Wait for Tomorrow | Daniel Seavey

02

Harper

Two more periods had passed and now it was finally lunch. The wait was making me anxious. I can't stand another minute in a classroom today. I need to be home. Alone.

"If you would just put yourself out there you wouldn't have to be associated with him."

I sigh in annoyance. She has known me for so long but still doesn't get why I can't do that.

"Raven, it's not that easy. I can't just start a conversation with someone."

"You do it with me." She responds quickly after I finished my statement.

"Yeah well that's different. You're my best friend." A sigh escapes my lips. My strides are short but I manage to keep up with Raven. She may have longer legs but I have quicker feet.

"If it weren't for communication," she pauses to point between the both of us, leaning her head in, "we wouldn't have met, stupid." I scoff. I am not stupid. But I know she's only joking. Raven knows I'm smarter than most.

We make our way down the hall and into the lunch room. The cafeteria is filled with shouts of laughter. The noise bounces off the walls and make my ears ache.

Raven pulls me in line, taking my arm. The line is long but it usually shortens up quickly. The cafeteria food smells disgusting. I could never eat it. If I happened to swallow it for any particular reason it will come right back up and out of my mouth. The thought of chewing on a piece of food that came out of that kitchen makes my stomach turn. Their food is always so greasy and fatty. And don't even get me started on the milk. The milk is always out of date. Why can't they just give out bottles of water? Would that be so hard?

There was this one time in my first year where Raven finally convinced me to take a sip of the milk. Unfortunately, I gave in and was quickly persuaded to do so. As I opened the carton of milk I get a huge wiff of this dairy. It smelt so unbelievably disgusting but I ignored that stench, believing that it was only how the milk was supposed to smell. Like come on, it's cafeteria food. I had every right to believe that. Taking that sip of milk, the liquid touches my tongue and heads straight for the back of my throat. Instantly, I swallow to avoid choking in front of this crowd of kids in the lunch room. It tasted horrible. Like a mixture of salt and grease. It was so bitter.

I choose to bring my own lunch to school. With a bag in my back pack, I carry a sandwich and a granola bar. Much more preferred than rotten milk and frozen chicken strips. Raven in the other hand, eats this so called "food" everyday. I can't imagine what happens in her body after consuming the chemicals inside those carrots. It seriously blows my mind.

Before I lose my appetite I snap out of my thoughts, coming back to reality.

"You're still too stubborn to eat this food, huh?" Raven breaks the silence as we wait patiently in line.

I cannot go through the pain of getting this food down my throat. Not again.

"You're still too single to have a a boyfriend." I flash her a sarcastic smile before quickly turning back forward. She let's out a playful scoff, as if I've just started something.

"Hey," she puts her hands up in defense, "that didn't even make sense and at least I put in the effort of talking to boys. You don't even like to look at them."

"I don't need to talk to them. If I don't associate myself with them, I can focus on school."

"Not like they'd want to associate themselves with you..." She whispers. My jaw drops. I raise my hand to slap her upper arm. She laughs in response, soothing the pain of my hit. I laugh and shake my head.