Furry Hands

10

"Hey Sugar, coming to my game tonight?" Chase Daniels asked Miriam before school.

Miriam knew Chase to be completely full of himself. She knew he was the quarterback. Years of movies taught her that was a big deal. Or it was supposed to be. Nowadays, a kid who could make catchy TikTok's could become richer than a quarterback ever would. 

"My name isn't Sugar. You'd think you'd know that since we met in the third grade," replied Miriam.

"Whatever. You're not that special. Come if you want. Don't if you don't."

"Anyway, it's a bad time to be at public events. Mercury is in retrograde this month," said Miriam, invoking astrology as a justification.

"No, Saturn is in retrograde and it's impossible for Mercury and Saturn to be in retrograde at the same time," asserted Chase confidently. Miriam noticed how his upper body formed a strong V-shape.

She Googled it on her phone and made a face.

"Ha. I'm right. I mean, whatever. Astrology is dumb. I just know about it from this PlayStation game."

Miriam convinced herself to go to the football game that night. Her whole family was indifferent to sports so it was an exotic experience. She didn't even know people bought popcorn at games. The public announcement system called out "Daniels" over and over. He really was important here. It was cold outside but dry. She eventually got bored at left a bit past half-time.