Dear Ocean Sky

Chapter 17.1 | Kata

Kata sat at the end of her lunch table, looking down and avoiding the conversation. Kate sat with two of her friends, all three of them hunched over the screen of an iPhone, laughing at something or other, and two people next to Kata were playing an intense game of kiss marry kill, which Kata had always found rather unnerving. The kissing part was fine, but Kata didn't understand why you would go to the extremes of killing or marrying a person. Especially if you are forced to choose between three people you're friends with, then someone ends up having their feelings hurt. The whole thing was just a recipe for disaster in her opinion.

Kata scooted farther down the bench, trying to block out all the noise around her. She had forgotten to bring her earbuds to lunch which was always a mistake seeing as she never felt the urge to try and make conversation and really just wanted to tune everyone out most of the time.

Kata didn't hate conversation or anything. She actually quite enjoyed talking to people, but during lunch, she usually had to force her way into the conversation, and then it was just awkward for everyone, so she opted to stay out of it.

Kata closed her eyes and tried to come up with the next part of the dance she was still in the process of choreographing to Fight Song. She just had the last chorus left to choreograph and she was really proud of herself. This dance was, by far, her most complex and interesting dance yet, she just couldn't figure out a way to end it. Her fingers itched for a pencil so she could write down ideas and her legs were bursting with energy, wanting to try out different things.

Finally, she gave up, not being able to concentrate. She began tapping her fingers absentmindedly, itching for lunch to be over. The bell eventually rang, and Kata walked off by herself, not waiting to see if anyone would walk with her because she knew no one would.

Kata walked past the fine arts hallway, where she saw Alex coming out of the double doors holding her lunch box. Kata walked over to her.

"What were you doing in there?" she asked curiously. Kata then realized she probably sounded creepy, like she wanted to know Alex's every move or something like that. "Sorry that was a weird question, you don't have to answer that. I guess I was just wondering why you weren't at lunch. Sorry, that was kind of weird too." Kata rambled, only stopping when she heard a soft laugh come from Alex.

"It's fine Kata," she said. "I was just eating lunch with Mr. Benj is all."

"Why?" Kata asked, then mentally face palmed herself, but decided against trying to cover up the question. Alex hesitated then shrugged stiffly.

"It's noisy in the cafeteria," she replied simply.

"Oh," Kata said. "Do you normally eat lunch with him then?" Goodness, why was she asking so many questions? Alex just shrugged again.

"Yeah, I guess." she looked slightly uncomfortable, so Kata decided not to push the matter.

"Mind if I maybe come eat with you sometime?" she asked carefully. Alex's face lit up.

"Sure!" she answered. Kata smiled. Now maybe she would actually be able to enjoy her free period.

The two girls rounded the corner into the eighth-grade hall and Kata stopped at her locker. She expected Alex to go to her locker, but she turned back around and bit her lip.

"Hey Kata?"

"Hm?"

"By any chance would you maybe want to come over to my house this weekend?" she rushed.

Kata stopped what she was doing.

Kata wanted badly to say yes to Alex, but she knew her mother wouldn't let her, and she didn't know if she would get a chance to ask her dad. She remembered him saying that he had several late shifts at the hospital this week.