"What a nice surprise," Inez muttered bitterly. "I didn't know that you worked here."
"I do, madam. I'll pick those up for you," Alexander nodded curtly. Before Inez knew it, he was crouched down on the floor, picking up all of the merchandise that rolled away either on the bare floor or under shelves. Inez took this as an opportunity to get up and watch him do so. When everything was picked up, he handed the basket back to the girl. "Here you go."
"Thanks," Inez acknowledged with a murmur as she turned to the shelves behind her. She observed the broad selection of hair products and grabbed a sixteen-ounce pack of hair gel, alongside with a similar-sized pack of shea butter leave-in conditioner. She had the exact same items at home. The only difference was that they had recently run out, so she got the urge to purchase more.
As she continued to scan the shelves, Alexander found himself watching Inez like a child watching their favorite show on television. He was deeply fascinated at how cool, calm, and collected the girl was while shopping. In comparison to him shopping, at least. He was the kind of shopper who grabbed things and went. He wasn't the kind of person to just stand there and look at products. To him, it was amazing. Much more amazing than stocking up shelves, at least.
Within moments, Inez tilted her head over, only to notice Alexander staring at her. "Don't you have better things to do than to watch me shop? It looks like you have a lot of work to do," she remarked as she pointed back at a shopping cart, which was filled with unstocked items placed in boxes.
"What can I say? Watching you shop is more interesting, Nezzie," Alexander shrugged as his hand raked through his brunette hair. "Much more interesting than stocking shelves."
"Don't call me Nezzie," Inez shook her head as she dumped a bar of soap into her shopping basket. "You should get back to work. What if your boss sees you talking to me when you should be stocking these shelves?"
"He won't because he's not even here today, and my co-workers could care less," Alexander grinned. He took a few steps back to grab something out of his stocking cart. He cupped it into his hand before he approached Inez. "I have something to show you."
"What is that?" The girl questioned.
Alexander extended his hand, which revealed a plastic toy spider which looked a little too realistic. Its legs looked slightly fuzzy, and its body looked icky. Inez slightly jumped at the sight of the spider, only to roll her eyes to the back of her head when she realized that it wasn't real.
"You're so lame," Inez said as she shook her head with disbelief. But before she knew it, she was snickering. "You have the maturity of a fourteen-year-old."
"I do not," Alexander remarked in denial.
"Oh really?" The girl mocked. "Well, if you don't, then go back to stocking these shelves. They're looking a little empty."
"You're saying that because you know you want me to stay," the brunette-haired boy teased.
Inez's palm slapped against her face. "That doesn't even make sense."
"Who said that it has to make sense?" Alexander shrugged with a grin. Soon enough, he went back to stocking some shelves. The brunette-haired boy began to place a variety of lotions on a shelf, which just so happened to be right in front of Inez. As she extended her hand to grab a small tube, her fingers ended up clashing with Alexander's. He automatically pulled back as his face began to redden, which Inez could very much see.
"Sorry about that," the brunette-haired boy said as he laughed nonchalantly.
"No problem," Inez smiled calmly before she gestured to her shopping basket. "I'm going to go check out now."
Stay cool, calm, and collected, Inez reminded herself internally. Because frankly, the situation was overwhelmingly awkward.
"Okay, Nezzie. See you at school tomorrow," Alexander said with a grin.
Inez demanded as she stopped dead in her tracks. "Don't call me Nezzie."
"You know so fucking well that it will take a little bit more than that to convince you," the brunette-haired boy teased as he placed a few bottles of Dove body wash on a shelf.
"Fuck you," Inez smiled before she walked off.
"You and that offer," Alexander hummed.
a/n: Alexander and Inez can be so cute sometimes, oml. they're sweet like candy💗
and yes, i made a little Ariana Grande reference because she made a perfume with that title a few years back. i bought the body mist version of the perfume from a store a few months ago & it smelled SO good. what perfume/cologne's do y'all like? personally, i like designer perfumes like Chanel and Dior, but which ones do you like? share in the comments →
i'm a huge sucker for smelling good, but that's a whole 'nother conversation. like always, thank you so much for reading!!