#seventeen

ii. allan

If there's another sweet person in the world who would give me a special gift on my seventeenth birthday, then it would have to be my guy BFF Allan Winston. I'm really flattered that he sent me that text message earlier.

Allan, you know, he has been there for me always ever since the eighth grade. He was there for me when I needed some assistance---besides my mother---when it comes to dreadful homework assignments.

"Happy Birthday, sweet disaster," he greets me that sheepish grin on his face by the time I got to school and is currently stuck in the crowded hallway with him as he gave me a brown paper bag with my supposed gift inside of it. I got the nickname, 'sweet disaster,' when both he and I were caught up in a lab experiment in our sophomore year that ended up in a huge mess afterwards. Mr. Reekles got mad us, actually,  and both us were sent to detention. I didn't like the idea of being called 'sloppy Joe', so Allan came up with sweet disaster (like that lame baking competition show on Freeform) instead, even though it's goddamn childish. He calls me two names: Claudia and Sweet Disaster. It's really up to him which name he goes with on a day to day basis.

"Why, thank you, Allan. You're very kind and thoughtful," I complimented him whilst batting my false eyelashes.
He gave me a small sketchbook to doodle on some of the pages whenever I'm bored just like last year. My old one unfortunately got lost when I was finished with homeroom class a few weeks ago. "Thank you again."

"Don't mention it." Allan has indeed grown taller for his age. He's also so seventeen, by the way. He scratches the back of his head then goes with, "Thankfully I've saved up a few bucks to buy you a decent gift."

We started walking down the hallway for first period class. Allan and I share the same first period class like last year also.

"Really? That's cool. Hey, wanna, you know, hangout later after school? My treat," I said to him.

"I should be the one who gets to treat you on your birthday, Claudia. Not the other way around."

I felt someone push me quite hard on the back from behind which caused me to yell, "Hey! Watch it, psycho."

The person turned around and shouted, "Loser!"

WTF? Why you have to be so rude? Don't you know that I am a human, too? Song lyrics are life when you just turned seventeen today.

"That person's indeed a mothereffing psycho, alright," Allan said, shaking his head. "So, shall we proceed with walking?"

"Yeah. After you, gentleman."

"No. After you, milady."

"Geez, Allan. Just go ahead now, will you?"

"No. You go first."

"Just go first."

"No, you go first, Nadine Claudia Reyes."

And so our stupid "who goes first" ever since kindergarten argument continued.