The Riveting Lives of Russell and Sal

Chapter 10

"How to win him over?" Sal asked himself. Gifts had no effect. Building muscle took too much effort. Looking nice wasn't enough. He had complimented him though. Sal thought about that a lot. Maybe he should dress up more often. Then, he remembered Brad's comments, Tyler's suspicions, and his forgotten lunch. No, dressing up wasn't worth the risk. But what if I dressed down? It couldn't hurt. So one morning, he put on sweatpants and an old T-shirt, neglecting his hair. He looked in the mirror. Beautiful. This time, he would win Russell over through casual dress and bed-head. If only he could do something about his hideous, brown eyes. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and opened the front door to find Brenda on the other side of it. Despite appearing tired from her usual night-shift at the hotel she worked at, she noticed Sal's attire immediately.

"What are you doing, going to school dressed like that?"

"It's casual Friday," Sal said with a shrug.

"Go upstairs and put on something decent." Brenda made her way inside. "And it's Wednesday," she called as Sal rushed back upstairs.

He traded his sweatpants for a pair of jeans and combed his fingers through his tangled hair. So much for that idea.

Sal was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice Russell until a crowd of students pushed him into him.

"Watch it." Russell brightened when he saw it was Sal. "Hey, where are you going?"

Sal blinked. "Home."

"I'll walk partway with you," Russell said. "We haven't talked much lately."

"Yeah." Sal stared at the Geology textbook in his arms. "We could spend time talking during lunch, but you always want to eat alone for some mysterious reason you refuse to discuss."

"Sal..."

"What? Is this about me finding peanut butter sandwiches superior to jelly? Which is true, by the way."

"No, it's not about sandwich preference. I... don't know what to do." Russell fiddled with the coffin on his necklace as they walked on.

"You don't know how to eat lunch?"

"No. I don't know where to sit. There's no one I'm close to, so I don't want to intrude on acquaintances. If I eat alone, I'll look like a loser. Plus, people might come and ask me why I'm eating alone. And then, if I tell them why, they might invite me to eat with them. And I wouldn't know if it's genuine or if they feel sorry for me." Russell chewed at his thumbnail, gaze lowered.

Sal couldn't believe the amount of thought Russell had put into something as simple as lunch time. "You could always sit with me."

Russell yanked his thumb out of his mouth. "Gosh no! I don't want to be seen eating with you. What would people think?"

"I doubt anyone other than Stewart would notice, and he wouldn't mind."

"I'm not doing it."

"Why can't we eat alone together in your spot?"

"Because I can't eat with you around. You make me nervous." Russell chewed his thumbnail again.

Sal blushed, and shifted his backpack to his other shoulder. "Since you don't want to see me during lunch, do you want to come over to my house and continue our zoo?"

"I would, but my parents want to meet you before our relationship progresses."

Sal's heart skipped a beat at his last three words, and struggled to keep his voice nonchalant. "So, we're entering a relationship then?"