spoken word. (gxg)

seventeen.

seventeen.

I waited until I got home to text June. I was nervous until I remembered that she didn't have my contact, so I needed to text her anyway to give her my number. I typed a million drafts before giving up and throwing my phone on the pillow beside me.

It buzzed once, and then again. I flipped it over. Did Caelan need a ride home? No, it had only been an hour since I dropped him off. Besides, he said he could catch a ride from a co-worker. Something about being 'safe.' Jerk.

I was surprised when I saw that the message was from Tyler.

hey mia, it said.

mia, he repeated.

What, I asked, irritated. He replied with a smiley face emoji, which I ignored. Three dots at the bottom of my screen relayed that he was typing.

you should text my sister, he said, she's sulking

I doubt that has anything to do with me, I related, but secretly hoped that it did. It would be nice if she thought about me as much as I did about her.

do it anyway, he told me. I left him on read, opening up a new message with June.

Hey, it's Mia. I typed out, taking a breath before sending it. The speed that I received a 'read' message receipt was shocking.

i told you, Tyler said in another message, which I rolled my eyes at. But I was curious.

What's happening now? I asked him. If he was watching June, maybe he could tell me what she was doing.

"Not weird," I muttered to myself, even though it probably was.

she's staring at her phone, he said, a photo attached. In it, June was sitting cross-legged in front of the couch, biting her lip as she squinted at her phone.

That's creepy, you know, I informed him, in case he didn't realize. He sent a winky emoji and something about partners in crime, which I didn't reply to because a notification that June had replied popped on my screen.

hey, it read. I smiled. It took her that long to respond with one word?

How are you? I asked. Again, the read receipt popped up almost immediately, but it took her a few minutes to respond.

Why does it take her so long, I asked Tyler.

idk, it looks like she's typing a lot to me, he sent back. Her short replies certainly weren't 'a lot,' which made me grin. Was she retyping her messages to me? Then again, she might also be texting other people.

good, June replied. One word-- how very June-like. I didn't know how to respond.

That's good, I said. The dots at the bottom popped up. With how long it took her, you'd think she was writing an essay. Maybe she was just really slow at texting.

how are you, was what she sent back-- another surprise.

I'm good, I said, coupling it with one of the smiley face emojis.

Another minute passed. God, she took forever. In a spurt of boldness, I clicked the phone call button on the corner of the screen. She picked up on the second ring.

"Hi," I said. I was met with silence, then a shuffling noise.

"Hey," she finally spoke, her voice deeper over the phone.

"What's up?" I said, partly because it was all I could think of, and partly because I wanted to know.

"Sitting," she let me know. Great. Sitting. June's conversational skills never ceased to amaze me.