20
VIOLA ANONYMOUS
WALKING DOWN THE LIVELY hallway, Viola passes her locker to put her textbooks away and takes out a ziplocked bag or two that holds her lunch and snacks. She smiles and greets the few other students that pass her by as everyone makes their way into the lunchroom for whatever the canteen staff had put together or to sit outside under the sunshine and enjoy the hour of peaceful freedom for their day.
"Okay, so...hash browns." Genevieve pipes from behind Viola's shoulder as she slams her locker door shut and lets out a giggle. "I'm thinking I buy them all. It's the best version of the potato, it's almost sexually pleasing."
"Please, no sexual pleasing with a hash brown." Genevieve chokes at Viola's reply and bursts out laughing with tears in her eyes, catching the attention of the few straggler's who took their time to get to lunch.
The two girls walk down the hallway, chatting animatedly and swapping gossip. Their short walk consists of complaints about failing subjects and whoever was Genevieve's new flavour of the week—the innocent new kid who was definitely not aware of Viola's best friends' tendency to flirt and wink her way straight into any boy's heart.
Completely focused on the words that were spilling out of her friends mouth, Viola missed the tall figure that was directly in her way and crashes shoulders with him. She curses, rubbing her tender shoulder and letting out a strewn of apologies.
"Shit, I am so sorry!" Viola looks up at the tall boy. "Oh, hey!" The boy freezes and opens his mouth silently, blinking his eyes as if he was trying to wake himself up from a dream.
"Hey." He smiles breathlessly and Viola tilts her head, an amused smile stretched across her face.
"Sorry about that, I'm a real klutz." He shakes his head with a shrug, rubbing at the nape of his neck as his cheeks tint pink. "Oh, and tell my brother to stop flirting with girls on the sidelines and actually attempt to make a bucket!" Viola yells out as Genevieve pulls on her arm, grumbling about her life or death hunger, but she doesn't miss the chuckle that falls from the cute boys' mouth before he lets out a breath and walks in the other direction.
As they finally reach the doors to the lunchroom, Genevieve swings them open dramatically and lets out a kind of war cry, the emotion on her face causing Viola to question her literal sanity. The two part as one races to the canteen line yelling about how she might see the end of her life soon if she didn't eat quick enough and the other stops past the announcements board, finding her own advertisement. English tutoring. It was Viola's best bet at making a little cash to commit to student housing for a good enough university in the city before she can finally get a job.
She sighs, noticing only three phone number tabs ripped from the printed paper and a few random doodles that had been graffitied. Not that she had got any of those responses anyway. There had to be someone who was failing English or at least needed some kind of help and Voila groans, annoyed. It was the only tutoring she had to offer, not exactly excelling at much else.
Ignoring the poster, she turns and finds a vacant lunch table, sitting down and immediately indulging in the chicken schnitzel sandwich her mother had prepared for her that morning. Viola continues to fumble with the small device in her hands, the black screen catching her reflection every time she shifts it towards her face. With a sigh, she shoves her mobile phone back into the pocket of her forest green blazer and leans her chin on one hand, closing her eyes momentarily until she hears the scrape of a chair from across her.
"Because I'm so amazing, I got you a hash brown as well." Genevieve slumps into a red plastic chair, practically shoving the potato snack into Viola's mouth, all the while munching on her own. Viola giggles, smiling gratefully and snatching the hash brown from her best friend's hand, moaning at the taste of grease and salt.
"So, how's lover boy?" Genevieve suddenly muses, wiggling her eyebrows and wiping the excess oil from her mouth with the back of her hand. Viola squeezes her eyes shut with a strangled groan, regretting the moment she told Genevieve all about the 'anonymous texts' she has recently been receiving.
"First of all, he is not a lover boy. Secondly, I don't even know who he is and it's kind of creepy if you ask me." Viola twirls a section of chestnut locks around a single finger, chewing on her lower lip and leaning onto the lunch table as she continues to pick at her sandwich.
"Why are you blushing then?" Genevieve smirks around a mouthful of mood, bright eyes twinkling at Viola's flustered state who in return rolls her eyes and places her hands against her warming cheeks.
Viola perks at the buzz of her phone, rustling around in the inner breast pocket of her jacket. She smiles softly, pursing her lips in an attempt to stifle a small smile from showing off in her best friend's face—no doubt resulting in another long string of suggestive looks.
just want someone to feel about me the way i feel about food
[1:37pm]
Viola giggles, showing Genevieve the recent messages. Together they laugh out loud, an angelic bellowing floating through the lunch room that catches the attention of multiple onlookers. Viola licks her lips and Genevieve cackles, refraining from teasing her friend that they might not be strangers forever.