A Friend

Mia Angevin

"Oh, woah," I gasped, turning to my right to see a girl standing beside the picnic table. "I had no clue you were there."

"Nobody really notices me," she chuckled softly with a small smile hidden slightly behind her dark purple scarf.

"No! That's not what I meant," I spoke up.

"No, no, it's okay," she laughed.

"Oh, hah, sorry! Anyways," I took in a heavy breath while my eyes darted here and there. "I'm Alfred Ephriam."

"Oooh, I like that name. I'm Mia Angevin!"

"Nice to meet you. What brings you here?" I asked, pulling gently on the fingers of my gloves. My boots shuffled against the rough surface below our feet.

She gave a deep sigh and plopped down beside me. I kept my head turned to view her.

Her hair was dark brown and wavy over her navy pea coat and deep purple scarf. Her black gloves pulled her knees to her chest as she tried warming up on the bench. Her brown eyes stared ahead calmly from below her fuzzy white hat, as though there was nothing she could really complain about. Her skin was pale but her cheeks and nose were a warm pink due to the cold.

"My mom says I spend too much time inside and she wants me to stay active," she answered.

"I know how that feels," I mumbled.

"Does your mom make you do that? I don't think you have to worry about staying in shape. You're skinny as hell," she laughed and a joined in.

"And you're not?" I snorted. "But yeah, my mom wanted me to get off my ass. She's the one over there," I lied and pointed to her as she slipped on ice and nearly collapsed.

"Oh gosh, she almost died right there," she gasped with a short laugh.

"Hooray."

She laughed. I smiled.

I wasn't used to this.

"I go to Northview High," she said.

"Harbor Springs," I cringed.

"Haha! Sucks to be you! Isn't that some private school shit?" She asked.

"Maybe, maybe not. They don't even have a religious aspect. It's more of an excuse to charge for tuition and have a smaller school population."

"Too many big words. I'm lost," she responded, grinning at me. I rolled my eyes and spat a laugh.

"Better try keeping up then," I replied.

"What year are you?" She asked, rocking back and forth with her arms wrapped around her legs to hold them against her chest.

"Sophomore."

"Lucky. I'm a freshie."

"Now it sucks to be you." I mocked.

"Pshh."

There was then a pause. But I wasn't uncomfortable with it.

"Wanna take a walk with me?" She offered, looking to her left to view me.

I looked over at her and smiled with a nod. She returned the smile and pushed herself to her feet. I pressed my gloves hands on the bench and forced myself to rise.

——

I stared down at my boots as they crunches along the blindingly white snow. My hands were tucked snugly into my pockets with my fists balled up to preserve heat. Mia was walking on my right, swaying her arms and whacking random things with numerous twigs she found along the ground. Wr had been talking about plenty of things. From school to family, pets to hobbies, and food to dreams- whatever we could think of.