Break of Day

2) The Sweet Taste of Laughter at Twilight

Heat and spice danced along my taste buds in a gentle concoction of smooth sweetness as I sipped my ginger tea, watching Mel adjust the papers she had just fetched from the breeze's grasp. Soft warmth wrapped me in a comforting blanket, wafting gently from the dying sun. When the sun began to rest against the horizon, was really the only time I cared for the Texas heat. The vibrant yellows and oranges hovered just above the roofs of the town, faded from pale blue into several hues of indigo signalling the black: eager to bring the stars. The breeze was warm but gentle and cooling as it twirled and caressed the loose strains of my hair.

"Fuck do I hate Mr Carmon," Mel groaned as she set her neat papers on the table, using them as a coaster for her glass. "I've never met another teacher who forced us to use loose leaf for a fucking Bio paper. Mrs Larla always let us just hand in a tablet."

"Were you not the one who keeps swearing he is the hottest AP Bio teacher you could ever ask for?" I giggled, setting down my glass. "I believe you once spent an hour going off about how 'the galaxy could never compare to the beauty of those dark, coffee eyes of his? All mocha, melted chocolate and roasted coffee bean.'" I gave an overly cheesy sigh, laughing at the annoyed glint in her eyes, lit with amusement.

"Mmm," she sighed longingly, "Coffee. I love coffee."

"I know, Melly-bean." I laughed.

"I am still stuck on how cruel it is for him to smell like coffee. Hot body and smells like coffee! I swear the scent sticks to him like a butterfly to a spider's web." Recrossing her legs, she pulled the bright sunglasses over her cyan eyes. "I'll place a bet that he found coffee perfume and is simply hiding that information from me. The cruel, controlling bastard." Adjusting her papers for his class as though under the pretence I needed a reminder of how odd and controlling he was. I had —to Mel's glee— been placed in his homeroom with her. I loved science, but it had never been my forte. Mel, however, was the smartest person at our school— hell, probably in this county— and if she struggled in his class at times, I would have absolutely no chance. I just hope Forks has a less strict teacher for Ap Bio, I really need that college credit. I had never seen a man react so strongly to which side of the paper a student wrote on. Once, he made her redo her entire tablet when she doodled on the backs of the papers. He was such an odd man. He would give a sucker —root beer to those taller than five-six and bubblegum to the rest— to students who doodle around their work, saying it was one of the better parts of teaching high school. However, if the doodles were on the wrong side...

"I am sure that has to be the case," I laughed. The sarcasm which tinted my tone was too faint for anyone except a woman skilled and very fluent in the language could properly detect. I have always been miserable at applying the appropriate amount of emotion in my voice, almost as if I were a cardboard box that occasionally attempted to change its true shape.

"Obviously," she giggled. "I'm not actually hot for him, Lizzy-bean. Sure he's very aesthetically pleasing, and probably tastes like fresh coffee with just enough sugar and creamer to make it addictively sweet and a hella good model for a portrait, but that doesn't make him less of a dick." Adjusting mine to hold her papers, she took a sip from her glass.

"You do tend to be correct about such things." I leaned back, tracing the small pearl in the centre of the pale green fragrant water lily ring adoring my middle finger with my nails. "Still fancy the Willowsum girl then?"

"She keeps tryin' to hook up with Denny," Mel sighed, setting her glass down.

"That is—" My mind flickered to the face of Mel's cocky younger brother, Denver, trying to figure out why any creature — with a brain — would choose him over the enchanting blonde before me. Though his eyes do look as though they have trapped the gentleness of the night sky, navy near the centre falling way to the darkness, where pale grey flecked the blue like stars, glittering as if they dared to replace the beauty of a diamond. With a gentle streak of green dancing like northern lights I swore Mare was always swooning over before they broke up. And— I spent a few too many late nights listening to Mare fangirl. "I suppose you have elected to avoid mentioning your brother's preference for men?"