A Synonym for Chill [COMPLETE]

2. Cafeteria conundrum

"Eli!" I called, noticing Eli Clearglow, my best guy friend, sitting in the seat closest to the back windows. He smiled brightly at me as I ran over.

"Falner, my buddy, how's it hangin', lunch is bangin'. Had some Takis, got my slushie and more!" He was singing, and I could clearly see why: he had his earbuds in and was swaying slightly to the music that was piping through. I couldn't make sense of what he was listening to. "Sure, things may be rocky, but I'm feelin' kinda cocky-" He gave me a wink, making me blush slightly. "-'cause the girl at Sev' Elev' gave me a generous pour!" I laughed slightly.

"You're listening to Bob Marley again, aren't you?" I asked. He jumped at me in a hug, almost spilling his Mountain Dew slushie on me.

"Ohhh, I'm listenin' to Marley and the groove is hella gnarly, and we're almost at the end of the song!" After three beats of silence, he tugged his earbuds out and beamed at me. "And that was the end, now tell me friend: how was class? I like your as-I mean, you look like ass. What's wrong?" He stumbled on his words, but I didn't really catch the phrase due to me being stuck in memories. I swung my bag over so that he could see the words on it.

"-SEXUAL. What does this even mean?" I asked. Eli paled, twirling his bag around and revealing that he had the word "PAN-" on it. I turned a few shades paler as well as we put our bags together. Pan plus sexual equals... "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me." I groaned. My biggest secret was out. I never truly came out as pan to anyone but Eli. Not even Christine, my secret crush, knew that I swing both ways. Eli let out a light laugh.

"My mothers would be thrilled." He commented, taking his phone out and taking a selfie of him and the two bags. I made sure to keep my embarrassed face out of it.

"I hate this school," I muttered, rolling my eyes and tossing my bag to the floor, sitting next to Eli. "Oh, so I had a bit of a run-in with Christine this morning," I said. Eli looked intrigued.

"Did you tell her how you feel?" He asked. I shook my head. 

"No. I was going to, but I choked." I replied. He groaned slightly. 

"Okay, that's all good. I saw, on Discovery, that humanity has stopped evolving." His voice had turned a little more excited, making me tilt my head. 

"That's good?" I asked. He nodded. 

"Evolution's survival of the fittest, right? But now, because of technology, you don't have to be strong to survive!" He gave me a bright smile, bumping my shoulder with his. "Which means there's never been a better time in history to be a lo-ser! So own it! Why try and be cool when you can be-!" I cut him off after noticing someone up at the sign-up sheet for the play.

"Signing up for the play," I said simply. Eli looked confused.

"I was going to say getting a sugar high in your basement, but..." He trailed off after I shook my head and pointed to the sign-up sheet. 

"No, I mean look who's signing up..." I tried my best to subtly gesture with my hands. "...for the play!" I finished, my voice hushed. "Christine..." I sang her name, as per usual. Eli looked for a second, then his eyes widened.

"Christine Harpsong?! I didn't take her as a drama kid," He said in surprise, then noticed my awestruck expression. The girl of my dreams was a theater kid. This is way too good to be true. Eli smirked slightly, standing up, pulling me up with him, and giving me a shove. "Go get 'er." I didn't really remember what happened next, but I do remember seeing my black sneakers making their way through the lunchroom. I grabbed the pen and, in a moment of pure adrenaline, signed my name right underneath Christine's in as neat cursive as I could. Suddenly, I heard someone shout from the other side of the cafeteria:

"GAYYYYYYYYYYY!"

The entire room erupted into fits of hysterical laughter. My face flushed red as I started to run out, Eli hot on my heels. As I passed the popular kids table, where Dallas flipped me off with a snarky grin, I heard Tempest sigh in content and loudly proclaim:

"I like gay people."

Confused, I kept running until I was out of the cafeteria and sprinting down the halls.

(Quick location change!)

"Eli, I'm ruined." I cried into my knees. I had managed to get out of the cafeteria without too much trouble, choosing to run down a series of hallways before stopping at my locker, slumping down against it. Eli sat down next to me and placed his hand on my shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"Shh, Fal, you aren't ruined," He murmured. "Trust me. Everyone in theater is a little gay." I gave him a teary-eyed glance. He wiped a few tears away and nudged my shoulder. "Besides, you've got play rehearsal at the end of the day. You get to hang with your megacrush. Isn't that what you've always wanted?" He asked. The question hung in the air for a few minutes before I nodded, lifting my head and wiping my eyes.

"Yeah...yeah, it is. There weren't any other names on that list. Maybe that means Christine and I are the only two in the show." I reasoned. Eli gave me a smile.

"See? Always look on the bright side," He said, patting my cheek with his hand before standing up. "Now c'mon. You've got rehearsal to attend." I nodded and stood up as well, but as he walked away, I hung back slightly. 

"I'm never gonna be the cool guy...I'm more the one who's left out. Of all the characters in school, I am not the one who this story's about. Why can't someone just...help me out?" I looked to the sky, almost pleading with God to send me a sign. "And teach me how to thrive. Help me to more than survive!" Eli looked back at me.

"More than survive?" He asked simply. I nodded, walking over to him. 

"More than survive," I repeated the words, nodding. He smiled slightly. 

"If this was an apocalypse, we would not need any tips on how to stay alive." He said.

"But since the zombie army's yet to descend, and the period is going to end, I'm just trying my best to pass the test and survive!" I chimed in.

"Sur-vive!" We pretty much sang the word out as the bell rang, kids running out of classrooms like they were Usain Bolt at the Olympics.

"Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!" I swear, the entire school was connected by some sort of mental link because everyone - Eli and I included - yelled this to everyone either in front or in back of us. I managed to squeeze out of the chaos and bolt for the auditorium.

Play rehearsal awaits.