Love Is Not My Forte

CHAPTER 3

        Hey, readers! Here's the new chapter! We get to discover a little bit more about Brandon's friend group (which is honestly based off of my friends, so be nice). Please keep the advice and feedback coming so I can improve the story for you guys. Cheers! ~Nicole <3

        Back at the table, I see that the rest of our little group is already there. The four of them each conversing loudly about how their day went. There’s Michael, the only other guy in the group, talking about his decision to become a history major. Apparently his anthropology class isn’t as good as it could be since the professor herself likes to stray from the course curriculum. Michael is a strange character. His sense of humor is grim, twisted, and filled with puns. When we go on breaks during the school year, Michael likes to send out daily texts containing new puns for us to enjoy. It’s weird, but it’s Michael’s way to show us that he misses us.

            Seated next to Michael’s left is Emma. She is definitely the most boyish of the three girls in our friend group, but that made sense seeing as how she was raised with two older brothers. Like me, Emma is a music oriented person. Her mother had a musically enriched upbringing and had passed that same parenting on to Emma. As a result, she has an amazing voice that got her admitted to the musical theater major program. Other than that, Emma is one of those people who, if prompted, likes to tell all about her past romantic endeavors which tended to be too much information.

            To Michael’s right sits Jennifer, otherwise known as the epitome of awkward in our friend group. She never had any luck in social situations. If she isn’t slipping down staircases in the busy dining halls, you could be assured that she is saying something dumb to some guy she found attractive or to her professors. Jennifer is not the greatest person to consult when you needed advice, but she is endearing in her unique social awkwardness.

            Sitting in between me and Jennifer is Callie. She’s not speaking as much as the others, but she never really does anyway. Callie usually prefers to listen to the rest of us talk over each other and if she finds a conversation worthy of her input, she’ll join in immediately and enthusiastically. Doing this allows her to hear everything about everyone in the group. Of the people in our little friend group, Callie is the best person to go to for gossip. But she’s also the worst. Callie doesn’t gossip or share information about the others in our group unless she deems it important enough.

            “So are you almost done yet with that story for the literary magazine?” Jennifer passed me a quizzical look. As the president of the on campus literary magazine, Jennifer had to go around and find writers for contributions. It had already been a couple of weeks since I first agreed to do that for her.

            “Define ‘almost done.’”

            “Seriously? This is the last deadline extension I’m giving you. I want it done by Saturday morning at the latest.”

            “Oh, come on. It’s not like anybody even reads that,” as soon as I said the words, I regretted it. I looked up to see a fiery glare on Jennifer’s face, “You know, except everyone. Everyone reads it.”

            By now the rest of the table had ceased their conversations to listen to mine and Jennifer’s. Upon hearing my blunder, they all had amused smiles and were holding in their laughs to avoid getting the same glare from Jennifer that I had received.

            “I could give you a couple of poems I have if you want,” Callie piped up. I pass her a fleeting appreciative look for the save and she subtly sticks her tongue out in return.

            “Really? That would be great! I’ll take those, too. We’re a little short on the poetry section this month,” Jennifer’s face quickly shifted into appreciation and excitement.

            “I didn’t know you write poetry,” Michael is always the last to know things. He doesn’t like taking part in our “getting to know each other” discussions.

            “Michael, you don’t know anything, do you?” The words are filed with so much snark that they can only belong to Emma.

            “Hey now, let’s play nice,” I try to get their tempers to simmer down before a real argument occurs. My favorite tactic in situations like this is to switch topics, “So what are the plans for tonight? Anyone have homework to do? Or are we watching a movie?”

            There’s a pause as each of them think of any upcoming assignments that need to get done. Callie is the first to speak up.

            “I don’t have anything that needs to get done until tomorrow. So I’m down with watching a movie,” her face then contorts into her expression of thought before she adds, “Or we could all play a game if everyone else is free.”

            The other three seem to like that idea more and they all nod in agreement. It’s been a while since we’ve all played a game together, so I give in. After a few different suggestions, we all finally agree on playing Bananagrams. From then on, Callie’s eyes have a visible light as she’s clearly excited to play. It’s her favorite game and she’s really good at it. Sometimes her speed of completion makes it seem as if she’s got a built in dictionary. Now that I’m thinking of it, I remember her telling me that she actually reads the dictionary when she has nothing else to do. It’s just one of Callie’s weird quirks. I faintly shake my head to force myself to focus on the other friends at the table and wrap up dinner. 

        For anyone who doesn't know what Bananagrams is, it's a game that's pretty similar to Scrabble. Except in Bananagrams, you're allowed to rearrange the letter tiles when it is needed. The rest of the rules are a bit complicated, so I really suggest looking it up if you're curious.