Vanessa sat across from Adriana in the nearly empty lunchroom, trying not to stare. She still couldn't quite wrap her mind around it—someone like Adriana, popular and effortlessly confident, actually wanting to spend time with her? Every time Adriana smiled or laughed at something she said, Vanessa felt a mix of disbelief and tentative warmth that she didn't know what to do with.
And then Adriana leaned forward, her tone casual, but her words anything but. "Hey, so...do you want to go on a date with me?"
Vanessa froze, her mind scrambling. Surely Adriana was joking. And yet, Adriana's expression was steady, waiting, and completely serious. Vanessa's eyes widened, a hundred questions rushing through her mind, but one came out faster than the rest.
"But...you have a boyfriend." Her voice was barely a whisper, and her mind went to Richard—Adriana's on-again, off-again boyfriend she'd occasionally seen hovering around her in the halls.
"Oh, Richard?" Adriana's face twisted into an annoyed scowl. "Not anymore. He cut up my Ironman backpack." She sat back, crossing her arms. "I loved that backpack! I was going to bring it to school today, but Richard decided to take kitchen scissors to it. So, yeah, we're done."
Vanessa blinked, her surprise deepening. Adriana had an Ironman backpack? Out of everything Adriana had said, somehow, that was the part her brain had decided to latch onto. It was almost endearing, and she was struck by the thought of Adriana proudly carrying it around.
Trying to make sense of everything, Vanessa's face grew warm, and she finally ducked her head, resting her forehead on her crossed arms. So Adriana actually did like her—enough to call this lunch something more than just friendship. With a shy glance up, she asked, "Where would we...go?"
Adriana leaned in, her face lighting up with excitement. "I was thinking we could tour that tech company everyone's talking about—SoliTech. People are saying they're the start of the zombie apocalypse, which sounds ridiculous, honestly. But they've got a tour going that shows where they'll be making the new robots. Thought you might be into that."
Vanessa's initial nervousness melted a little. She'd been fascinated by SoliTech's work for ages, even if she was currently investigating the potential side effects of their new power source. She nodded slowly, her voice more certain this time. "Actually...yeah, I think that could be fun. I even pre-ordered one of their Jenna robots."
"Oh, nice!" Adriana grinned. "I knew you'd be into it. SoliTech this weekend, then?"
Vanessa smiled, the anxiety fading into a hopeful buzz. "Yeah," she said softly. "This weekend."
YOU ARE READING
a little bit crazy
Science Fictionit's about a teenager with mental health issues. She is very smart, but she doesn't exactly talk to people very often, accept people who she has to talk to like her parents and her teachers. people think she's a little bit crazy, and that is absolut...
