Violet Eclipse

School Bomber Arc

Intro

Okay, Jordé, this is it. Just ask him.

dying leaves fall from outside the window of the florescently well lit classroom. girls sit on the window sill gossiping, boys talking about the football game last night. The teacher is by their desk prepping the next lecture.

Jordé took a deep breath, steeling her nerves, and walked over to him.

"Hey, Donny," she called out, her voice almost steady.

Donny looked up from his phone, offering her a small smile. "Oh, hey, Jordé. What's up?"

Jordé swallowed hard, feeling her stomach do a backflip. This is it, she thought. No turning back.

"So, um..." she began, her voice trailing off as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Whatever it was that Jordé had planned, it fell apart the moment she actually put her confession into practice.

"I was wondering... if you'd maybe like to, you know, go out sometime?"

Donny blinked, clearly caught off guard. For a moment, he didn't say anything, and Jordé felt her heart sink. The silence stretched on, long enough to make her feel every second of it.

Finally, Donny scratched the back of his neck, his expression soft but hesitant. He gave probably the weakest smile one could give; he seemed unsure how to answer, and it showed on his face.

"You got dumped, didn't you..."

Jordé has her face pressed against the round lunch table, clearly distraught. Her friends Jasper and Preri surround her, munching on their food, as the echoes of laughter, joy, and cutlery clank throughout the open space.

Jasper leaned back, casually observing Jordé as she sulked.

Jordé groaned, burying her face in her arms. "I don't wanna talk about it..."

Jasper chuckled, shaking her head as she watched Jordé slump even further into her seat.

Preri, ever the optimist, chimed in, "It's okay, Jordé. There are plenty of guys in this school. My body counts in the millions."

Both Jasper and Jordé turned to look at Preri with genuine fear and confusion on their faces. Neither said a word, their expressions frozen in disbelief.

Realizing how insane that sounded, Preri's eyes widened in panic. "Wait—that's not what I meant—uh, I mean—" She fumbled, laughing nervously. "Man, this chicken sandwich is really good today, huh? They must've changed the frying oil or something!"

Jordé and Jasper, unimpressed, said in unison, "You're changing the subject..."

Preri continued laughing awkwardly, taking another forced bite of her sandwich.

Jordé sighed heavily and leaned back in her chair, her eyes tracing the ceiling. "What am I supposed to do now? I wanted to date someone... I've never really gotten the chance to be with anyone I liked."

Jasper shrugged, offering the simplest solution. "Why don't you just focus on your grades? Someone will eventually ask you out, right?"

Jordé didn't respond directly, instead curling the front of her hair between her fingers, muttering to herself. "Do you think maybe he thought I looked ugly... or maybe I smelled weird? Ughhh, I wish I knew more..."

She kicked her feet under the table, rocking herself back and forth, frustration etched on her face.

Jasper leaned forward, smirking slightly. "I think you're overthinking this a bit. Do you really think if he thought you were ugly, he'd just tell you?"