"And then my cousin was about ready to wrestle me to the ground when... Charlie? Are you still there?" I frowned at the starry-eyed boy sitting across from me and rolled my eyes. I flicked a grape at him. "Yo, earth to Charlie!"
There was no response. What could be more interesting than hearing my great storytelling? Extreme times call for extreme measures. "This is Captain Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise. We are in dire need of assistance up here at the main deck."
Charlie snapped back to reality. "Beam me up, Scotty!" Or, at least, his version of reality. Charlie's face flushed red with embarrassment when he realized what he said. He looked down at his salad, found what I threw at him and flicked it back at me like it was my grape in the first place. "Shut up, Coal."
I caught the grape mid-air and popped it into my mouth. As you can tell, throwing food at each other was a daily routine. We long ago learned to never throw soup or sandwiches, and anything that required two hands to lift was illegal as well. I still had a scar from the Great Watermelon Throw of Last Summer, it was a cantaloupetastrophe. Orange you glad we actually learned a lesson?
Sometimes I'm quite impressed with my pun skills, unfortunately this isn't one of those times.
And because I hardly ever learn my lesson, I once again forgot to wake up early enough to pack a lunch. Snacking on some random grapes from Char's plate was just not going to cut it, especially since last night had been mostly filled with the growing pains. But there wasn't much I could do about it now, especially when the cafeteria food was sushi that looked exactly like the kind you get at a sketchy gas station.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked.
"Nothing."
I cocked an eyebrow. Obviously, it was something, but by the irritation in his voice, I knew better than to pursue it. "And what's up with the salad, Bugs Bunny?"
If it were socially acceptable, Charlie probably would have tried to kill me right then and there, but he settled with flicking a sunflower seed at me. "Mom is going through another 'healthy' phase and has sworn all carbs out of the house," he grumbled while he picked through the ingredients of his salad. "I at least stopped her from throwing out the garlic bread."
"How'd you manage that?"
"I convinced her that the garlic canceled out the calories."
"Solid." I was going to say more, something super cool and smart and quotable, but someone walked behind me and dropped a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the empty table in front of me. With a frown, I turned to see who was supplying me with such a nutritious meal and found Ben sitting down heavily next to me.
"I figured you skipped breakfast again and didn't pack lunch," Ben informed me as he handed over a thermos.
I narrowed my eyes and took it from him warily. Since when did he decide to start being nice? "Did you drop the sandwich on your way here? Did you put worms in it?"
Benjamin shrugged. "You could starve or eat it and get extra protein." He opened up his lunch box and even tossed me a small bag of chips. "All we've left are Lay's."
"Ew."
"I'll take them!" Charlie shouted. He snatched the bag without a second invitation. "Finally, some real food."
"What's wrong with him?" Ben asked with a frown.
"If I knew, I probably wouldn't be friends with him." I wanted to eat my food and enjoy every last bite, but Ben was still here and it irked me that he wouldn't get the subtle hint to get lost. Time to get obvious. "Don't you have a girlfriend to go sit with? This is the cool table and you're pushing it sitting with us."
"And yet, you'll forgive me." He took a big bite of his tuna fish sandwich and acted like it was completely normal to be here. "Does it kill you how well I know you?"
I mocked Benjamin's words behind his back and took an angry bite of my lunch. It was no secret that being twins did not make us automatic best friends. For one thing, he's a hero and I'm the best super villain King City has ever seen. Can't get more opposite if we tried. Besides, Benjamin spent the majority of his time with his girlfriend of forever and if she was with her friends, he stuck to himself and wrote in some random book he never showed anyone. I honestly believe he doesn't know how to make friends or talk to someone who isn't family or Betty (the girlfriend).
I could have complained some more, but when I opened the thermos I found it contained hot chocolate. Warmth, we meet again. It's been too long my friend. So, maybe you're wondering why I eat ice cream but also complain whenever I feel the littlest bit of coldness. I agree, but if there was anything I knew about myself it was that I was a walking contradiction.
"Why aren't you with your girlfriend?" Charlie asked with a scowl. There were two things I could never figure out about him: his obsession with superheroes and his dislike of my twin brother. It was the epitome of irony because his favorite superhero just so happened to be the guy he disliked the most.
Ben didn't reply, he just shot a glance in the direction Betty was. I followed his stare and found her laughing with some random football player. She was making it very obvious that she was giving all of her attention to the guy and enjoying every moment with him. It would have been believable if she wasn't trying so hard.
"I hate that guy," Ben grumbled.
"Who? Bryant?" I asked, taking a long drink of my hot chocolate. I frowned when Betty threw her head back and laughed even louder. "I thought he moved away or something. Wait, didn't you guys break up, like, last week? Shouldn't you be over it by now?"
Benny didn't say anything and ate his sandwich crankily. He settled on sending her the occasional glare but offered nothing else for the conversation. I guess he's not over it.
"Bryant used to be with that cheerleader girl, Molly," Char clarified. "Brian is the one who moved away."
I gave Char a blank stare. "Obsessed much?" I grabbed a piece of his ranch dressing drenched romaine lettuce and threw it at his face. "You're worse than a newspaper gossip columnist."
"Is this seat available?"
Our heads snapped up at the sound of a feminine voice. Char's face turned bright red, I scowled, and Ben only looked confused. Elora stood with a lunch bag in hand and a quizzical look full of hope that she'd be accepted. I was about to open my mouth to squash her dreams when Char beat me to it.
"Hey Elora!" Charlie shot me a look for the ill-timed lettuce throw and wiped his face quickly. "Yeah, it's available." He tried to sound normal and nonchalant, but he did not achieve his goal in the slightest bit.
Ben caught the difference and elbowed me discreetly.
Much to my dismay, Elora sat down and gave us a smile. Her expression faltered when she looked at me, which only added to my general dislike of her. I may not be the pick of the litter, but come on, I'm no runt... right? Maybe she recognized me from last night? Or maybe it's because I was scowling.
Elora turned to face Charlie and giggled. "You have ranch dressing on your eyebrow."
If it were possible, Char's face turned even more red. He grabbed a napkin and rubbed is forehead frantically. I nearly fell off the bench from laughing at him, but then he kicked me underneath the table and that only made me laugh harder. He was so embarrassed his face might stay red for the rest of his life. This is going to be a great story to repeat every day.
"Are you new?" Ben leaned forward to hear her answer. A noble attempt at trying to regain some sort of composure at the table. Ben and I didn't have any classes together, which meant he had no classes with Elora because Elora had every class with me. If Ben and I were identical twins, I would have switched places with him the moment I found out we shared even one class together.
My laughter subsided to a chuckle, until I realized what was going on. I narrowed my eyes and noticed that Betty was now the one sending glares towards our table. Oh how the turns have tabled.
"I'm from a small town in Michigan, my mom and I just moved here last week," Elora said shyly. She opened her lunch bag to reveal a perfectly organized and proportioned meal. She disgusts me. Why is she acting so dainty and cute? Does she even have a life? Who spends time cutting their sandwiches into shapes? And slicing their fruit? Maybe she's actually an evil villain bent on destroying all superheroes and gaining control of King City. Or maybe I'm just jealous that her lunch looks ten times better than mine.
"Why'd you move to King City of all places?" Charlie asked, mouth full of salad.
Elora grew awkward and looked away from us. I could tell that Char just asked a question she didn't want to answer and as much as I would have loved probing her until she got up and left, that was one step too low even for me.
"Do you like football?" I asked. Hey, don't come at me. It was the first thing that came to mind. Do I like football? No. I don't understand it. They throw the ball, run three feet, pile up on each other, and then one team loses yards and another team gains it and I don't even know half of what's going on. But football fans have the best snacks and food is a good enough reason for me to suffer through any game.
Elora nodded. "Why?"
"There's a big football game tomorrow and there's a rumor that King City's most beloved superhero Anti-Gravity will be there," I said. Benjamin kicked me under the table but otherwise didn't react. That now makes it the second time getting kicked under the table this week. New record.
"I'm sorry, what? Did you just say superhero? Like is the school mascot a superhero?" Elora asked. She scrunched up her nose in deep confusion and put her heart-shaped cucumber and tomato tea sandwich down.
"Well, he's kinda like the city mascot, actually," I said.
Elora only looked more confused. "I'm sorry, but what?"
"Don't they have superheroes in Michigan?" Charlie asked.
"Are you guys being for real? Are you talking about like Spiderman or Wonder Woman? Does someone dress up like them and play hero?"
I looked at Ben and then back at Elora. "No, those are fictional characters. We're talking about real life superheroes and villains. The kind with powers and they fight in grand good versus evil battles every other day?"
"Yeah, like Anti-Gravity, Red, Racerback, Headphones or Storm Rider," Charlie said. And now we're onto his favorite subject. Oh glee.
"Headphones?" I asked. "He's a villain. No, not just any villain but a super villain. That guy is not nice. I hardly think he qualifies as a hero." It angered me to be lopped up with all those hot-headed, spandex-wearing-probably-has-a-wedgey heroes.
"Didn't you hear anything that I said this morning?" Charlie asked. "He saved a girl's life! Super villains don't do that. Besides, I've always had a feeling that he's just a hero in disguise. Name one thing that he's done to make him one."
"He too is a villain!" I shouted, slamming my hands down on the table, and then I remembered we were in a crowded cafeteria. I lowered my voice in hopes that no one noticed my outburst. "Isn't that good enough?"
Charlie snorted and crossed his arms. "I'm waiting."
I huffed and looked around, trying to think of something stupid I've done recently. Come on, don't I have any dirt on my record? Have I gotten lazy? Oh. Oh yes, how lovely. A slow grin formed on my face. "Last year Headphones broke into the Apple store and took all the devices." I know what you're thinking. I just called myself Headphones, but the general populace hardly knows that my real name is Ember. Dropping that name felt like exposing myself somehow.
"And replaced them with actual apples." Charlie shook his head. "That was a good pun, but seriously? That hardly counts! It just proves my point that he's not a bad guy! I mean, come on, when else would we be able to buy an iPad for $2.99 a pound? He might as well be called Robin Hood!"
"He's a villain, Charlie! Villains hurt people and they are no good. Besides, everyone has already decided he's a super villain, so we should just leave things as they are," I countered. It wasn't my best argument, but it was still something.
"You never know, though," Ben said. He gave me a look I couldn't quite decipher. "He may have a sliver of goodness in him."
"So what's his power?" Elora asked, inserting herself back into the conversation she was originally part of. I forgot she was even here. "Listening to music all the time?"
I sighed loudly, irritated with Charlie and not paying any attention to what Elora said. I pulled out my phone and stuffed my earphones in. Music and I were like best friends. If I get too riled up over something stupid (see above argument with Charlie), then nothing like my favorite Spotify playlist 'TroPOPical' to calm me down. I don't know what it means either, but it's pretty fun.
Charlie shook his head. "Mostly fire and shock absorbency, but everyone calls him Headphones because he always has his headphones on."
Elora frowned and pointed a manicured finger at me. "Like him?"
I froze. Just play it off, Coal Black. Be casual. Sauve, just like the soap. As cool as I could, I pulled an earphone out and cocked an eyebrow at her. "Except the difference between Headphones and me is that I'm so much more handsome, don't you think?"
Char threw his head back and laughed. "Wow. Cocky much, Coal?"
"I try."
"Look, when you get in trouble I'm sure you won't think superheroes are cringey," Ben said when it became apparent that Elora was not to be convinced.
"I already was in trouble." Elora shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows. "And no superhero saved me, just some weird boy dressed all in black. He couldn't have been a superhero because he wasn't wearing a mask or a cape and he definitely wasn't wearing spandex."
Charlie's mouth dropped open and he banged the table with his fists, which made all of us jump in surprise. He stared at Elora with wide eyes. "That was Headphones!"
Hey ya'll... yeeaah I'm sorry for not posting in a hot minute. I've got some stuff going on and I've been incredibly overwhelmed and simultaneously underwhelmed (if that is even possible) lately and writing has taken a step back for rn but I miss writing because it provides some relief, so I'm going to try to start writing again.
Currently, I'm working on two and a half novels lol: this revamp, book two of the Legend's tril, and the half is an idea I'm toying with that I may or may not try to write in. But I also kinda want to write a 'normal' romance but at the same time... idk
Also, I had to endure a really really AWKWARD conversation earlier this week and I was really tired, worked 40 hours already and it was late at night and the guy was like "what's your name again?" (We met before; he forgot my name; he's new to the area; lots of names to remember) and I was like "[insert real name]" and he was like "[insert long awkward pause and a hand gesture to indicate to continue]" and then I was like "[insert last name] [insert long pause] I'm sorry I'm braindead" and then he was like "[insert serious facial expression] oh really? You're braindead?" [insert very long, awkward pause where I spent the time debating whether or not he was serious and actually thought I was braindead or if he was just playing with me] that continued the rest of the conversation. It was AWKWARD. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die because I made an ABSOLUTE FOOL of myself. Which is fine. It's fine. I'm fine. Everything is fine. 😭 Augh it was awful. Anyway, that's it. Thanks for reading my rant.