Stay Away Larry

One

"Where is it!?"

As I lay sprawled across Karla's bed, staring at the ceiling and attempting to appear casual, she rummaged through her drawers in a frenzied search for her elusive school tie.

"Karla, you're creating chaos in here!" I exclaimed, suppressing a laugh as she tossed aside a pile of clothes with a dramatic sigh.

Crestwood had a strict formal wear policy on every Monday and Thursday or (especially) every first day of school after holiday breaks and stuff. Unfortunately for my bestfriend, Karla, formal wear consisted of the one thing she could never seem to keep in one place; a tie.

"Chaos is my middle name, Maddie," Karla replied, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she threw a sock in my direction. I deftly caught it and tossed it back.

"Your roommate is going to flip when she sees this. I can practically hear her neat-freak radar going off from here," I warned, trying to keep a straight face. Karla just shrugged, unbothered.

"Relax, Mads. She's probably out pre-studying or something. It's not like she's in love with cleanliness."

I wanted to ask how she knew that since we'd only returned back yesterday from our Christmas holidays, but one glance at the other side of the room with an unmade bed, and unpacked clothes, drained my interest in doing so.

Though, I couldn't help but smirk at her remark, secretly wishing she'd notice a different kind of mess—my fluttering heart whenever she was around. As Karla continued her search, I decided to tease her a bit.

"You know, if you're looking for an excuse to drag me to your room, there are better ones than a missing tie."

She shot me a playful glare. "I just like the way you can eaisly sit back and watch your bestfriend in panic."

I chuckled. "Okay fine, let's find this tie before your roommate declares war on us."

Karla paused, looking at me with a smirk. "Or maybe I'm just using this as an excuse to spend more time with you."

Ever since finding out I was into girls, Karla did all she could to tease me. I didn't mind, at all. The only problem was, I felt like I did have a thing for my three years and a few days bestfriend.

My cheeks heated up instantly, but I played it off with a nonchalant expression. "Smooth, Karl. Real smooth."

As she continued searching, I couldn't help but steal glances at her, hoping she wouldn't notice the crimson hue on my cheeks. I decided to check under the bed, having not remembering her searching there. I crouched down and tried to see through the darkness that was under the bed, but failed miserably so I reached for my phone in my blazer pocket to use it for light. I moved the phone, torching everywhere and finding nothing. So, I stood up ready to search somewhere else, when she suddenly turned to face me, holding the missing tie triumphantly.

"Found it!" she declared, a triumphant grin on her face.

Relieved, I smiled back. "Great. Now, let's clean up this mess before your roommate stages a revolt."

We spent the next few minutes restoring some semblance of order to Karla's side of the room, sharing laughs and retorts. And amidst the chaos, I couldn't help but savor every moment, secretly cherishing the messy and unforgettable connection that was growing within every passing day.

𖤝𖤝𖤝

As we sat in the bustling cafeteria, picking at our breakfast, I decided to launch into a casual comparison of our schedules.

"So, Karla, guess what? We don't share a room, and now we don't even share a homeroom. I think they're trying to keep us apart," I said, feigning a melodramatic sigh.