The Bookworm

Chapter 4 (edited)

Amara

It had been a while since so many people sat at our usual table at the cafeteria.

There weren't necessarily many, but instead of three or four of us, we were nine sitting and three other people hovering above Charlotte at an audible distance. They were talking, joking, and having their lunch standing up, often balancing their weight from one foot to the other, but they didn't look bothered by any of it.

Charlotte was awesome any day of the week, but on special occasions, such as this, she was something else. Her smile was beaming, her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, her laughter carefree, no doubt birthdays were her favorite celebration. I admired watching her handling so many people with ease and eagerness, it had never been my thing. She wasn't faking it either, she was honestly enjoying the attention.

"So, what are you going to do? Are you going to have a crazy theme again, or are you going to celebrate as normal people do this time?"

Charlotte flipped her naturally dark thick curly hair behind her shoulder and gave the guy, Jake, a mischievous look.

"It's a Halloween-themed party, bitch!"

Her response made me smile, I would expect nothing less from Char.

"God damn, your house is going to end up being a war zone again."

"Can't be worse than the 80's last year." A blonde, named Amanda, offered.

"Yeah, what was that all about, by the way? You weren't even born back then, Char." Luke teased. I was pretty sure he had a thing for her. Not that he was the only guy that had a thing for her, but it was pretty obvious he liked her more than a friend.

"It's called "internet" honey. Anything is possible with Google. You type, and then, bam! Info is falling onto your lap like little sparkles of grace from above. You're welcome!"

"Suck me off, Char."

"Only if I get to bite it off later."

Laughter erupted around me, and I joined them in pure amusement, nearly choking on my food. Leave it on Charlotte to put you in your place.

"Are your parents going to let you do it?"

"Yup! What can I say? My folks must love me extra much because they brought no objections."

"Then, it's settled."

Char agreed eagerly and, she and her friends, continued discussing her party and the plans she made about a month ago or so. I had already known about it because she had announced to me her ideas maybe as soon as she conceived them, considering I was the first, or maybe the second person she shared this information with.

Hesitantly, I stole a glance at the person that probably had the opportunity to hear about it first...

Marcus sat there with his two other friends, and it looked like he was talking about a superhero comics book. From the book cover, it looked like something Batman-related, and my lips turned upwards. I remembered he loved anything associated with Batman including anti-heroes and villains, too.

I wasn't going to lie, I missed his company. It wasn't as if I didn't get to see him every day, but the dynamic between us had changed. We weren't hanging out anymore, and never without Char like we never were close friends.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"

I blinked up to Luke, surprised I didn't notice him making his way towards me, and if I was being completely honest, that he was talking to me altogether.