Short Stories

Under the Oak - Short Story 1

"Hey! Wait up!" I called to my best friend, Angie, as she began walking away from my locker.

"What?" she stopped and turned around, grinning.

"You have to wait; we need to take our daily pic by the oak tree." I closed my locker and joined her as we headed out of school. We walked out of the main doors and down the hill that our school sat on.

"Ready, Liza?" Angie asked me, slowing down at the huge oak tree that sat at the bottom of the hill. I nodded and pulled out my phone. Snap!  I took a selfie of us with the tree in the background.

My dark brown hair was in a ponytail, but the crisp November wind blew it into my face, so you could barely see it. 

Angie's wavy blonde hair was loose at her shoulders, and the wind blew it into her face as well.

 The picture was perfect. Just two laughing girls with hair in their faces.

"I love it," Angie said. I couldn't have agreed more.

Angie and I met when we were five years old. We agreed to be best friends forever right underneath the oak tree about a year later. Since then, we've taken a picture under the oak every day to show that we've been best friends. We've never missed a day. Even if one of us is sick, the other one face times them under the oak and takes a screenshot. It seems kind of cheesy, but it means a lot to us.

"Let's go," Angie said, and we continued walking home.

---

"Liza!!!" Angie ran up to me the following day, clearly excited about something.

"What?" I asked, desperate to know what had made her so happy. 

"Kevin asked me!" she exclaimed. 

"What! That's amazing! I'm so happy for you!" I squealed.

Kevin and Angie have had a complicated "thing" for a few weeks now. They both liked each other, but neither of them asked the other out. But now, apparently, he finally asked her out.

"Of course I said yes!" she exclaimed, "do you mind if I sit with him at lunch today? Just for today?"

I was slightly hurt by this, but I nodded. We had always eaten lunch together. Always.

---

Lunch was a little weird without Angie, but I had a few conversations with other girls who sat at my table. I kept glancing over at Angie and Kevin. 

Angie was sitting close to him. Really close. They kept staring at each other, and at one point, I thought I saw them holding hands. I tried not to care, but it bugged me a little bit.

As Angie got up to throw away her trash, she grinned and gave me a thumbs up, which was somewhat reassuring. 

--

After some more classes, school ended. I went to my locker and packed up as I waited for Angie. She never came. I went to her locker. Not there. My last option was Kevin's locker. I hoped she wouldn't be there, but she was. 

"Hey, you didn't stop at my locker," I said,

"Sorry, Liza," Angie said, "I was here with Kevin."

"'Ok, well, are you ready to go?"

"Actually, do you mind if I walk home with Kevin today?" My heart sank.

"But we need to take our picture under the oak." I protested. Kevin gave us a weird look.

"What are you talking about?" he asked Angie.