Orange December

Chapter 1

"Dude."

I sighed as I placed a package of orange flavored cupcakes on the cashier's counter. "What, man?" Luke looked at me with a look that implied that I was being ridiculous.

"You're getting those again? They're super disgusting. Nobody even likes those." I rolled my eyes at him and said the same thing I told him every morning when we stopped by the convenience store on the way to school and I purchased these as I swiped my card to pay.

"These cupcakes are me, man. They're an underappreciated but severely amazing thing of existence in this world that more people should realize and come to love. They are a shining beacon of hope, in the wake of the political climate and the disastrous effect of global warming, regardless of whether or not it really exists. They," I said as we walked out of the store, "are one of the last good things left in this world."

Luke chuckled at me in the same way he did whenever I spouted that nonsense at him. "Whatever, man." We got into my car, an old 2005-someone-something (I don't know the make or model because the previous owner scratched the names clean off and I've never seen another car quite like mine), and I turned the key with a small chortle, backing out of the parking space and driving the rest of the way to school.

Once there, I turned to the backseat. "Hey, Lex, don't forget to-oh, no," I half-shouted, "dude, I forgot Alexa at home!" Luke shrugged indifferently in a way I didn't appreciate and told me to drive back myself. I didn't have time to argue though, because I had to get home and back in less than ten minutes.

Going just fast enough to the point where I was almost (but not quite) speeding, I scanned every street for a sign of my little sister. I finally saw her about three blocks from home, clearly really upset. I turned the car around in one fluid motion and rolled the window down to talk to her, slowly idling along with her as she walked.

"Hey, Lex-Lex-Lexie," I said affectionately, using my nickname for her from when we were 8 and 6 years old.

"Hey, jerk-jerk-Robby," she answered flatly.

"Come on, Lex, I'm sorry," I said sincerely, "I had a rough start this morning."

"You know, Luke telling you that those sorry excuses for cupcakes taste bad isn't a rough start. He's right, they suck," she retorted, walking toward the car and opening the door, "and I'm only getting in the car so I'm not late for my first period. AP English is gonna be the death of me this year." I nodded in agreement, ignoring her comment about the cupcakes. Realizing I had three minutes to get us to school, I drove probably a little too fast as the seconds ticked away. We got to school just in time for the bell to ring, the wind whistling a little as we dashed through the front gate. I shouted a goodbye at her just as she disappeared down the sophomore hallway, but I don't think she heard me. I dismissed the thought and ran to my first period class, slowing down with just enough time to catch my breath before I got there.

First period went by in a flash. I plopped down next to Luke and vaguely heard the ramblings of our government teacher as he explained the pros and cons of different voting methods. I wrote down all the notes I could in my notebook, depending on the fact that I could read them later to understand all the veritable nonsense the teacher was spewing out, and before I knew it the bell was ringing, right in my ear since my assigned seat was just below the bell for the classroom. I was probably losing my hearing, but I never particularly cared because I was seconds away from the most beautiful girl I'd ever known.

Her name was Anne. She was Luke's cousin, but you could hardly see the resemblance. Her pitch black hair fell in layered waves down to the middle of her back, and her ethereal green eyes were like pools of crisp sea glass. We met in 2005, in first grade, and I remember that day as clearly as if it happened last week.