Apricity [a-PRIS-i-tee]: The warmth of the sun in winter
Briar Elizabeth Maddox
Became a social outcast over the summer and now her used-to-be friends treat her no better than the dirt under their shoes. But no matter what she's been through, she'...
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"I think it's cute," Briar tells me confidently.
"In what context would I ever find use of that information?"
"I'm not saying it's useful in any context. That's why they call it a fun fact. I've explained this to you before." She gives a thorough roll of her eyes.
The bus rocks our shoulders against each other again and again. I grip the edge of the seat in front of me to give her more space.
"A spaghetto..." I recall the word out loud.
"Is the term for a single strand of spaghetti," she confirms. Then she turns to give me one of her beaming smiles. "I bet your brain just released a boost of dopamine from how fun that fact was."
I shake my head as I look at her. "How do you know all this information anyway?" I'm almost scared to ask.
Briar gets momentarily distracted to help Val adjust her hair. She's sitting with Myles in the seats beside us. The bus is loud with everyone else around us. This is our first out-of-town game since the season started. With all the games we've won so far, our competition has branched out further.
"Because I grew up spending a lot of time at the library and when I wasn't reading I was scrolling through the internet," she answered through the bobby pin in her mouth as she put up more of Val's hair. She leans over the aisle to get a better reach.
I give an unsatisfied grunt as she gives Valentina her full attention. The other boys in the back are loud and rowdy and I keep myself from rolling my eyes to the back of my head. They're knocking a ball back and forth between each other. There's no order in it and Coach doesn't bother to tell them to shut the hell up.
I see Bradley at the back of the bus as he chucks the ball to a kid who wasn't paying attention. He tries to catch it at the last second but it bounces off his hand and comes shooting forward down the aisle.
I reach forward and grab Briar's waist and yank her out of the aisle. I hear the small "woah," she lets out before she falls back into me. I now have her tucked in between one side of my body and the back of the seat.
What pisses me off the most is that I when I look back, Bradley shows no sign of an apology. His mouth is covered with his fist as he finds something about what just happened funny.
Someone from the front grabs the ball and readies to throw it back. I lift myself off the seat and intercept the ball as it's thrown in the air. I waste no time with my next action.
I tuck the ball under my arm, drag the window of the bus down, and chuck the ball into the open air.
"Hey, that was my ball!" I hear him shout from the back of the bus. I stick my middle finger in the air towards him and watch in satisfaction as the ball lands into a ditch on the side of the road.
