Dumb Luck

13

✧𝙼𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚛𝚢✧

"Mallory! You're going to be late!"

I rush to pick up my backpack, throwing it over my shoulder. Just as I'm about to get to the door, I pause and look back at the little shelf beside my bed. My eyes fall on my phone on the shelf.

"Mallory! Come on, I'm going to be late for work! You said you wanted a ride!"

I groan as I rush over to snatch my phone up off the charger before I head back to the door. My mom is still calling out for me to hurry up.

I don't know how to live in the moment, but Ethan does. And Ethan brings his phone to school with him. Maybe that's a part of the act.

I know for a fact that part of the act is doing what you feel like at the time. That might even be all there is to it. So, when I'm already down to just a couple of minutes until the bell rings by the time I'm dropped off at school, I look slowly over to the little store behind the wall of the parking lot.

Cookies sound pretty good.

__________

"So," Claire tosses her locker shut a little loudly, holding a book loosely in her hand at her side. I hum absently, a little busy glancing around us. All I really see is a sea of kids walking or jogging to their next class.

"So." I repeat on a sigh as I look back at her.

She smiles but it's not totally genuine. It's a little helpless. "A new store opened up in the mall this weekend." She informs. She sighs before she asks, like she knows she has her answer already. "Wanna check it out after school?" She asks.

"Um," My first answer is no. I have a precalculus test on Friday. But then I realize she thinks she has her answer because she's asked me something like this thousands of times, and I've always shot her down.

But she still tries. Because she wants to be friends still. Well, I still want to be her friend.

I sigh quietly. "Yeah, sure." I nod.

She blinks. "Wait, really?"

I give a little smile and a shrug. "I need new jeans." I admit with a glance down at the ones I have on now. They're faded and a little tight around my hips.

She laughs, beaming now. "Awesome. I can drive us, if you want." She offers with a quick nod. It makes me feel bad that she's so happy about this.

"Yeah, that sounds good." I smile some more. It's been a while since I've actually bothered with it. For a while, it's felt so pointless. It's felt like it changes nothing. But Claire's smile widens like it does. Like it means something to her.

"Mal!"

She blinks again, but this time at something else. I take a breath as I look over my shoulder. I spot his grinning face pretty much immediately, holding his hand up in the air to make himself stand out in case I don't see him quick enough. His friend beside him stares at him like he just grew a second head with the way he's beaming.

It's almost a little too tempting to make him look stupid and just ignore him, but I can't help my widening smile. It's too late anyway, so I lift my hand and wave back at him. He takes this as an invitation and happily jogs away from his friend to get over to us. Claire stares up at him the same way his friend did when he makes it over.

I'm already reaching into my bag when he makes it over. "How'd things go?" He asks curiously. "With your parents?"

I sigh deeply. "Well, they definitely knew I was missing." I offer. He hums. "They're mostly pissed at the school though. I think they're going to call." I shrug. So far, we haven't been called into the front office. Then again, it's not even lunch yet.

"Good." He decides with a nod. "Mine thought I was at Tanner's." He chuckles as he looks over his shoulder at his friend. He stands awkwardly off to the side, waiting for Ethan to come back.

Claire shifts on her feet beside me. I look over at her to see that her eyes are trained on his friend. I quickly look up at Ethan to make sure he's seeing what I'm seeing.

He grins back at me. I try not to laugh as I look down and finally pull the little bag out of the front pocket of my backpack. "Here." I hold out a bag of those cookies.

Ethan chuckles as he reaches for them. He tilts his head at the little slip of paper I offer along with it, but ultimately smiles at me. "I'll see you at lunch." He hums.

"Yeah, um," I look over at Claire who is still staring. Pretty shamelessly too. She's making his friend nervous, but he's smiling about it. "Maybe at the mall after school too." I whisper as I look back at him.

He laughs, looking between them too. He nods at me as he takes a step back. "Come on." He beckons his friend along. Quickly, he follows Ethan. I shake my head with a smile as Ethan nudges him, teasing the poor kid now.

"Come on." I repeat to Claire with a laugh, leading the way to our next class.

"Um, since when are you friends with Ethan Sullivan?" She questions with a scoff as she hurries along with me.

I shake my head. "I don't even know."

"How?" She pushes. "Last I checked, you thought the guy and his friends sucked since, like, sixth grade."

"Dumb luck, I guess." I shrug her off. It's pretty much what it was. What were the chances of an old childhood acquaintance not only being in an unlikely place at the same time as me but also being locked in, in said place with me?

I guess we were just lucky. The exact opposite of what I thought we were at the time.