Ice Cream Girls

Chapter 5

As we walked to the detention classroom, Orange complained loudly about how we all got detention on the first day. "I mean seriously, can't she cut us a little slack?" She mumbled, crossing her arms. Basil nodded, giggling slightly.

"Well, she's probably just trying to make a good first impression. I guess it's better to discipline your students before they need it so they get used to it. In theory, anyway..." She trailed off. Orange sighed obnoxiously.

"Well, I don't like it!" Basil giggled again, but it seemed more forced this time. She must be used to Orange's antics.

"Anyway," I said quickly to avoid more awkward half-ranting, "What are you guys doing after school?"

Orange's pout disappeared completely and was replaced with a wide grin. "Me and Basil are going to the nearby cafe! Wanna come?"

I thought for a moment. Red Bean might want to hang out together, but she might be preoccupied with Pistachio, so I probably won't be missed. I'll just leave a note and make up for it by teasing her about it. In a friendly way, of course. "Sure! I just need to get my stuff from my dorm after detention." At the mention of detention, Orange's face darkened and she went back to pouting. Thankfully, we we had already reached the classroom, so she had no time to start complaining again.

As we entered the room, we were surprised to see that it was empty of a teacher. The only other people in the room were two students, one with black hair pulled into side buns and one with a bright yellow bob. The girl with the bob noticed us and waved us over, pulling up a few other chairs. We sat down, and I quickly broke the silence. "I'm Vanilla, and this is Orange and Basil. Who are you?"

"I'm Lemon, and this is Black Cherry-" She exclaimed, gesturing to the other student- "But most people just call her Cherry."

"Nice to meet you!" Basil smiled at the two students. "Anyway, where's the teacher? Shouldn't she be watching us?"

Cherry spoke up from her spot on the other side of Lemon. "She usually just waits for a few students to come in and then leaves to meet up with her boyfriend for a few hours. If you just leave your passes here she won't really mind, so you can go do whatever."

Orange beamed. "Great! Thanks! That means we can go to the cafe!" She threw her pass onto the desk and ran out of the classroom. Basil and I smiled apologetically to Lemon and Cherry before placing our passes beside Orange's and walking out the door.

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When we arrived at the cafe, Basil offered to get our drinks while we claimed a table. I ordered a hot chocolate, and Orange ordered a mango smoothie. Once Basil went to order, Orange and I sat down at a booth near the window and chatted (and complained a bit) about school. Soon, Basil came back and we sipped our drinks in comfortable silence.

After a minute or two, the bell on the cafe door jingled, but I payed no attention. That is, until I heard two familiar voices nearby. "Strawberry, I am not spending the rest of my allowance on a milkshake. Buy it yourself!"

"But Chocolate! " Strawberry whined. I could almost hear the pout on her face. I tuned out of their bickering for a bit, until I heard something that made me pay attention faster than if she had said 'free cats'. "Hey Chocolate, look! It's Vanilla!"

I almost choked on my drink, but quickly regained my cool before they reached the table. "Hi Vanilla! Funny seeing you here!" Strawberry's cheery voice broke the silence first.

"O-oh, hi Strawberry, hi Chocolate. Yeah, I guess this place is pretty popular." I said awkwardly, sipping my drink and ignoring Orange and Basil's quiet giggles. Strawberry seemed to be waiting for something to happen, but then she glared at Chocolate and nudged her.

"Oh right, sorry. Hi Vanilla." She said distantly. I merely waved a bit, not feeling I needed to repeat myself. There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence before Strawberry spoke up again.

"So," She continued, addressing Orange and Basil this time, "What did you guys get? I want a milkshake, but that's what I always get..."

"You should try their smoothies, they're really good! I got mango, but they also have strawberry, blueberry, peach, and watermelon."

"They also have great tea! I ordered chamomile this time, but they have a bunch more, like fruit and green teas."

"Sounds awesome! Maybe I'll get some tea, it's pretty cold today..."

After listening to the conversation for a bit, I turned my attention to Chocolate, who had an unreadable expression on her face. "Are you okay?" I asked timidly. She looked up, surprised, but then relaxed a bit and sighed.

"I'm fine, just...got a lot on my mind." She sighed again and looked away, and I felt my face fall a bit.

"Well, I don't mind if you're not comfortable telling me, but I'm glad to listen if you ever need to vent!" I smiled a bit, taking another sip of hot chocolate. She smiled back, and I could feel my face heating up considerably.

"Thanks, Vanilla."

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By the time I got back to my dorm, I was exhausted. After the cafe, we all went to the park for a bit, and then the nearby arcade. Now, I was broke, tired, and hungry, but hey, I had a lot of fun. As I walked into the dorm, I more or less threw my bag next to the couch and grunted a reply to Red Bean's hello before collapsing onto the bed, sighing happily. This was going to be a fun year.