Sheets | ✓

FIVE

Nico was already out of the classroom before the lunch bell even rang, leaving me with the plans for our experiment sprawled out on the table. Sighing, I pulled all of the loose sheets together and stuffed them into my folder. Most of the scribble on them was in my own fluid handwriting, but on a few Nico's heavy-handed text was scratched onto the pages. His handwriting was coarse and sharp, the pen digging into the paper roughly as his hand moved. I had done most of the thinking, but when Nico chimed in with a few short ideas, I took them in, grateful that he was least making an effort to look like he was trying. I was sure that Alyssa would have been on her phone the whole time, not even bothering to pretend she was working.

As long as I get the grades I wanted, I was fine.

Thanking Ms Levenson as I exited the room, the woman not looking up from her notes as she waved her hand, I quickly made my way to my locker, Benny already there and waiting for me impatiently.

"Taking your sweet time," Benny complained, punching me on the arm as I unlocked my locker, his knuckles making me wince a little as I shoved my books into my locker. Pulling out my bag, Benny almost made me stumble as he rushed me to the canteen, which was already packed with people trying to buy something to eat before the daily stocks ran out. "It's because you took so long that there's probably nothing left!"

"Shut up, Benny," I said, though I frowned as I tried to push through the crowd which had somehow grown thicker than how it was when Benny and I had entered the fray. Slipping into momentary breaches in the mass of people, I somehow managed to get to the counter, the lunch ladies giving me tired looks under their hair nets.

"What do you want?" one of them asked, yawning slightly as I pointed to a box of rice and curry, shoving the money into her hand before slinking out of the crowd. Retreating along the edges of the canteen, I tried to peer above the heads of the remaining crowd for Benny, his mop of hair still struggling to get to the counter. Even as a taller boy, Benny was struggling to slip through the crowd like I had, his height advantage only getting him so far as there was barely any room to strong arm his way through.

"Hey, Wesley!" a voice cut through the crowd, making me glance around, confused as to where the voice came from. A laugh erupted from behind me, followed by a tap on the shoulder. Turning, my confused face turned brighter as I saw Sofia beaming up at me. She had changed her hairstyle from this morning, her braid now a bun at the base of her skull, the white ribbon still wrapped around it tightly. She held held a brown paper bag in her hands and had a water bottle tucked under her arm as she looked past me and into the crowd. She raised a brow as she saw Benny cry out triumphantly as he raised his box of pasta above his head like it was his newborn child.

"I didn't know our school was doing a live action production of the Lion King," Sofia said as I laughed, shrugging. 

"I don't know that guy, if you're wondering," I said, Sofia snorting, her nose crinkling adorably as she laughed. Feeling Benny's weight resting on my shoulders as he loosely hung around my shoulders, I sighed.

"Yep, you definitely don't know him," Sofia said, Benny giving me a look before turning to Sofia, a warm smile on his face. 

"Thank you for talking to Wes, I was starting to think that he batted for the other team since he never talks to girls. Ever," Benny said, letting out a fake sob as Sofia snickered elegantly behind her hand as I froze, the images of Nico's tattooed arm around me springing to mind without missing a beat. Shaking my head, I stepped out from under Benny's arm, jabbing him in the side before turning to Sofia. 

"Ignore him," I said, Sofia saluting as Benny whined. Giving me a gentle smile, Sofia nudged her head behind her to a group of people sitting around one of the undercover tables in the courtyard.