Prithika Singh would have told you that her love life was going great. After all, who could argue that the pretty cheerleader and the handsome quarterback with their sweet year-long relationship were anything less than a dream couple?
But Prithika i...
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello again! This chapter is still in its editing phase. Any and all feedback would be highly appreciated!
The color in the header is for Prithika's dress!
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THE KISS IN THE HALLWAY
Prithika sighed as she flipped on the lights and stepped into her narrow closet. The currently dim fluorescent bulbs would take a moment to warm up and reach full brightness, but she didn't need them to step over the familiar piles of fabric that littered the floor. She'd planned to wear her light blue button-up blouse with a pair of jean shorts, but then she'd remembered her twirly golden-yellow sundress, which would look so pretty for fall.
She closed her eyes. Dress or shirt? Dress or shirt? Dress or–
Her phone buzzed. It was a text from Aurora: I'll pick u up in 30 min! Don't be late figuring out what to wear, u always look good!! <3
Prithika smiled as she sent back a few too many heart emojis, and then she remembered the cheerful, impossibly tall yellow sunflowers she'd seen in someone's yard yesterday. Yellow sundress it is.
As she brushed her hair into a fluffy high ponytail and did her makeup, her mind drifted to how her first day would go. She'd meet Aurora and Laila on the way there, get some friendly compliments on her outfit, catch up with the cheerleading squad, and finally, finally, see Carter again.
Even though she couldn't do anything about it now, she still wished she could've been there in those idyllic rolling green hills and perfect little houses with old vineyards and orchards, with him. Perhaps she could have gotten her driver's license and driven up there, surprising him as he watched the last embers of the sunset, turning when he sensed her gaze upon him and breaking into one of those charming smiles with the twinkling eyes that she loved so much, and then she'd run across the field like she was in a Bollywood romcom, and he'd open his arms for her, and–
A car honk sounded outside. Aurora. In a final frantic rush, Prithika grabbed her phone, fished out her wallet from the side of her bed, pushed some of the rings on her desk on her fingers, pulled her backpack on her shoulders, and ran downstairs.
Her mom offered her a muffin wrapped in a napkin. "Thanks, Muma, love you!" Prithika said gratefully as she took it. She felt a twinge of guilt that she'd just assumed her parents wouldn't be here, and that she hadn't woken up early to eat with them.
Prithika's eyes suddenly widened "Oh, my–"
"–Brownies?" her dad finished, handing her the box she'd packed last night.
"Yes! Thank you, bye Papa!" she called out as she stepped into her espadrilles and rushed out the door.
It's the nice kind of chilly, she noted in the brief seconds between leaving her house and getting to Aurora's car. The front seat was already taken. She pouted through the window at Laila, occupier of the much-craved spot, who only laughed. "That's what you get for taking so long to get ready, Pree!"
Prithika stuck her tongue out as she got into the backseat.
"Oh my god, are those the brownies you were talking about last night?" Aurora's eyes widened as she started driving.
"Yes," Prithika said a little smugly. "And they came out good this time."
"Nice! A good batch to start off our year," Laila cheered, high-fiving her from up front.
"Yeah, thank god, I made them last-minute and was so scared I'd screw them up."
"The squad's going to love those," Aurora said, taking a glance at the box in the mirror.
"So will Carter," Prithika said dreamily.
Aurora groaned. "Disgusting," she muttered.
"Hey!" Laila protested. "I think it's sweet."
"Yes, until she gets gooier than your super fudgy brownies, Lala," Aurora replied. It was an old nickname, from back when Aurora couldn't for the life of her spell Laila's name right.
"Fair enough," Laila replied, but she bit back an affectionate smile.
But after a while of Prithika still talking about Carter Hale, Laila gave up and said, "Fine, Rory! This is so, so much worse than usual. You were right!"
Aurora pulled neatly into the school parking lot. "I know," she said primly, and the three girls unloaded.
"I'm so excited to see him again, you know," Prithika continued.
"I never would have guessed! Do tell me more!" Aurora responded with a too-wide smile on her face as she flipped her thick, dark hair over her shoulder.
Prithika ignored her and kept talking. "Looking at people you love on Instagram isn't the same as seeing them in person."
"Cute dress, Prithika!" someone she was pretty sure was named Mary said to her.
"Thanks!" she chirped back.
She wound her way through the hallway, Laila and Aurora beside her.
And then she spotted him, and a smile bloomed on her face as she pulled away from her friends and headed in his direction. He was in a heated discussion with a tall girl with dirty blond hair and freckles. He seemed frustrated, looking at the girl with pleading eyes. Prithika frowned; was he okay? She sped up a little. What was going on? Maybe her presence, and the brownies, would help his mood a little.
The bell rang, and people started moving, but Carter and the girl still kept talking. Prithika hoped she still had time to get a word in with her boyfriend before class. "Carter!" she called, but he didn't notice her.
"–because I care about you. You're the one I want to be with, Julia!" he declared, and then he pulled the blond girl in for a kiss.
The motion in the hallway suddenly stopped. A collective gasp ran through the people, rippling from the people closest to the couple to the edges of the hallway. The shutter of someone's phone camera snapped.
Prithika couldn't hear herself breathe. Everyone backed away from her uncertainly, except for the two at the center of it all, resting their foreheads against each other and smiling into each other's eyes, at the center of it all.
She cleared her throat, and Carter and the girl—Julia—jolted apart. Inhale, she told herself. Exhale. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. The ground isn't actually spinning away from you, it's right there under your feet.
In a voice so calm she couldn't believe it was her own at the moment, she commanded, "Someone please explain to me what's going on here before I'm late to class."
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes, yes, I know, cheap and clichéd place to end it, but there's more fun and interesting stuff coming on the horizon!
If you think there's any parts of this chapter that are a little rough, I'd truly love to hear your feedback!
Thank you so much for reading! I hope to see you in the next chapter! <3
