Little Talks

caesious: [iv]

caesious (adj) : a type of bluish grey

“Can you believe that we’re in tenth grade?” I said, walking over to where Allie was sitting by the tree we had been meeting at for lunch since last year, this time. Her nose was buried in a book, but she glanced up every now and then to watch the boys’ soccer game that was happening on the field below us. Her hair was still as long as ever, but, due to the heat, was piled on top of her head, curled in a neat bun. Allie heard me, and threw back her head with a groan.

“Don’t. Remind. Me.” I laughed.

“Homework load that bad?” Allie nodded, sighing, and pulling her knees up to her chin.

“There’s just so much to do, and a lot of-“

“Stress, already, I know, it’s unbelievable.” I sat down next to her, and she glanced at me.

“How’s the fam?” I jutted my chin out slightly, and watched the boys kick the ball around. Jace was playing goalie, and was lounging next to the post as his team seemed to effortlessly keep the ball on the other side of the field.

“Fine.”

“Really? Because, you know, you don’t seem fine.” Allie was looking at me, skeptical, and I glared at her.

“And how could you tell?” I spat, rounding on her. Allie frowned.

“Because I’m your friend. And I’m here for you.” I rolled my eyes. I was hurt by the fact that she seemed merely curious anymore, and that there really wasn’t any emotion behind her words. Her lips didn’t turn down the way that they usually did, her worried face, and her hands still remained buried in her book as if she was more eager to get back to the storyline than she was eager to talk to me about how I was. I stood up, brushing my jeans off.

“I’m going to eat with Mariam and Kells.”

******

“Li-li, you want to come over tonight? We can have pizza and stuff.” Usually, Allie would be excited to come over for our annual winter break sleepover, but she simply tucked her long hair behind her ears, and shook her head.

“I can’t. I’m busy,” she muttered, walking past me, leaving me standing in the hallway. Alone.

“Allie!” I called, running after her, trying to make my voice heard over the din of the hallways. “What do you mean you’re busy? We always do this!” When she didn’t stop, I put my hand on her shoulder, and tried to make her stop. She whirled around, furious, slapping my hand away. I snatched it back.

“I can’t, Kate, okay? I have stuff going on.” With one last look, she stormed off, leaving me feeling hurt. I went to grab my backpack, which had fallen from my shoulder, and slipped past the much taller students in the hall.

“Hey, Kate.” Jace was leaning on the doorframe to our English classroom. His hands were flat on his jeans, and they rubbed up and down on the fabric.

“Hey, Jace. You going inside, or are you going to help the lost and weary?” I asked, teasing. He laughed some, but cleared his throat.

“Actually, I was wondering if I could ask you something quickly.” I could see him swallow, and I did as well, slightly nervous.

“Yeah… sure. What do you need?” Jace gestured to the area by the windows, which was relatively uninhabited and quiet. The clock in the hallway told us that we still had five minutes until class started, and I felt less rushed as we walked towards the windows.

“Um. I was. I was wondering. Well, I wanted to see ifyouwantedtogowithmetoamovieafterschool.” I got the gist of what he was saying, and my lungs swelled, but I decided to ask him what he meant, just to be sure. But then, for some reason, I glanced through the still open door of our classroom. Allie was sitting at her desk, her head bent, and a curtain of hair blocking her features from view. She’s busy. Just go ahead and say yes.