𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 (hope x Koolaid Man)

1

           The clock ticked loudly at the front of the room. One second, then two, then three. One Hope Holler watched intently as the the red hand moved around the clock. Mrs. Slobodian droned on about an event that may or may not have happened a few hundred years ago. As she watched the clock, her mind began to wander, she thought about a mark for a quiz she's yet to get back. She thought about how sidewalks stay shattered for years before the city fixes them, but the biggest thought, the one she couldn't get out of her mind is how a jug of juice goes to her school and not a single person questioned it, she didn't question it herself up until this very moment. Sure he was the weird kid, but that's because he sat in the corner of the library reading children's books for fun, not because he was meant to be an inanimate object. The Kool-Aid man wasn't in any of Hopes classes, but she still felt as though she was always seeing him. She thought about the fact that she couldn't get his eyes out of her mind, so lifeless, and somehow so kind.

             The bell brought Hope back into reality, it was 3:25 meaning she could finally leave this godforsaken place, or at least she could leave the front doors. Bus C28 always took what seemed like forever to show up, somewhat shortened by the distraction of Nirvana, Mother Mother, or Mitski, but today, there was nothing to shorten that time. Hope forgot her headphones at home so for the half hour she had to wait, she just stared. Hope knew better than anyone that a long boring wait could easily be made more bearable by simply not being in your own mind. She allowed herself to drift off,  staring off into nothingness, letting the minutes pass by waiting to be brought back by the sound of the big yellow bus pulling into the school.

              "Hello? Hello?" A familiar voice asked, "What do you want? Are you ok?", The voice continued to question.

              "Oh uhh..I didn't mean...I'm sorry" Hope frantically grasped for things to say but nothing would fully come out. The embarrassment of the situation was horrible, she hadn't noticed that her eyes were locked with The Kool-Aid Man's for God knows how long. The long yellow bus pulled up in perfect time for this interaction to be over "I'm sorry, I've got to run, bye!" She exclaimed with a shake in her voice that  confused her. She had no reason to be nervous. Yes it was awkward but that definitely wasn't out of the ordinary for her. But while walking to the glass doors, her heart was going a mile a minute. She sat, happy to be out of the cold, and waited yet again for this day to come to an end.