One Shots 3.0 [boyxboy]

Faking It

Ezra

'Hey, loser.'

    I glanced up from my lunch to watch Asher Lynn drop down on the seat across from mine, busying himself with his meatloaf and propping his algebra textbook open with one hand.

    'Who are you, again?' I asked, looking back down at my food and wondering why somebody who spends so much more time on his studies than I do always seems to have so much more homework than me.

    I heard Asher snort. 'Hey,' he said again, his voice teasing this time, but a cursory glance up showed he still had one eye on his book. 'Sorry. I'm just crazy busy with the newspaper and debate this week, and I have like three tests before Friday. And I have to meet Russell during lunch on Monday to talk about those scholarships, so I'll have to spend the weekend-'

    'I get it,' I interrupted him. 'You're very busy and important. Should I take this to mean that I shouldn't expect you round on Saturday night?'

    Asher managed to scowl at me while simultaneously mouthing exponentials. 'Since when have I ever missed your birthday?' he demanded, and I was gratified that he'd even remembered.

    'You get a cookie,' I told him, placing my last one on his tray. 'Party starts at eight. You know, just in case I don't see you between now and then. You remember the address, right? Or do I need to text you directions?'

    Asher scowled again. 'It hasn't been that long since-'

    'I literally haven't seen you in a week,' I told him flatly, and he finally looked up at me, blinking.

    'No, that's not right,' he insisted. 'Basketball practice-'

    'Is on Wednesdays. Which was a week ago. Are you gonna make it this evening?'

    Asher frowned as he rifled through his backpack for his official Hopkins Prep-issue journal, then flipped through it to find the right day. 'Huh,' he said. 'You're right. It has been a week.'

    'Glad you didn't miss me too much,' I told him good-naturedly. 'So, basketball tonight?'

    He nodded, putting his journal away again. 'Yeah, I'll be there. And, hey,' he added, finished with his lunch now and standing up to make his way to his algebra test. 'I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you on Saturday, I promise.'

    'I'm holding you to that,' I called after him, as he disappeared through the double doors of the cafeteria.

Bex

Sometimes I think I'm the only student at Hopkins Prep that's not drowning in extra-curriculars.

    I mean, my sample size might be lending a bias, considering my best friend is Suzanne Ellis, who I think is, like, Hermione Granger is disguise, because she honestly takes so many that I don't see how they can all reasonably fit into one week. She's the Features Editor on the school newspaper, she's on the debate team, she plays tennis and swims for the school teams, she's in Chess Club, she's in Astronomy Club, she's on the yearbook committee, and she sits on the Student Council. This on top of all her regular classes, the fact that she takes piano lessons outside of school in her "spare" time, and is teaching herself three languages, including Russian, which has a whole different alphabet.

    Oh, and she does an hour of yoga every morning to "relax".

    The only extra-curricular I have is LGBT Club, which I only go to, maybe a third of the time, and then it's only to check in and see if Veronica Vincent has broken up with her long-distance internet girlfriend yet. Because I'm sorry, but legs like hers are wasted on some French-speaking bisexual who lives on the other side of the planet.