Say The Word

Chapter 20- Skipping, Édith Piaf, And Also Mood Ruiners (If That Is A Word)

"Ya didn't tell me you could cook," Ceb chomped down hard into the egg sandwich, stifling their pained moans.

"It is not much, really," I reduced the tightness of the bandage. "I am just really glad you like it. If you want, I could make you food every day."

They turned abruptly, making me lose my grip. They winced, "R-really? Every day? Do I have to pay you or something?"

"Ceb, please, don't move around," I sighed. "No, you don't have to pay me, we are friends, no? I really do not mind."

"You sound down today, you know that, geep," Ceb stated through their unchewed sandwich. It was true; I did not feel like going home today, so I told them how I felt truthfully, leaving out why I felt like that. "You wanna have a little fun with me then?"

"What?"

"Get out of here and live a little," they shrugged. "Sometimes, when I look at you, you look exactly like a caged animal. Why not go with me and do something else that isn't burying yourself under stress? A friend still owes me something."

Their offer was tempting.

And I took it.

"Great," hummed Ceb. "We need a free pass though, can't get your rep tainted, now can we?"

Wrinkly stained white long sleeves covered my ugly patchwork up, hiding their wounds of anguish under more layers of clothing. They stood up, "Let's go, geep, we're gonna get you smiling in no time. But first, we should probably as Shrimpy for a favour."

I reached up and placed my hand in their empty ones, letting them pull me up to my feet easily.

A little fire of excitement ignited inside of me and it was not going to go out any time soon.

▪▫▪▫▪

Our bags were soon thrown across the high walls guarding the school compound.

"Hopefully Shrimp is doing her job right now," they hummed as they demonstrated how easy it was to jump across, landing on the other side flawlessly.

As I struggled to climb over the slippery wall, I asked, in a hushed tone, "Ceb, are you sure this is a good idea? What if the teachers do not buy it?"

"They will, they have to, after all, you're 'sick'," they watched me landing on my back, dirtying my once clean school uniform. " 'S gonna be fine, you don't need any more revision, do you? Last time I checked, you're pretty fucking smart."

"Yeah?" I brushed off the grass sticking onto my pants. "That does not mean I am ready."

"No one's truly ready, geep. Just work with what you have," they helped me sling by bag over my shoulders. "Now, let's go, we have a ride to catch."

Just like that, we said au revoir* to the school and the education half a day education I could have gotten. Instead, we were hopped on a bus, fingers intertwined, in the backseat, where nobody could see us. Our knees touched, my breathing was unsteady, yet I tried my best not to pant like an idiot who could not run. Arms stuck together, the texture of their denim jacket was imprinted onto my skin, it was as if we were one being, their head on my shoulder, all I could focus on was how naturally their rate of inhaling and exhaling was, I was too nervous to even look down.

That moment was engraved into the depths of my mind. My only regret was not paying attention to how peaceful they must have looked. How their eyelashes fluttered, what kind of expression they had on their face, how the light bounced off their seemingly beautiful face... They were all things I would never know.