The Beginning, Middle, but not the End

Day 6,005 (March 26th)

I walk down the empty white hall. It's Tuesday so Dallas has practice with his band. He offered me, earlier in chemistry, to join them but I told him I already have plans with Dante. I'm supposed to meet up with Dante after the final bell, which rang about two minutes ago, but I don't want to get caught in the congested halls, so I stay behind the crowd. There are only a few people left in the halls, all pouring out of each exit and to the parking lots. I pass the school's activity board and see a flash of neon green. Wait. I backtrack myself a few steps, and examine the flier.

Attention!

Are you wanting some volunteer hours, or even just looking for a way to occupy your free time? Pull a tab below and call the number provided. Don't miss your chance!

There's four tabs left. The last tabs are for an animal clinic, a soup kitchen, a retirement home, and an environmental awareness association. I pull the animal clinic tab and continue on my route to Dante's car, which just happens to be parked across campus.

I decide to make a hard right, exiting the building, and stroll down the sidewalk. It's not too hot, nor too cold. The high is supposed to be about 71 degrees today, it probably just reached that. The buses begin departing by the time I find Dante. He's leaning against it while he texts someone. My phone buzzes, and Dante looks up, spotting me.

"Hey, Jo! I just texted you so ignore that notification. Let's hurry up so we can beat the evening rush," he climbs into the driver seat, and I get in on the passenger side of his Ford truck. I toss my backpack behind my seat and turn on the radio. A local pop station comes on and Dante begins to sing along, serenading me. He starts dancing and I can't help but laugh. He gets distracted as he drives by doing this, so I scold him in a semi-friendly manner to make him keep his eyes on the road. We sing and dance together, all the way to the mall.

Once we arrive, we mainly wander in and out of stores. So far, I've bought a tie-dye hoodie and a new Beatles shirt. Dante bought a few tees and some new skater shoes. We have to resist the urge to not buy everything in every store we walk through.

Through the skylights, I can see the sun setting. Our last stop for the night is to the food court. Dante decides to get a sandwich, and I go for some lo-mein. We meet up after getting our food and find a table to eat at. "So, how's it going?" Dante says to break the silence in between his chewing.

I shrug and finish my bite, "Pretty good I guess. You?"

"I'm just peachy." I love hanging out with Dante, but sometimes it gets awkward and I know that's probably my fault. We've been friends for a while, but the only person in our friend group that I'm super close with is Dallas. Of course, we've been friends for a long time, so I guess it would make sense but I can't help but feel guilty about it at times. Whenever I do hang out with Dante and Zelda we have a lot of fun, but we always hit at least one minute of awkward silence where we don't know exactly what to talk about.

"This food is so good, wanna try a bite?" I gesture to my chicken and noodles.

He nods and takes a bite, "That is more than good. It's-it's, heavenly!" I laugh.

"So how are you and Dallas?" This question strikes me as random but I simply go with it.

"We're good," I shovel another forkful of my food into my mouth.

Dante nods, "That's great. I was just wondering because of the other day at his house after me and Zelda brought back food."

After shrugging off the memory, I assure him, "We're fine. I don't really wanna talk about it."

"Alright, but if you ever want to, you can." He gives me a small smile.

I remember the flier from earlier, and decide to change the subject. "So earlier I saw a flier about volunteering at places for hours or whatever. Do you think you'd be interested in volunteering at an animal clinic with me? If you don't want to I'd totally understand, I was just thinking this might be something small we could do. It'll give us an excuse to hang out more," I shrug and avoid making eye-contact with him.

Too late. Dante locks eyes with me, "That would be so much fun! When do we start?"

"I haven't actually called the place yet, I wanted to see if you were interested first."

"Definitely!" Dante beams at me, he has a beautiful smile and warm caramel skin. His big, dark eyes suit him well. It's odd to think he doesn't have anyone special in his life, but I know one day he will, and he'll be so happy when he does. Whoever the special guy is, he'll be very lucky.