Grape Field

Chapter 9. Family portraits

"You're in what now?" Hitch paused, widening her eyes. A few drops of coffee fell on the table from the wooden stick she used to stir her drink with. "That's crazy!"

"In a good way or a bad way?" I hesitantly asked, bringing a cup to my lips.

"No, no, it's good! You just amaze me." She chuckled. "Got yourself into some cool stuff, and you've only been here, what? Like, a few weeks?"

"I don't know; it's just happened." I shrugged with a smile, my gaze wandering around the small coffee shop—the only place with decent hot drinks on campus. "Have you heard them before? I mean, you said you were friends with them, right? That time at the cafeteria."

Hitch took a long sip while listening to me, and then one even longer before answering. "Well, everyone on campus heard the band, I think. They played at parties and all that. But yes, I know the guys. I wouldn't say we're friends, per se; more like acquaintances now."

Her nonchalant tone and posture displayed no interest or appeal about the topic, but the way she shifted her gaze to the window, as if avoiding eye contact, left me uneasy, so I decided to pry. "Did something happen? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It just seems like you're upset now that I've mentioned them."

"Is it that obvious?" She touched her face with a playful sigh and quickly laughed. For a moment, she stared into my eyes with contemplation behind hers. "I don't know," she said gravely. "Like, nothing really happened; we're good. So I don't have any reason to be upset about anything... But ever since that, uhm, thing with Historia, they kinda stopped inviting me to hang out, and it's just sad, because we were pretty close with some of them."

"But you're still friends with Annie?"

"Yeah, Annie's cool, but she's kinda aloof, if you noticed. And the rest— I just don't understand how she has so much influence on them!" She twisted her lips and looked out of the window. Shortly, she turned to me, and not a sign of sorrow was left on her face. "But enough about this. We didn't meet to discuss my failed friendships, right? It just makes me look less of a bad bitch." She chuckled.

"Oh, I have my fair share of failed friendships too. So don't worry; it doesn't affect your bad bitch-ness in my eyes," I said, a lopsided smile playing on my lips.

"So..." She shot me an impish look over her cup of coffee. "What else have you been doing lately? Some boys, maybe? Have your eyes on someone already?"

I almost choked on my drink. "No, I stay away from this." I laughed. "What about you, though? Who's that mysterious, tall guy that walked you here?"

Her smug expression morphed into a confused one. Straightening in her seat, she quickly tucked her hair behind her ear. "It's just Marlo. Nothing interesting here, really."

"Just Marlo?" I cocked a brow, leaning across the table. "Really? I'd say you looked like a couple. The way he was staring at you—"

"Oh, stop it!"

"Don't tell me you're not giving him a chance just because of that haircut. I mean, it's a serious issue, but it's fixable."

"No, I actually don't think it's that bad." She laughed. "He's kinda cute, but I don't see him that way."

After spending some more time casually chatting and savoring our drinks, we both felt reluctant to end the session and go on about our daily duties. My own discontent was greater, though, since Hitch's duties consisted of going home, whereas I had a long day of classes ahead of me. Nevertheless, we left the coffee shop just in time for me not to be late, and, embracing Hitch at parting, I headed towards the main building.