spoken word. (gxg)

twenty.

twenty.

When my phone rang, I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I picked it up without checking the number. Normally, I never did that, just in case the number was unknown or something.

"Hello?" I greeted.

"Mia," the voice on the other end breathed. I froze.

"June?" Silence.

"You weren't in school today," she stated.

"I wasn't," I agreed, "I had bad cramps." Which wasn't entirely a lie-- my cramps were always terrible-- they just weren't occurring for another week.

"So you aren't sick?"

"No," I confirmed, attempting a joke, "not sick, just dying." A pause. Then:

"Dying?" Her voice seemed an octave higher than usual.

"Not dying. It was a joke."

"Oh."

"Yeah, so, I'll see you tomorrow?" I guessed, hoping she wasn't all burnt out from the 15 minutes of class she finally attended today.

"Okay," she said, and then the weird silence thing happened again where she didn't hang up, and I didn't hang up, and finally I said goodbye and pressed the red button, smiling like an idiot.

I texted Tyler.

When are you free to chat? I asked him. He responded quickly.

tomorrow after i get back from work

You work? I asked.

rude, he replied, yes.

When and where? I wanted to know.

idk my house

That's a terrible idea! I told him, What if June sees us?

oh yeah

What about that cafe close to your place? I offered. Three dots, which symbolized his typing, appeared on my screen.

i work there, he said. Now it was my turn to say 'oh.'

Are you a barista??

rude, he repeated, im a chef

For some reason, that didn't shock me.

So, you're a glorified barista. Got it. See you then, coffee boy. I laughed when he sent back an angry face emoji.

Goodnight, I texted June before I went to bed that night. I was tired, so I set my phone's notification's to a higher volume before drifting off.

Ten minutes later, or maybe thirty, a loud ding woke me. Blearily, I checked my phone.

good night, she had texted back.

"Fuck," I cursed as I shoved stale cheerios into my mouth. How was I supposed to get to class? Why hadn't I thought of that twelve hours ago? Oh right, because I was distracting myself from reality.

I padded over to Charlotte's door, knocking a few times. It creaked open, and I blinked a few times at the sight. It was odd to see Charlotte half-asleep, ragged, with a frown-- a complete contrast from her usual demeanor. A smile lit up her face, transforming it completely, when she saw me.

"Mia!" She exclaimed, delighted. "How are you?" She left the door open, motioning me in as she sat in a small desk chair.

"Sorry if I woke you up," I apologized, taking a seat on the small sofa across from her. She waved me off.