31 Days of December

December 30th

I went out to lunch with one of my friends since forever, Anna. She has been through a lot with me. We had a lot of things in common, but at the same time, we were polar opposites. I guess that was part of why we could stay close to one another even though we went to different schools. Hours from one another, and we were still close. A lot of text messages with rants about classes kept us close together.

"Anna," I said with excitement. We were currently standing outside our local Culver's. Big shock, I know, but whenever we met up, it was always at Culver's. It has been our place since we could drive. We would go during high school lunch or meet up during the summer. Going to two different schools, we'd meet during breaks at least once to see each other face to face.

"Hey, Hailey," Anna said with a smile on her face. Anna was one of the nicest people I knew. She was quiet and kept to herself until she got to know you. She always carried a sketchbook around and would doodle whenever she got the chance. She majored in moving-image production with her goal to one day be an animator for Disney. "How was the rest of your semester?"

I groaned, "Why did I pick a science major again? I don't understand it. Nothing sticks in my head. Plus, the number of exams I had to take was disgusting."

"I feel that except instead of exams, it was projects," Anna laughed. I couldn't imagine what projects she had to do for her classes. She probably had to create so many mini-films.

"Why did we have to grow up? Everything was much simpler before college."

"Agreed," Anna said, causing the both of us to start laughing.

We went inside the Culver's and ordered our food. We picked a booth to sit at and continued talking about school. Even though we saw each other like a month ago, a lot still happened during that month.

"I know you saw the Snapchat stories, but I met a guy since we went back to school," I said when our food arrived. The first thing I did was pop a cheese curd into my mouth. It tasted like heaven. "His name is Ethan. He is a year older than us, studying history, political science, and pre-law."

"That's great, Hailey! How did you guys meet?" Anna asked. One of the things I loved about Anna was that she may already know something, but she would let me talk about it anyways.

"We kept running into each other. The first time, we bumped into one another when I was leaving class, and he was entering. The second time, he was on a date, and I was with the roomies, and I ran into him and his date while ice skating. The next day, we saw each other at Walmart. After that, we again ran into each other in between classes, and he asked me on a date to Starbucks. Don't tell Ethan I called it a date. I met his friends, and he met the roomies. He let me pick the movies for our movie night. He took me to see Christmas lights. Anna, Ethan knew my Culver's order without even asking. He kinda figured it out from conversations I had with him."

"It sounds like you really like him," She said with a smile.

"Yeah, but I didn't for a while at the beginning," I said as I took a drink of my Mountain Dew. She looked at me, confused. "When he was on a date at the ice rink, he asked me out right before his date. Later I found out the girl actually was trying to make Ethan's best friend jealous."

"Why are boys stupid?"

"I don't know, but if you find out, tell me," I answered, causing the two of us to laugh.

"But clearly, you fixed everything with him."

"Yeah, we did. Ethan wouldn't leave me alone until I talked to him. That boy makes me seem compliant with how stubborn he is."

She laughed, "Maybe that is a good thing. At least you guys would talk out your problems instead of avoiding them."

"Are you trying to say something?"

"I'm just saying it would be nice to have a guy who talks through problems more than every other boy who just ignores them."

"I guess you're right," I said as I finished the rest of my food.

"Do you want to get ice cream?" Anna asked. Technically, it's custard at Culver's, but it's frozen milk, so does it matter? "I have extra tokens."

"Heck yeah!" I said. At Culver's, the kid's meal comes with a coupon for a free scoop of custard with one topping and a Scoopy token. Once you collect 10 Scoopy tokens, you get a prize like a volleyball or a soccer ball. Neither the coupon of the Scoopy token expires, so Anna has a small collection in her wallet because she always orders a kid's meal but doesn't always get a scoop of custard.

While we were waiting for our custard, my phone vibrated. Ethan sent me a text which meant he was bored.

Ethan: Whatcha doin?

Hailey: Are you Isabella from Phineas and Ferb? I'm having lunch with a friend.

Ethan: Ooo. What friend? Also, if I'm Isabella, would that make you Phineas?

Hailey: A friend. Go annoy Liam or something.

Ethan: But he told me to annoy you. Plus, he went out with Elizabeth.

Hailey: Well, I have to go, so you're on your own, Buddy. Bye.

I quickly turned my phone on silent and shoved it into my hoodie pocket. Anna and I grabbed our custard and returned to our table. Anna got vanilla with cookie dough while I got my chocolate with sprinkles.

"Who were you texting?" Anna asked when we sat back down. She already knew the answer to her own question.

I shrugged, "It was just Ethan. He was bored and wanted attention. He is kinda like a puppy or a small child in that way."

"What were you guys talking about? You don't have to say if you don't want to." We had a friendship where we would ask questions like that. It was our way to let the other know that we were there for one another, but if it was too personal, then the other didn't have to say anything.

"Nah, it's fine," I said. I was happily munching on my custard. "He wanted to know what I was doing. I told him I was out to lunch with a friend."

"That's it?"

"For the most part. I asked him if he was Isabella from Phineas and Ferb, and he said if he was Isabella would that make me Phineas."

"How would that work? Phineas and Isabella didn't get together until they left for college, and you guys are already in college." She had a point

"I do not know," I said. We both laughed and continued to talk for another hour or so. It was nice to be able to talk to a friend without the stress of classes. Just hang out and relax as we talk about everything and anything that had happened since we last saw one another.