Bradley threw a grape at her and she glared at him.
"Stop it," Natalie shrieked. "Why am I sitting here? Please, remind me."
"You're overwhelmed by my charm," Bradley said with a wink.
"You're attracted to this," Zack said, pointing at himself.
"You want alcohol...," Andrew said hesitantly.
"You want to know the most ridiculous ways to-"
"Okay, that's it!" Natalie snapped, stopping Zack mid-sentence. "Isaac, do your own damn poster. I'm not a part of the project anymore."
"But I can't do it alone!" He pouted. "It's literally due in two hours."
"Not my fault that you have such annoying friends. I swear all boys are-"
"Annoying," Felicity supplied.
"Dumb," another girl piped in.
"Ugly," someone else pointed out.
"Flirts," Zack nodded.
Bradley slapped him upside the head and glared at him. "Whose side are you on?"
"The winning side!" Zack shot back. They continued bickering and Natalie ignored the conversation and turned her attention to her half eaten food.
"Nat," Isaac shook her shoulder. "Let's just finish this before the next period starts. We don't have any periods together after this anyways."
"I know," she nodded. It had been a week since school had started, but they already had work piling up. The fact she had been paired with Isaac made it twenty times worse. Though he was smart, he had annoying friends and a distracting face.
She reached for the paper and drew out a quick idea for him. "Look. You figure out the measurements and I'll make it look pretty. Just...use this arrangement."
Isaac looked at her idea and nodded. "I'll see if it works."
"Okay," she smiled. Turning to Felicity, she said, "Elly, locker. I need colour pencils."
"Look, that was only one time. I'm not hoarding pencils," she mumbled while getting up. The other girls burst out laughing, recalling a previous incident.
"Well, you are. So it doesn't matter. Hurry up, we gotta finish this."
Giving Isaac a smile, they headed out to Felicity's locker. "You know, I would go straight for Isaac."
Natalie rolled her eyes. "Not this again."
"He's hot. Way hotter than George," she said with grin.
Returning the grin, Natalie said, "I know." Then her smile fell. "I think he already has a girlfriend called Taylor."
"I know, you told me. But you said he avoided the topic. Maybe they broke up."
"That's something to hope for."
"Well, if not him, then go for Bradley. He's adorable." She stopped in front of her locker and unlocked it. Digging through it, she found the coloured pencils and handed them to her friend.
"No way. He's too much of a flirt. He has a new girl everyday. Besides, I don't have a thing for him."
"Andrew's not bad, if you ignore his drinking problem."
"Why are so after me to get into a relationship when I just got out of one?" Natalie asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Because it's been so long since you've had a boyfriend!" Felicity exclaimed.
"It's been three weeks. What's going on?"
"Three weeks is almost a month," Felicity pointed out.
"Felicity," Natalie warned.
Sighing, Felicity threw her hands up in exasperation. "Fine! My mother is finally talking to me. This happened yesterday night, so stop giving me glares. She is starting to accept it after the numerous videos and articles, but she thinks we are dating and she hates that fact. She thinks I used advantage of our friendship."
"And so you feel the need to prove it to her that I'm straight so that you can go back home," Natalie completed.
"I'm sorry, Li. It's been three weeks since I've seen them both. I really miss them. I want to go back home."
They stopped in front of the cafeteria doors. "Shoving me into a relationship won't work, but I know that shoving you into a relationship would. Remember Drew? She's bi. You should totally ask her out. Do you still have that tiny crush on her?"
Felicity pushed Natalie into a wall and she almost dropped the pencils in shock. "You never told me she was bi!" She whined. "Of course I still have a crush on her! She's goals!"
"Hey! I found out during summer and forgot to mention it. Anyways, she is always near the gym after school for basketball practice. Confront her then."
Felicity yelled happily and pulled her friend into an embrace. "Thank you so much. I love you!"
"Platonic, right?"
Kicking her in the calf, Felicity stalked back inside, leaving a laughing Natalie behind.
⚜⚜⚜
After finishing the dreaded project, Natalie stared at the board, the numbers swimming around in her brain. Chewing on her pencil, she glanced down at her phone, which had lit up.
It was a message from Isaac.
I submitted it before this period started.
Cool whatd she say
She said it was good but we apparently need to go back to preschool to learn how to colour inside the lines.
Didnt u tell her that people pay us to colour for them? We are totally skilled in that department
I did, but she didn't believe me after she saw the cat blue and white.
Some cats do have that typa fur
I know, right? She just wouldn't listen. At least she took it. She said the most she could give us was an A because decorations don't count.
Natalie sat back in her chair, a satisfied smile on her face. Glancing up at the teacher and nodding a few times to show she was paying attention, she texted back.
Damn it! I was hoping for the letter before A
And what would that be?
Idk I was hoping she would invent it
Nah, she's not that nice.
I thought u were a nerd. y r u texting in class
We have a free period.
Well I don't
Okay, see you later.
Ye
Putting her phone away, she glanced back at the board, feeling much less stressed than before.
