Sunshine || l.h. {complete}

Forty Three

hey there

Luke: i'm going to go ahead and apologize for being awful at texting because i've never done it before

Belle: That's okay, haha. I'm glad you're home safe.

Luke: so how are you doing with angel staying the night

Belle: She won't shut up about how hot you are, and it's making me sick. Can I choke her with her own hair?

Luke: sunshine, are you going dark on me???

Belle: Good girls are bad girls that just haven't been caught yet, my dear.

Luke: i'll remember not to get on your dark side

so do these little smiley faces do things??

i'm confused i've never seen them before

woah this one just winked at me

IT MOVES BELLE IT MO VES

Belle: Those are emojis, silly. You use them when you would normally use facial expressions in conversation.

Or just to be funny.

Luke: these are so cool

Belle: You're so lame.

-

Turns out, Belle doesn't choke Angel with her own hair, Luke learns to use emojis (excessively), and Angel never shuts up about Luke.

The family packs themselves up and leaves a week later, and Belle hardly has enough time to breathe without Angel in her personal circumfrence before school starts back again.

She meets Elaine the Monday morning they return for a club meeting, her backpack strung around her shoulders.

"She wanted to watch him work out," Belle sticks her tongue out in disgust, "I can't believe her."

Elaine shrugs, "People don't always treat people like people. Sometimes they treat them like meat."

Belle laughs, opening the door for her friend, "I guess so."

"She and Wesley should get together," Elaine nudges Belle's bicep with a suggestive movement of her eyebrows, causing them both to burst into giggles.

"I don't understand why the music program doesn't get part of these donations!" a voice speaks harshly from within the room. Belle raises an eyebrow as the door shuts behind them.

There's a student, probably a senior by the looks of his facial hair, standing in the front of the room facing the rest of the people present. He looks exasperated.

"Maybe we were late," Elaine whispers, tilting her head in Belle's direction.

"All of this funding goes to the athletes. They get new uniforms every year, better equipment," he continues, his hands thrust in the air in frustration. "We're the student body's government. We should have more say in this, and you should listen to your fellow students. They've been complaining about the lack of new instruments, scholarships for certain students who can't afford their own instruments, and other things!"

A voice shouts from the crowd, "The band sucks! They don't make enough money to buy their own instruments."

"Excuse me?" Belle finds herself speaking up. Her own voices sounding in the room surprises her. She coughs, stepping forward. Her fingers dig into her backpack straps, "Maybe they aren't doing as well because they have to play with out of tune instruments from when my parents went to school?"