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| August 16th Tuesday |
"Hi guys!" Blonde haired Cole greeted his friends as they met up in front of the college building. He tried to find out from their faces if they were mad at him or not. He had cancelled their lunch plans on his part last minute. He knew they saw each other nowadays quite rarely as everybody had their own schedules to follow. Today's lunch was the first lunch in weeks they were supposed to spend together. But fortunately his friends didn't seem upset.
"What's up Cole?" Matthew asked and Cole blushed. He didn't know why it was so difficult to tell them that he had made a new friend. He knew the others had also friends who weren't part of their little group. Why was it so hard for him to tell them? Why did he think they would get mad? He wasn't even that important to them.
"Well, nothing special," he shrugged.
"Where did you go for lunch? We missed you," Bella said and Cole was surprised. They missed him? He had always thought he wasn't really part of this group. Like he was but not really. They all had their own stuff. Max got his football, Bella got her studies, Lola her books, Matthew his jokes and his girls that come and go and Elly got her passion for criminology. Cole, on the other hand, didn't really have anything.
He had no interest. He was majoring in English but he didn't really have any motivation for it. It's not like literature was his cup of coffee. He just chose English as his major because he didn't come up with any better. Cole had no hobbies, no passion. He just existed and it had become boring. That was why he had thought he didn't really fit in. Sometimes he had nothing to talk about with the others because the only thing he was good at was technology.
"I-, I got caught up. The professor said I had to do something because I missed the last class last week," Cole lied. He hated lying and he didn't even know why he lied. He could've just told them the truth that he was with a new friend. That new friend had taught him more about technology, more specifically, how to fix things.
That's a hard thing to say out loud, right.
It was so stupid. Why was Cole like this? They had been friends forever now and they always told everything to each other. Whenever someone got laid, everybody in the group knew it. Whenever someone failed an exam, everybody knew it.
But not with Cole. He got a new friend and he's too much of a coward to tell them. Why?
"Well, now we just have to wait for Lola. She has been missing the whole day!" Bella said and threw a warning glance on Max who opened his mouth to say something. Cole didn't bother to ask him what he was trying to say; he already knew. Lola and her fling with the one professor was known in their group. Bella didn't really want to talk about it even though Cole was sure she knew it was true. She just didn't want to admit it out loud that her best friend was making out with a professor she hated.
"There she comes!" Elly exclaimed and waved her hand in the air so Lola could see them. Cole watched as the pitch black haired girl came running to them. She had cut her hair short just last week and Cole thought it fit her very much. She was wearing a black skirt and a white sweater. Her outfit was just like Lola, cute.
"Oh my god! I'm so sorry that I didn't come for lunch. You can't guess what happened!" Lola started to explain right away. She had always been the most talkative person in their group. She always had something to say or something to complain about. Cole liked listening to her. Cole liked to hear about her day.
"Something always happens to you, Lola!" Bella shook her head but still looked eager to hear about it.
"Well, you know Chloe?" Lola asked and Cole noted that Elly flinched when heard her name. Wonder why she reacted like that. "I was walking to the cafeteria a little bit late when I ran to her. She came from the girls' changing rooms which was weird because she's not even into any sport. But then I heard that apparently she's having an affair with someone! And that's why I didn't come to lunch because I was too caught up in the rumor."
Lola loved gossiping. Even though she's a strong feminist she can't get enough of gossiping. Cole wasn't sure how to feel about it but usually ignored it. It's not his business to judge her.
"In the girls' changing rooms? Who is she having an affair with?" Bella looked curious.
"I don't know," Lola shrugged. Cole glanced at Elly who seemed to be very uncomfortable. She was changing her weight from foot to foot and was touching her hair nervously.
"And doesn't Chloe have a boyfriend?" Bella asked and now Elizabeth started coughing hard. Cole looked at her and it didn't require a mind reader to put pieces together. Elly looked so upset and now everybody was looking at her.
"Elly? Is everything okay?" Matthew asked and Cole almost laughed. How hard was it for them to realize how Elly was part of Lola's story? She didn't really cover it that well.
"Oh yes, something just went in my throat."
"Okay well if you are okay, then I will continue," Lola said. "Chloe indeed has a boyfriend and I saw them fighting today. They fought LOUDLY. If I was her, I would be scared."
"I wonder who's the other person? The one Chloe is cheating with?" Bella wondered out loud. Cole felt bad for Elizabeth. He didn't know why she was okay with that all but she surely had her reasons. Usually Elly judged people who cheated but maybe there's something more to it. Cole decided to talk about it with her as soon as he would get the opportunity.
"I don't know and I don't care! As long as it's not you who's cheating on me, I'm fine with everything," Max mumbled and kissed Bella who giggled. Sometimes they acted like teenagers. The group started to walk away. They had planned to go to Matthew's apartment to spend time with each other. No one had any exams coming so they had time to spend.
Cole watched Elly as they walked. She stayed quiet and didn't really say anything. She only answered if asked and even then with only a few words. He wished she knew what she was doing. Hopefully they had had a conversation with Chloe so nothing bad would happen. Cheating is a terrible thing but he had a hard time judging her for it.
