Project Smile :)

twenty-three

Can I have a friend over after school?

She looked at the text almost nervously before sending it to her mom.

Jenny was having some kind of girl-scout get together at his house, and it wouldn't have been a very ideal place to hang out today.

"What'd she say?" He asked curiously.

"She hasn't replied ye-"

Fine. But don't disrupt me, I'm working from the upstairs office today. 

He tried to look at her phone screen but she quickly turned it away. Her mother hadn't been mean, but she could hear the words come from her mother's lips. The tone that always made her feel worthless.

"She said yes."

He fist pumped in the air. "Well I guess I'll see you after school then." He said smiling, and walked away to his last class of the day.

They met up at his car in the school parking lot.

"Now all we need to do is stop for a few essential items."

She raised her eyebrow at him, climbing into the passenger seat.

He said nothing, simply flashing that mischievous grin he wore so often. Soon enough he pulled into the local grocery store.

"You remember that.. discussion we had last week? Where you were wrong in your chocolate beverage of choice?"

"Oh no."

"Oh yes." he said, getting out of the car.

"Try all you will but there isn't even a point, I mean Nesquick has chocolate syrup, chocolate mix, and  it comes by the bottle, clearly everyone likes it better."

"Aha ahaha no." He said grabbing a cart.

"Trumoo only comes by the bottle/ gallon because people don't have to try and improve their drink by drowning their milk in chocolate mix trying to get it to taste right."

She scoffed.

"That doesn't even make sense!" She said, jogging to catch up to him, his legs were considerably longer than hers, which meant that when he took a single step, it took her about three to go the same distance.

"Shhh young grasshopper, all will become clear in time." He patted her head in a condescending way.

She slapped his hand away.

"Violent much?" He asked, holding the door open in the freezer section.

"Just grab the milk jug dork." She said.

He glared at her, with a smile threatening to appear.