American Sweethearts

48

"Does this look good?" I ask, turning my laptop screen over to show Lena.

"Uh..." she hesitates. "Add some colour."

"Colour?" I scowl. "It's not exactly a happy poster."

"Just... Some pink or purple. Lighten it up a little."

I sigh and return to work. I decide to make the text purple, to match the blue image in the background. I've been working on this flyer all afternoon. I never thought it would be so complicated to make something so simple. I had to create a new email address, and write a decent description of what I'm trying to do. It took forever. And the fonts.... There are so many fonts! Who even makes these?

"Is that better?" I ask.

"Yep," Lena nods. "How many will you print?"

"Probably... fifty?" I suggest. "That should be enough to cover all bathrooms, right?"

"I think you need more."

"70?"

"Make it 75 and you can print more if you need to."

"Perfect," I smile. "You want to do me a favour?"

"A favour?" she scoffs. "You mean help you put those flyers up?"

"Yep," I laugh. "There's no way I can do it on my own."

"It's alright, girl. I can help you. The campus is way too big to tackle on your own."

"Thank you. I don't think it'll take long, but it requires a lot of effort."

"No problem. I'll help."

"You're the best."

I shut my laptop, putting it down on the coffee table. I grab another piece of brownie. I've been munching on them all afternoon. Lena made them this morning, and they're delicious.

Maybe I should learn to bake. Or at least cook. Quinn used to make me the best meals, but since I moved out, all my food has been boring and bland.

"Can you help me now?" Lena asks. "I need an extra hand."

"Sure," I nod. I slide down to the floor, joining her on the carpet.

I'm not the only one doing crafts today. Lena has to make a poster for her group assignment. Considering we don't have a dining table, and our kitchen is full of junk, she's put the A3 sheet of paper on the floor. The whole carpet is full of random images, markers, scissors and other crafty junk.

I take the stack of stickers she hands me, and begin pasting them down at their designated spots. I'm not even sure what this poster is about. Something about structures, but I don't understand any of the specifics.

"Man, I'm so good at crafts," she smirks, sticking a new image down. "I should be a school teacher."

"You do love kids," I point out.

"They're so small. I just wanna kick them."

"What?!" I laugh.

"You know... like a soccer ball."

"Oh my god. You're so weird!"

"I'm just saying what we're all thinking! It's not like I'd actually do it!"

"Could you imagine?"

"It doesn't sound too bad actually. Just flying through the air."

"Like a bird."

As soon as I say the words, a song pops into my head. Apparently, Lena thinks the same thing. She looks at me, widening her eyes with a giant grin on her face.