INFECTED

Crazy

I slammed my locker, and I pushed past kids in my class as I walked to the doorway. I had my lunchbox in my hand, and then my books for my classes after lunch in the other. Since I always came right back to the classroom we had homeroom in, we always take our books for the next classes and put them on top of our binders and chromebook bags. And as in we, I mean Anabelle and I. I don't think anybody else does it, and even if they do I never notice. Speaking of never noticing, I looked around until I laid my eyes on Paris. I saw that she did the same thing as us, and then she went to open the door. I let her hold the door open for me, as I passed by and thanked her.
    I looked behind me and waited and saw Anabelle coming from the classroom as well, but she took the door from Paris as she said, "You can go. But thanks anyways."
    Paris looked at her and responded with a, "Thanks." When she said this, she then began to walk, swinging her navy blue and black striped lunchbox.
    "Hey." I said. She looked at me, and said the same. "Hi." We began to walk together, pushing open yet another door, until we both started to walk down the stairs. I stopped, and realized I needed to wait for Anabelle and Liam. Anabelle was at the door that was just previously opened by Paris, and then she was looking back, and yelling for Liam to hurry up. Usually I was the one to do this, since I hold the door for Anabelle, and then I yell at Liam. But not today. I mean, there is a first time for everything.
    I looked down at Paris, and asked, "Sit with us at lunch?"
She looked up at me and hesitated, as if she were about to say no, but she responded with a reassuring, "Yeah, sure."
Then I did what I usually did and then yelled at Liam. Right when I did this, he popped out when Anabelle started to walk and let go of the position she was holding that let her hold the door with her foot that she always does. I then began to walk down the second flight of stairs, and I heard the door at the very bottom of the stairs, after another flight, open. I assumed it was Paris, but I brushed it off as nothing. When my friends and I reached the bottom of the stairs, we saw an old man. He was bald, and didn't have a casual shiny head you would see on a bald person, but a very dirty one. He was wearing gloves and a white shirt with jeans, and looked very similar to a scarecrow. It was kind of funny, since when I saw him the first thing I thought of was a scarecrow. The second thing was questioning who he was.
I thought he was the janitor kinda dude, but I never actually saw him, so I don't know what he actually looks like. I looked at Liam and Anabelle, and they looked back at me with the same questioning look I gave them. I then looked back at the man, and then began to walk again.
When we walked to the other side of the school and made it to the lunchroom, I looked at Liam, and asked,"Who was that weird psycho lookin' dude?"
Liam then responded,"That doesn't matter. Probably just the janitor. But what does matter is, does the Jackson Hindermyer have a girlfriend? Hmmm?" He nudged me. I laughed and shook my head as I walked into the gym that was currently recycled as a lunchroom. I walked past the kids in the grades below 5th Grade in their neat lines, and as their teachers zipped their lunchboxes for them. I turned my current steady walk into a speed walk, as I went to the table that Paris was sitting at. I sat down next to her, leaving the two spots on the other side of the table for Liam and Anabelle. I said hi to Paris, and began to unzip my lunchbox. When I pulled out the container that held my turkey and cheese sandwich, Liam and Anabelle sat down on the other side of us.
"Shoot. I need a spoon. Does anybody else need one?" Paris said as she looked into her seemingly empty lunchbox. Liam, with a spoonful of sandwich in his mouth, began to scream,"MMM!MMM!MMM!"
Anabelle, while looking at Liam with a disgusted face, said, "I'll take one too." Paris laughed at Liam, with Anabelle and I soon joining in.
"What?" Liam said with the now 6 grapes in his mouth instead of a sandwich. Paris began to walk away, and when she was a distance, Liam stopped looking at her and looked back at me, and then turned around is his seat, and then put his two hands on his back and began rubbing them, and started making kissing noises.
"Liam, stop." I said, but he still did his acting scene. "When somebody bullies you because of your disease, don't come crying to me."
Liam looked back at me and said, "The doctors got rid of that disease when I was little."
I responded with a quick and clever, "They clearly didn't do that good of a job." I said as I began to laugh. Anabelle joined me, and then Paris arrived back with the spoons. She handed out the spoons to Liam and Anabelle, and sat back down next to me. Anabelle thanked her, however Liam did not.
"What's so funny?" She asked as she began to smile. "Nothing." I responded. Liam joined in and said, "Yeah, if you definition of nothing is you and your new girlfriend"
I looked at Paris as I began to laugh and said, "Sorry about them. They're crazy."
She laughed and said, "Crazy friends are better than no friends." I smiled, and looked over at Liam who was again doing the kissing noises and acting.
I repeated myself and said, "Crazy."
Lunch was a good time for the most part. And by the most part I mean the parts where Liam and Anabelle weren't teasing Paris and I. But it was a good time, and I hope the same can go for tomorrow and then next week. I would really like to have her in our friend group. So then when we play Never Have I Ever in team mode it can actually be fair. But Paris is genuinely a nice person in my opinion, and actually really funny.
    But I still don't understand the whole idea of boyfriend/girlfriend. I mean I don't want to have her as a girlfriend, but I do want her as a friend. But I never really wanted to date girls. Or anybody. Right now, at least.
    But we still had to wait about 5 minutes before the teachers actually let us outside. And since there is the slightest breeze out today, so I don't think we are going out. That's the school logic for ya.
    Anabelle looked at me, and then said, "Jackson, truth or dare?" I didn't have to give it much thought, since I was always picked truth. "Truth." Anabelle thought for a second, before eventually saying,"Who is your favorite in our friend group?" Liam opened his mouth as he went, "Oooooh." I waited before saying, "I don't have a favorite, at least not right now."
That was a lie. It was actually Anabelle. But     I didn't want Liam or Paris to know that. I don't want to make Paris upset since she is one of my newer friends. And Liam gets mad at almost everything so I don't wanna tell him. But it really isn't that important, except for Anabelle. She would perform a concert in front of the whole school with a sticker that said "Jackson's Number One Friend." But to me it doesn't really matter
Then Liam said, "If you aren't gonna answer that one, answer this one." He continued, "Who do you have a crush on right now?" He looked directly at Paris when he said this, even though it was clearly meant for me to answer. "I'm not gonna tell you that right now." I looked at Paris. Before I could even think about what was going to happen, I said, "I'll tell you later." No! I don't want to tell you later, why did I say that?! Ugh. I don't want them to find out. I don't want them to know that I actually do have a crush on somebody.
It wasn't Paris.
It wasn't Anabelle.
It was somebody from 8th Grade. A boy named Leo.