On a boring Wednesday afternoon, I was sitting with Elias, Malcolm, and Andre in the cafeteria, as I always did during lunch.
"Haf yu gise afflied to unibersity yef?" Malcolm asked through a mouthful of spaghetti.
Andre's left eye twitched and I crinkled my nose in disgust.
"What did we talk about, Malcolm?" Elias slowly asked, as if he were speaking to a toddler.
Malcolm gulped his food and sadly looked down. "I know, I know. Swallow first and then speak."
I stifled a giggle.
"Anyways, as I was saying—have you guys applied to universities yet? Applications are due in like three weeks now."
"Yup," Andre perked up at the mention of anything school related. "I applied to every single one of the Ivys. Yale's already accepted me into their mathematics program, but I'm leaning more towards Brown."
With a proud grin, Elias patted him on the shoulder.
"Atta boy!" Malcolm cheered, banging on the table.
"Andre, that's incredible!" I exclaimed.
He blushed from all the looks he was receiving, as people were now beginning to glance at our table. In an effort to divert the attention, Andre cleared his throat and glanced at me.
"It's no biggie," Andre bashfully murmured. "Anyways, what about yourself, Daisy?"
"Lemme guess," Malcolm laughed. "Full ride to Harvard?"
"I'm not that smart," I rolled my eyes, "and besides, I'm not applying."
"Yeah, Harvard's a bit of a tricky one," Andre nodded understandingly. "I mean, have you seen that acceptance rate?"
"I don't mean I'm not applying to Harvard, silly. I mean I'm not applying anywhere."
Malcolm's mouth dropped open, Andre frowned, and Elias merely gazed at me with probing eyes.
"Wait, what?" Andre looked at a loss for words. "Are you waiting closer to the deadline?"
"No."
"Are you taking a gap year?" Malcolm suggested.
"More like a gap life," I shrugged. "Anyways, is it so hard to believe? Not everyone wants to spend the next few years of their life doing even more school."
Andre frowned. "Well, yeah, but you're so... you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're just so—"
"Smart," said Malcolm.
"Intelligent," added Andre.
"Nerdy," Elias chimed in.
I glared at him, to which he smirked.
"If you don't plan on going to university or college, what are you gonna do later in life?" Andre asked.
"Hmm, I'm not sure. If I'm lucky enough, I'll get promoted to assistant manager at the restaurant in a few years."
Andre blinked at my response. Thankfully, he was distracted from asking me any further questions when Malcolm began to drone on about some new video game.
"So that's your big plan?" Elias murmured to me. "Work as a waitress for the rest of your life? Get bossed around by some manager who doesn't give a crap about you, deal with annoying customers who hardly even see you as a person, just to maybe get promoted?"
"Stop being dramatic," I lowly scoffed. "There are tons of benefits—tips, discounted food—besides, I love that job."
That last part was a lie, but he didn't need to know that.
His eyebrows knitted together as he slightly scowled. "You must take me for a fool."
I was saved from replying when the bell suddenly rang. I promptly swung my backpack over my shoulder and scurried away from the table.
"Hey, won't you wait for us?" Malcolm hollered after me, as he, Andre and I all had next period together.
Nonetheless, I pretended not to hear him and ran out of the cafeteria. Elias easily caught up with me, and I cursed him and his long legs.
"Look, you don't have to lie to me," Elias said. "I know the real reason why you're not going to college."
I quirked a brow. "Oh yeah? And what's that?"
We had found ourselves in a much more secluded, emptier hallway.
"Come on, D. You really think I haven't noticed it?" he looked at me with a bit of a frown. "Your sneakers have holes in them, you never have food during lunch, you don't wear a jacket even though it's the middle of winter, every time Malcolm or Andre invite you to hang out, you decline because you're too busy working—"
"S-Stop it," I stammered, shocked at all the details I'd tried so hard to hide from everyone—details that only Elias had noticed.
"I didn't want to say it in front of Malcolm and Andre, but you're clearly struggling a lot more than you let on," he looked almost frustrated.
"Is there a point to all this," I crossed my arms, looking away.
Elias' eyes softened as he came to a realization. "You're embarrassed."
"I'm not," I snapped, obviously lying.
He looked like he wanted to argue, but at last, bit his tongue. "All I wanted to say is, someone as smart as you could easily get a scholarship. You'd be stupid not to try."
A tense silence occurred, as his eyes met mine. At last, I slowly uncrossed my arms and quietly spoke. "Alright, I guess I'll think about it."
Elias gave me a pleased smirk, before turning around without so much as a goodbye. I wasn't all too surprised. Goodbyes were too emotional for someone like Elias.
I looked down at the ground as I slowly trudged over to my next period class, taking a seat in between Malcolm and Andre.
"Why are you smiling?" Andre asked, utterly perplexed.
"What? Oh," I softly traced my lips with my fingers, shaking my head. "It's nothing, just something Elias said."
Malcolm had a bit of a knowing grin on his face. Meanwhile, Andre frowned, and there was a foreign emotion behind his brown eyes. I was about to ask him what was wrong, but the teacher suddenly walked into the classroom, causing us to face forward and fall silent.
*****
On the Friday of that week, everyone was raging about Elias' amazing performance during last night's football game. Granted, I wasn't able to watch the game because I'd picked up a double shift at the diner, however I had no doubt in my mind that he'd played amazingly. This was why I wasn't all too shocked when Heather came strolling towards our table during lunch, clad in her blue and yellow cheer uniform.
I frowned at the look on her face. It was the same face she'd make when she used to bully me in front of the other jocks, or when she'd accidentally trip a geek in class. The arched eyebrows, the smug grin, the powerful strut—she reeked of determination.
"Incoming," Andre cleared his throat, just before Heather came and slammed her perfectly manicured nails right onto our table. Malcolm flinched and Elias scowled.
I glanced behind her to see two other minions—I mean, cheerleaders. The first was Chelsea Suzuki, who had less of a personality than a rock and did everything Heather told her to. My eyebrows raised as I looked at the other girl, surprised to see that it was Ruby.
"Hello, boys," Heather flashed a smile. When she was met with no response, she cleared her throat before continuing. "Elias, you were amazing during yesterday's game."
"I know," Elias coldly replied.
"Oh, I love a man that's confident," she practically swooned.
Malcolm poorly disguised his laugh as a cough, and Heather shot him a nasty look before sweetly smiling once more. "Do you guys mind if we sit here?"
I patiently grinned, waiting for one of the guys to rip her a new one.
"Sure," Andre nodded at her.
I sat up straighter in shock, shooting Andre an unimpressed look. He discreetly raised his arms and gave me a defensive look as if to say, what was I supposed to do?
I grunted as Heather squeezed herself in between Elias and me, leaving me no choice but to scoot over. Figuring I might as well make the best of things, I glanced at Ruby, who'd sat down on the other side of me.
"You dyed your hair," I pointed out, glancing at her brunette locks.
She looked surprised that I was actually speaking to her—after all, we hadn't exactly ended things on the best of terms. Nonetheless, she hesitantly nodded. "Yeah, I did."
"I thought you loved your red hair."
"I do—I mean, I did," she corrected. "But, Heather said that no one likes gingers, so..."
I was prevented from replying when Heather began to emit dramatic, loud sneezes next to me.
"What's that sweater made of?" she demanded me.
"It's cashmere," I frowned.
"No wonder," she sneezed. "I'm allergic! Are you trying to kill me?"
"Are you okay?" Malcolm questioned her, looking a bit worried.
"Here," Andre handing Heather a tissue to sneeze into, before glancing at me. "Can't you just take off the sweater?"
"I-I'm not wearing anything underneath," I stammered. "Maybe I should just go."
No one seemed opposed to the idea of me leaving. In fact, everyone nodded—except Elias, that was. He was gazing at Heather with cold, calculated eyes, almost as if he knew something she didn't.
I stood up and began to exit the cafeteria. Just as I neared the door, I stopped and glanced back. Heather seemed much better now that I was gone. She must've said something funny, because everyone at the table was laughing.
Quietly sighing, I decided to head over to the washroom, figuring I'd spend the remainder of lunch locked up in a stall. For some reason, this all felt too familiar...
*****
QOTD: what's your fav ice cream flavour?
AOTD: jamoca almond fudge
Hmm, spoiler alert: Daisy will soon have an enemy...
Anyways, leave a vote or comment if you liked this chapter!
Love, Emmanuela
02/03/2023