MY BEST FRIEND ELI ⁂ E.M.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Flossie tried to call Eli the night after the fiasco at the dojo, but was only met with an instant voice messaging system. She wasn't sure why he was ignoring her, but shook the feeling away as him just having a bad day. After all she would see him the next day before school.

At least that's what Flossie thought. When she sat on the porch step, breathing in the still air of the weekday morning, she found her gaze constantly peering at the street in front of her.

The girl couldn't help but notice that her house was the shittiest one on the whole block. Eli's house, down the block was pretty nice, her neighbors houses were decent, but hers was run down. The old paint had dulled on the house, and the porch was made up of rotting wood. The grass was almost all brown — there was less green than there was of that terrible dead color.

It was extremely lacking in feminine touch.

But her mind didn't wander much further, as Mrs. Moskowitz's Sentra pulled up in front of the Akridge house hold on time, just like any other morning. But today was a bit different: when Flossie approached the car she noticed there was an absence in the passengers seat. Eli wasn't there.

Instead of getting in the back like usual, she opened the front seat door and slid in. "Hi Mrs. M," she said hesitantly. "Where's Eli?"

The woman gave her a slight smile, shaking her head at the girl. "He wasn't feeling well this morning," she started. "I still wanted to make sure you had a ride to school though."

Flossie smiled kindly at her generosity, knowing she didn't have to do that — but the woman had always treated her with such care, as a mother would do with her own daughter.

Perhaps Mrs. Moskowitz knew that Flossie was missing that woman role model in her life, and perhaps something in her felt accomplished when she could fulfill it.

"He's sick?" Flossie asked concerned, peering over to the driving woman. "What's wrong with him?"

Part of Flossie worried that it had something to do with how he left the dojo yesterday, she hoped he wasn't worrying over what Sensei Lawrence said.

The mother just gave a tired smile, "he said it was a bug. I took his temperature but he didn't have a fever. But you know my Eli, he wouldn't lie about not feeling well," she cooed as the two approached the school.

Flossie nodded, taking in her statement. "Okay," she finally stated, starting to grab her backpack so she could make a quick exit. "I hope he feels better," the girl said honestly. "I'll text him during lunch to make sure he's okay."

The woman smiled at her, "you're a good friend to him, Flossie," she said kindly, reaching into the back seat. As the girl opened the door, Eli's mother called out to her. "Wait, one second," she stated. "I made cinnamon rolls this morning. There's two in here, one for you and one for Demetri," the woman handed her a small container.

The girl smiled back, gratefully excepting the treats, "thanks so much," she replied, holding them in her arms.

"No problem," she gave a toothy grin, watching the girl stand outside the car. "They're gluten free so Demetri won't have to worry about having a reaction," she cringed remembering the last time she had forgotten and made the three friends a snack.

Flossie laughed at this, "I'll let him know," she shut the door behind her, waving one last time before heading towards the steps of the school.

She looked at the breakfast hungrily, noting that she never usually eats until lunch, and Flossie realized how famished she truly was. The girl basically ran to homeroom so that she could give Demetri one and eat her own.