Sweater Weather

Ophelia

"Who can tell me the answer to the equation?" My teacher, Mr. Krager, said, pointing to the board. I twirled my pencil in between my fingers. I started to get bored doing that so I started doodling in my notebook. Mr. Krager must have noticed because he called on me. "Ophelia, what's the answer to the problem on the board?" I wasn't paying attention and I couldn't do mental math to save my life. I looked at Jay who was in my peripheral vision. He was tapping on his desk. Jay kept tapping three times and then pausing. He was tapping a pattern for some reason. I figured that Jay was trying to tell me the answer in the form of taps.

"Three?" I said, unsure of my answer.

"You sound unsure, is that your final answer?" I always hated when teachers did that. They always make you doubt yourself.

"Yes." I was hoping that I said the correct answer.

"Correct. Next time pay attention instead of relying on Jay to give you the answer." He said as he pushed up his glasses.

When the bell rang, I got out of my chair and swung my backpack over my shoulder. I was about to leave when my teacher asked, "Ophelia, can I talk to you for a second?"

I nodded and walked over to his desk. "Did I fail a test or something?"
"No, no, you didn't fail anything. You're doing well in my class. That's not why I asked to talk with you. I want you to pay attention and participate more in my class." He reassured me.

"Sure thing but I'm not that comfortable talking in class. Plus, you said my grades are good." Mr. Krager sighed.

"Just because your grades are good doesn't mean that you don't need to participate. At least try to participate once a day, okay?" He told me.

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Krager. I'll do my best!" When I walked out of the door, I saw that Theia and Jay waited for me. "Thanks for waiting guys."

"No problem," Theia said, linking arms with me as we strolled down the hallway.

"You should pay more attention in class, Lia. I won't always be there to save you." Jay scolded. I sighed and smiled.

"I know, I know. That's what Mr. Krager said. I'm working on it. Algebra II isn't the most interesting class."

Theia agreed with me. "She's got a point,"

"You always have to be on her side, don't you Theia?" Jay said, annoyed. We both smiled at him brightly. He rolled his eyes but I could tell he was holding back a smile.

"Are we still going to your house to have a sleepover today?" I asked Theia.

"Yep," She confirmed as she walked with her over to her car.

"Don't forget our deal, Ophelia." Jay said.

"I didn't forget. On our way there we'll get your snacks."

Jay only agreed to have a sleepover with us if we bought him snacks for a whole week. He's always been like that. If he doesn't benefit from it, he isn't going to do it.

"I'll see you guys there." Theia said.

Jay and I watched as Theia hopped inside her car and drove away. We walked over to Jay's blue Sedan. "Keys," I told him. He tossed them to me and I got in the driver's seat.

. . .

Before we went to Theia's house, we made a detour to CVS. "Don't take too long," I tell Jay, handing him five dollars.

"Hey, I don't have to come over to this sleepover."

"And you don't have to get your snacks. I'll give you 20 minutes. If you take long, I'll drag your behind out myself."

He leaned in and whispered into my ear, "I'd like to see you try."

I pushed him as I felt my face turn hot. "Just get your candy." Jay winked and walked into the store. I covered my face with my hands and my heart was beating out of my chest. "He winked at me." I thought in my head. A smile crept onto my face. "Why is he like this?" I asked myself. I needed to calm myself down. I took a deep breath and blew it out. I did that a few more times until my heart rate slowed down. After waiting in the car for about thirty minutes, I couldn't wait anymore. I got out of the car and went inside the store. I looked around the aisles and found Jay looking at a bag of chips. "Times up, JJ." I grabbed the collar of his shirt and dragged him out of the store.

"What about my snacks?" I laughed. "Theia has snacks at her house, let's go. She's probably wondering where we are." I started the car and drove to Theia's house. When we pulled up in the driveway, she emerged from the house.

"What took you so long?" Theia asked, her arms crossed, eyebrows raised, and a smile on her face.

"Jaybird here decided that he would take thirty minutes to get snacks."

"I told you to stop calling me that. I'm not a bird." He glared.

I didn't care whether he liked the nickname or not. I was going to continue to call him Jaybird. I always thought it was a cute nickname. It didn't match his personality but that's why it's ironic. We got our bags out of the trunk and Theia brought them inside. I walked behind Jay, put my hands on his shoulders, and whispered into his ear, "Jaybird." He scowled but I could tell that I embarrassed him because his arms were crossed and his ears turned red. Jay was so adorable when he was angry...sometimes. We took our shoes off when we entered the house.

"Do you guys wanna hear some music?" she asked.

"Sure," I said.
"Play anything." Theia smiled mischievously.

I knew exactly what she was thinking. "Hey Alexa, play 'Wannabe' by the Spice Girls." Jay groaned as he plopped on the couch and put a pillow over his head.

"You guys play this song every time. Can we listen to something else please?"

I sighed deeply. "Fine, what do you want to listen to?" Theia asked, impatiently.

"What about 'Rather Be' by Clean Bandit?"

"Sure, at least we all like that song."I'm so glad the three of us have relatively the same taste in music.

"Hey Alexa, play 'Rather Be' by Clean Bandit." I commanded. Theia and I immediately started dancing around while Jay stayed on the couch. She and I pulled him off the couch and forced him to dance with us. For a while, he did but then went into the kitchen to get something to eat.