Tea For Two

21

Disclaimer: This is part of an original piece of fiction. Mine. Not yours. Don't steal. Thanks. Enjoy.

~~~

On Friday at lunch, we sit our usual way on the folded down tailgate of Jonathon's truck: Kyle, Jonathon, Emily, and I, with Aiden's empty space to my right. The first half of lunch goes by without any significant event, until Aiden saunters up, slips into his place, and begins eating as if he's been here the entire time.

"Where've you been?" Emily asks.

"I was just taking care of some stuff," he says, staring at his hands.

"Wait, so did you do it?" asks Jonathon, leaning back to look down the line at Aiden.

"Do what?" I ask, wondering what I missed. "Did you do what?"

"I broke up with Izzie."

My confused 'why' is drowned out by the others asking 'how did she take it?' and 'did she even say anything?'. Though I must admit, this certainly explains the look he gave me when I mentioned her yesterday...

Aiden shakes his head. "No, it was just classic Izzie- she didn't say a word."

"What did she do, then?" asks Kyle.

"She nodded a lot."

"That's just as well," says Emily. "You're a good guy, Aiden. You deserve someone who's going to fight for you."

"That's sweet," I say.

"Naturally."

"But I still don't know why you broke up with her."

"Because that's what our whole relationship was like- I'd try to put out suggestions, and she'd just nod. She was always nodding," says Aiden. "It was like dating a bobble head."

Somewhere in the midst of nodding our understanding, it becomes comical, and Aiden points down to Jonathon, laughing.

"Yes! Yes, that's exactly what it's like!"

We all collapse in laughter, the sound shaking us and the bed of the truck, attracting stares from our classmates who are coming back in from their own lunches. I slip one arm around Emily and one around Aiden, pulling them into me; somewhere in my mind, I know that I don't want to ever forget this moment.

~~~

My parents and I discussed this this morning: two minutes after school gets out, they're going to be at the back of the building, ready to pick me up and start our drive out to New Orleans.

When the final bell of the day rings and I step out of my classroom, Emily comes out of nowhere and grabs me by the arm, dragging me down the hall.

"Uh, hey Em?" I say, trying not to trip over my own feet as we push our way through the crowded hall.

"Yeah?"

"Where are you taking me?"

"You'll see."

Great.

I glance at the clock on the wall as we pass it, hoping time is passing slowly. I'm not exactly anxious to be late for my parents to pick me up; I don't want to spend the first fifteen minutes of the ride listening to my mother rag on me.

Just as I'm about to point that out to Emily, she opens a classroom door near the back entrance of the building and pushes me inside, pulling the door closed behind us. I'm not entirely sure- because it's pitch black in here- but I think this is Coach Van's classroom. I've never had a class from him, though-