Across From Me

Fourteen

There were several things about Monday morning that made Beth's day start out not great. She was at school, she woke up late this morning, she was in her second period, everyone was being loud and, like mentioned before, she was at school.

Beth tried her hardest to ignore all of the commotion, but it was starting to get very annoying. On top of all of that, Beth could feel her head start to ache, and she really didn't want to deal with a headache the entire day. Beth sat up a little and rubbed her temples and eyes, hoping to ease the pain with no results.

There was a new student, Beth assumed that's why it was so loud in the room. The new student must have been introducing themself. New students weren't exactly a rarity where she lived, but they weren't common. Regardless, Beth didn't bother to pay attention because she really didn't care. It didn't matter if she said hi because she had no intentions of making friends. Then again, Clementine was her friend so those words didn't hold much weight.

The bell rang a little while later, and Beth threw on her backpack and left the room without so much as a second glance at the rest of the room. She gets a few feet from the door when she suddenly is stopped by a firm tap on her shoulder. Thinking she left something, Elizabeth turned around.

She wasn't really prepared to see the face of Minnie Pierce staring back at her.

Beth choked on her own spit, she was so caught off guard. She wasn't angry in any way, she just did not expect to see Minnie after so long. She both looked completely different and the same. Her hair was styled the same way, bangs with a low ponytail, a few stray hairs hanging around her face. It might have been dyed to be lighter, but Beth couldn't be sure. Her eyes were still the same, almond-shaped, but they still had the same warmth and grace in them.

Minnie had a presence, wherever she walked, she held her head high. At one point, people were especially cruel to Minnie, simply because she saw the best in people. She made friends with unlikelies, people others found disgusting or weird. But Minnie never cared. Beth was one of those people. Beth was once thankful for her.

"So it really is you," Minnie said, almost sounding like she couldn't believe it herself. She ran her hand through her hair, making it a bit messier than it already was. That was the thing about Minnie, she was pretty, and she knew it, but she never really put much effort into looking pretty.

Beth didn't know what to say. She stood there, shoulders tensed, a guilty expression upon her face. Finally, she found her voice, "Minnie. I didn't know that you were coming here..."

"Yeah well, you would know that if you bothered to answer any of my calls or texts. I was trying to tell you, you know," Minnie explained, sounding annoyed, as she had the right to be.

Beth knew she should have explained herself, or told Minnie why she was never answering. It was Minnie, she was the kindest of them all. Deep down, Beth knew that Minnie would have understood had she had told her. But, even with a sharp tongue such as hers, Beth's voice caught in her throat, and she found she couldn't explain herself to Minnie

But Beth couldn't quite swallow her pride for this one.

"I was busy..." She mumbled, making up a random excuse to cover up why she never bothered to contact her back. She couldn't look at Minnie's face, there were a lot of leftover memories and feelings Beth had yet to deal with.

Beth knew, though, that what happened wasn't Minnie's fault.

She could hear Minnie scoff, and a stab of shame went through Beth like poison, "You're still as arrogant as I remember," Minnie said, "I was hoping maybe you would have changed."

Minnie was right, Beth knew that, but it didn't stop Beth from feeling ashamed.

Minnie stuffed her hands in her pockets, sighing. Finally, Beth raised her head to Minnie, staring at her with what she hoped was nonchalance, "Let's talk. Clear some things up?" Minnie said. She took a step towards Beth, and almost involuntarily, Beth took a step back.