Home Run || j.m.b [ON HOLD]

06 | it's joey, it's okay

Mondays will always arrive with me having mixed feelings about the day. It's a new week, a new day, a new energy - that's something positive. That means I still have time in this world to live. Something that's making me feel a little down is school.

I mean, it's not all bad, but it just means that I have to get up pretty early. That clearly states how much of a late sleeper I am.

Ignoring the calls my bed seems to be making, I put my clothes on for today. It's the same button down white shirt, blue checkered skirt, navy leggings and our school dark blue jumper. At ten to eight, I'm already out of the house, almost dragging Colt by the ear because of how long he's taking.

Mum drives us to school every morning. She stops by at Colt's primary school first before going to my school. Then she's off to work, probably arriving at home at five.

Lizzie waits for me at the front gates, her fiery red hair swaying in the breeze as she greets a group of girls in the year above us. I hop off from the car, saying good bye to mum and skip over to her.

"You," Lizzie points to me, her eyes squinting in a menacing way, "you didn't show up at the park yesterday!"

I freeze in my spot, "oh what?"

"Oh my God!" I finally realise, "I'm so sorry!"

"I completely forgot!" I try to explain to an annoyed Lizzie, "Joey didn't let me off from spending the day with him, and we had a sudden practice call from Coach, oh my God, I'm sorry!"

It's Lizzie's turn to freeze, "you spent the day with Joey?"

"Yes!" I cry, burying my head in my hands, disappointed at myself, "I'm so sorry, I don't know how I forgot!"

How Lizzie reacts is 180 degrees from what I imagined her doing. I expected her to flip out and lecture me for being out with a boy I don't completely know - for a whole day, and had him tag along to my house and softball practice.

Instead, she jumps up and down, letting out small squeals as she did. "Oh my God oh my God!" she shrieks, "you're that person Joey mentioned in his Instagram post!"

"What?"

"Look here!" Lizzie pulls her phone out enthusiastically, showing me Joey's most recent post. "'She told me to pose stupid', who else would it be but you?"

My mind flashes back to yesterday. Joey and I had just finished our lunch at a small cafe, and we came across an ice cream truck near a park in the middle of the city. Naturally, we each had one - who could resist ice cream? We walked around the park and saw a statue in the distance.

"Oh look, Joey," I said to catch his attention which had been fully for the ice cream he was eating, "that statue looks just like you!"

Joey scrunched his face in disagreement, "no, it doesn't."

"Yes it does," I laughed, teasing him, even though I knew it doesn't even look close to him. What do you expect? The statue is of a Greek God.

"I look way better than him," Joey insisted, scoffing as he swallowed the rest of his ice cream. "Come on, I'll prove it to you."

"You take a picture so we can compare it side by side," he instructed me, placing his phone in my hands and ran to the statue, "password is my birthday!"

"What?"

"Password is my birthday!"

"I heard that, you doofus!" I called out, "but one: how original. Two: why are you telling me this!? I could've just swiped left, idiot!"

Joey stopped in his track, "oops."

"Okay, I'll change it later but come on!"

I shook my head as I followed him to the statue, saying one two three when Joey posed for the photo. I cringe as Joey did one of those 'cool kids' poses that make many girls double tap on his Instagram.

"Ew!" I cried, "pose stupid!"

Joey turned to face away from me and goes upside down, his face showing between his legs and his hands up in the air, the hat he's wearing falling off.

And that's how it came to be.

Lizzie is still waiting for my reaction, even though I think by not saying anything is an enough reaction already.

"Are you expecting me to say something?" I ask her.

"Well, yeah?"

I roll my eyes and we head on to our first class, sitting down in the middle row.

"I'm still sorry I forgot about yesterday though," I apologise to an amused Lizzie, "if I remembered, I would've come."

"If you remembered," Lizzie points out, emphasising the first word, "but, it's Joey, it's okay."

"You feel closer to him, don't you?" she asks as our teacher walks into the room and begins to sort out her things on the teacher's table at the front of the classroom.

To be honest, I do.

Instead of seeing him as this weird, malfunctioned teen celebrity that Lizzie and Harper praise like Gods, I'm starting to see him as a potential friend. There's just something different, quirky and distinctive about him I can't point out that makes me go 'oh! I want to get to know him'. You know?

"Answer me, idiot," Lizzie nudges me, "or I'm going to assume you like him."

I snap out of my thoughts, "huh?"

"You feel closer to him, don't yo -"

"I have ears, Liz," I answer, "and he wouldn't be a friend of mine if I didn't like him, dumbo."

Lizzie pulls a derp face (she's very good at it) and rolls her eyes, "not what I meant, Lissa."

"You wouldn't be my friend if I didn't like you, right?"

"Not what I meant!"

Chuckling, I face the teacher who is now ready to smack the table with a wooden ruler because of how noisy the class is.

"Does everyone have something they want to share?" she asks, "we could have a small 'show and tell' session before we start the lesson, who'd like to go first."

The room goes silent.

And breaking that silence is that annoying notification sound your phone makes.

     joey
     hey i know ur at school
     but
     idk, its my last day here
     if u could meet up w me that'd
     be great?

"Oh, Alissa!" our teacher calls, making me shoot my head up in shock.

"Thank you for volunteering to go first," she continues, "that's so nice of you!"

     me
     thanks for making me go
     first in this sudden show and tell
   

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guess what? how about i tell you we have double updates today? it's someone's special day today *cough*29thmay*cough*. in my time zone at least haha:) by the time you've finished reading this, the other update will be up anyhow. let's not waste any more time, shall we

p.s. i'd like to apologise for the messiness of the next chapter. i had to write that in a rush bc my computer broke on sunday and i just got it to work yesterday afternoon:)